Zara owner Inditex posts sales rise of 11 per cent
The world's biggest clothing retailer – which owns brands such as Zara, Bershka and Pull & Bear – reported a like-for-like sales rise of 11 per cent this morning.
Total sales increased to €10.47bn (£8.99bn) for the period from 1 February to the end of July. Profits jumped eight per cent annually, reaching €1.26bn (£1.08bn). Analysts had forecast the retail giant would make €1.25bn.
The Spanish company said it had created almost 10,000 new jobs over the past year and opened stores in 38 markets during the period. The group now operates in 92 markets – it recently launched Zara in Vietnam – and has a total of 7,096 stores.
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In London, the company opened a global flagship store for its clothing brand Stradivarius.
The group has been particularly active with its fast-fashion brand Zara. Inditex has opened Zara stores in New York, Nicaragua, China, Canada, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Mexico, Indonesia and Japan.
Inditex's chairman and chief executive, Pablo Isla, said: "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."
To grab shopper's attention in stores, Inditex said it was building its links with music in Bershka outlets, and has started a collaboration with music streaming site Spotify to created the "Bershka Festival Tour" – a part of Bershka's website dedicated to festival music.