Sales are up 22 per cent
Aggressive expansion has helped increase annual sales at Spanish fashion giant Inditex by a fifth.

The owner of Zara increased its selling area by 22 per cent with 448 openings in the 2005 financial year. Year-on-year sales increased by 21 per cent to E6.74 billion (£4.64 billion).

The group will continue to expand in Europe this financial year, but will also push into Asia-Pacific at a growth rate more than twice the average for the Inditex worldwide.

The first Korean store will be opened by the end of the 2006 financial year through a joint venture with retail group Lotte.

The group entered five new markets last year, including Monaco, Costa Rica, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. It also recently entered Tunisia, Continental China and Serbia. Non-domestic markets account for 57 per cent of Inditex sales.

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