Zara is a Spanish fashion retailer founded in 1975. It is the largest company in the Inditex group, which includes Bershka, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius. The company specialises in fast fashion for men, women and children – products include clothing, accessories, shoes, swimwear, beauty and perfumes. Zara has been present in the UK since the late 1990s and has been steadily increasing its sales as its on-trend designs offered at competitive prices have struck a chord. Technology is a key part of Zara’s success. It opened its first technology-integrated store in London in 2018. The retailer prides itself on being fleet of foot – it produces five “waves” of designs each season, rather than just one collection, and it has a logistics network that is reportedly able to deliver products anywhere in the world within 48 hours. Zara has a policy of zero advertising, instead preferring to invest revenue in new store openings.
Inditex has unveiled plans to better integrate its online and offline propositions, invest in larger flagship stores and harness RFID technology within its new ‘in-store mode’ app. But what do such plans tell us about the direction of travel in fashion retail?
Zara owner Inditex has reported its first-ever quarterly loss as the coronavirus crisis took its toll on the group’s bottom line.
Fashion giant Inditex has reported a rise in full-year profits but the advance was scaled back by a coronavirus provision.
As retailers post trading updates for that all-important peak trading period large parts of the fashion sector have been washed out and hung up to dry.
Inditex reported an increase in profits and sales, as the fashion giant hailed the continued rollout of its “global, fully integrated store and online platform”.
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