Zara’s UK arm has reported soaring profits and sales as shoppers flocked to the fast-fashion giant.
The retailer’s pre-tax profits jumped 30% to £51m while sales were up 17%, hitting £704m, in the year to January 31, 2018.
Zara has disrupted the UK high street on a major scale, with its slick take on trends and fast fashion, which appeal to women outside of the etailers’ teen to mid-twenties sweet spot.
During the year, the directors’ main objective was to increase profitability by keeping a tight grip on costs while increasing sales, according to the Companies House documents.
The Inditex-owned retailer operated 64 stores across the UK at the year end, down from two the previous year. It added that it plans to open more stores “as soon as suitable opportunities” arise.
Selling and distribution costs rose by 8% as Zara modernised its estate in London. More recently, the retailer opened a digitally enabled store in Westfield Stratford in a bid to join up its online and offline thinking. The store features a robot-operated click-and-collect warehouse and a self-checkout system.
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