Inditex to compete with Primark through re-launch Lefties

New chain
for Inditex?

There are
persistent rumours in the Spanish fashion sector about the possibility that
Inditex will renew its cheaper chain Lefties as an answer to the ever rising
success of Irish price buster Primark. The Irish chain already has 35 shops in Spain
and has developed into the favourite of real estate promoters and shopping
centres.

Those same
sources also say it is not out of the question Inditex will launch a new name
(as H&M recently did with COS, but in a lower segment). The
Spanish fashion company did register the brand name Anxeri in March 2011. Back
then speculation was that Inditex would launch a chain for shoes and
accessories.

Inditexneither confirms nor denies the news, which was reported by Spanish magazine Expansión.
Sources within the company do say the company is thinking about “renewing the
image” of Lefties. They also add that brainstorming about something like this
is “very common” and that there definitely is no “new low-cost chain” on the
table.

From outlet
to low-cost

Lefties, founded in 1993 as an outlet for unsold items of Zara from previous seasons, eventually
started standing on its own legs and has about a hundred shops in Spain and
Portugal, with an own collection for men, women and children. The profile of
the chain is clearly to be cheaper than Zara.

Because of
the lasting crisis and the rising success of chains that sell fashion at a
discount, a further expansion – also geographically – of Lefties could be
possible. We will have to wait and see what this “brainstorm” of the retail
giant will bring in the future.