Spanish fashion group Inditex has seen its sales growth slow down slightly, but still calls its performances “robust”. The listed company still sees plenty of opportunities and is therefore going to significantly expand its logistics capacity.
Collections well received
The fashion group behind Zara, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius and Massimo Dutti saw its sales rise 7 % to 8.2 billion euros in the first quarter of its financial year (1 February to 30 April). That is significantly less than the 13 % growth the company posted a year earlier. Net profit went up almost 11 %, to 1.3 billion euros, also much slower than 2023’s 54 % profit growth in the first quarter.
The figures are in line with expectations, with Inditex itself calling the results “robust” as the retailer still benefited from a buying surge after the pandemic a year ago. The group says that its spring and summer collections are “very well received by our customers”. Between 1 May and 3 June, sales rose 12 % again.
Growth opportunities
The company opened additional stores in 28 markets this spring, including its first Zara in Uzbekistan. The retailer also reopened nineteen shops and its webshop in Ukraine to raise the total to 5,698 shops for the entire group worldwide. Massimo Dutti launched in China on JD.com’s platform. To boost online sales in Europe and the United States, the fashion giant is launching live shopping here.
Inditex points to strong growth opportunities: it operates in 214 markets, with low market share in a highly fragmented sector. To enable further growth, the group will invest 900 million euros each this year and next in a major expansion of its logistics capacity.
