Inditex overcomes the pain in Spain

The Spanish owner of fashion chain Zara bucked the crisis in its domestic market yesterday by posting a 30 per cent jump in quarterly profits.

Inditex – the world’s largest clothes retailer by market value – added another 91 stores in the three months to April 30 as it continued to expand outside its economically challenged home market.

The group behind high street names including Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti reported net income of 432 million euros (£348m) after sales lifted 15 per cent to 3.4 billion euros (£2.7bn).

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It added that sales have continued their double digit ascent in the second quarter so far, up 14 per cent in local currencies since February 1.

“When you think of what is going on with the euro crisis, it’s amazing,” said Societe Generale analyst Anne Critchlow. “It highlights the lack of Inditex’s reliance on southern Europe.”

Inditex now has 5,618 stores and is only reliant on around 25 per cent of sales within ailing Spain after growing its overseas operations and increasing sales online.

The group has been focusing particularly on Asia in recent years, where it now has around 18 per cent of sales.

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It is launching an online store in mainland China in September to add to more than 250 shops in the country.

There are around 95 stores in the UK, with Zara leading the way with 66, including five in Yorkshire. Inditex does not provide a regional breakdown of its figures.

Inditex launched in 1975 when it opened the first Zara store in Spain.

It initially expanded throughout Spain before setting its sights overseas, moving to the US in 1989 and the UK in 1998 along the way.

The firm is now present in 84 markets worldwide.

Inditex’s fortunes are in stark contrast to those of rival Esprit Holdings, which makes about 80 per cent of its sales in Europe.

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