Fashion retail group Inditex, owner of Zara, has seen net sales rise 17 per cent to €7.2 billion (£5.7 billion) during its first half year, it has been announced today.
Net profit has increased 32 per cent year-on-year to €944 million as the group sought further international expansion, broadening its scope across the fashion sector.
Like-for-like sales jumped seven per cent over the period while EBITDA increased 29 per cent to €1.6 billion and Inditex also gave a trading update on its current quarter.
Between August 1st and September 17th 2012, store sales rose 17 per cent as it continued building its multichannel presence.
Earlier this month, Zara launched its online offering in China and, in October, Zara Home and Massimo Dutti will launch online platforms in the US.
From a bricks & mortar perspective, Zara Home has expanded into Colombia and Brazil while Zara launched a new store image at its Fifth Avenue unit in New York.
During the first six months of 2012, Inditex opened 166 stores across 39 markets, bringing its total to 5,693 across 85 countries and the group “continues to see opportunities for global growth”, according to a statement.
Creating 9,267 new jobs in comparison to the same period last year, the group has ended the first half with 112,468 employees, driven in part by its strong focus on expansion in Spain.
Inditex‘s CEO Pablo Isla mentioned at the General Meeting of Shareholders that investments in the country were particularly relevant.
He noted that “the substantial investing effort made in infrastructures in Spain, on which the global expansion for the eight commercial concepts is based.
“This effort maximizes value in terms of human talent and technology, and promotes growth together with more than 5,500 Spanish suppliers.”
