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Zara parent posts sales up 11% and unveils sustainability campaign

Lauretta Roberts
21 September 2016

Inditex, the parent of global chains including Zara, Massimo Dutti and Pull & Bear, has posted sales up 11% at €10.5bn in the fist half of 2016 with net profits up 8% at €1.25bn. At the same time Zara has unveiled a new sustainable collection and campaign, called Join Life.

The fast expanding group added 83 new stores in no less than 38 different markets during the six-month period and now boasts a total of 7,096 stores globally. It is now present in 92 markets having recently opened a Zara store in Vietnam.

Online investment also continues and group expanded its online retail offering to 11 countries during the first six months of 2016 (adding Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, and the Czech Republic) meaning it is now present online in 39 markets. Turkey will be added next month.

Chairman Pablo Isla said the group's investment in technology, which benefitted both bricks-and-mortar and online, was key to its success. "Both our online and bricks-and-mortar stores are seamlessly connected, driven by platforms such as mobile payment, and other technological initiatives that we will continue to develop," he said.

In Spain the group has rolled out mobile in-store payments "with the objective of gradually extending the service to other countries". It employs an app called InWallet, which serves all eight of the group's brand.

Zara Inditex

Zara's new Join Life collection

Inditex is also upping its environmental credentials with the launch of Zara's Join Life collection and campaign. The collection is now available on the Zara website and is manufactured from organic cotton, recycled wool and Tencel to reduce environmental impact.

The collection includes minimalist separates in a neutral colour palette from over-sized shirts, draped dresses, denim and outwear. Prices range from £39.99 for a shirt to £159 for a recycled wool coat.

Editorial has also been added to the website highlighting Zara's other initiatives such as recycled packaging, ethical working practices and instore clothing recycling point. It is spreading the word for the initiative via the #joinlife hashtag on social media.

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