Net profit up @ Inditex, plans China expansion

23 Mar '11

4 min read

The Inditex Group's net sales increased by 13% in its 2010 fiscal year (1 February 2010 to 31 January 2011) from a year earlier, to 12,527 million euros. In local currencies, net sales rose 10% from FY2009. The Group's like-for-like sales were up 3% in the same period.

Net income totalled 1,732 million euros, vs. 1,314 million euros a year earlier, an increase of 32%.

Workforce: exceeds 100,000 employees. The Group created 7,837 new jobs, bringing its total number of employees to 100,138 in 2010. Women make up 81% of the workforce, while men account for 19%. The Group's workforce consists of individuals of 150 nationalities, and an average employee age of 26.5 years. Eighty percent of employees work under indefinite contracts, while more than 60% of new jobs are filled through internal promotion, reflecting the Group's firm commitment to both stable employment and talent retention.

Expansion: More than 5,000 stores. Inditex registered 437 net openings in 2010, bringing the Group's store network to 31 January 2011 to 5,044 establishments in 77 countries.

Store number 5,000 launched in December in downtown Rome's Palazzo Bocconi, an historic building revamped thanks to a major architectural project that illustrates the Group's commitment to a stringent environmental standards policy. The establishment, which is in the process of obtaining the highest LEED certification score --an international benchmark for green building– uses 30% less energy and 70% less water than a conventional store and avoids atmospheric emissions amounting to 200 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Moreover, Inditex in 2010 opened stores in 45 countries and entered into three new markets (India, Kazakhstan and Bulgaria). The company expanded its store network in all areas of the world.

Asia saw one of the most rapid rates of expansion. Openings there totalled 160, bringing the Group's retail presence in Asia to 645 stores, which now account for 15% of sales.

Zara made its first appearance in India to an extraordinary welcome from customers in one of the three new markets the Group opened in 2010. Further launches are planned for 2011 in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and other Indian cities.

In China, the Group opened 75 stores, expanding its China store map to 30 cities, and plans to increase that number to 42 in 2011. This dynamic growth is particularly significant at Group formats, which were very active in 2010. Bershka, Pull&Bear and Stradivarius unveiled 15 outlets, respectively, in the Asian country in 2010 alone, while Massimo Dutti opened a flagship in Shanghai.

The store opening policy continues to focus on emblematic locations in major international cities. Apart from Zara's flagships, highlights included new Massimo Dutti locations on Paris' Champs Élysées or Shanghai's Nanjing Road, in addition to openings on other prime shopping streets in cities such as The Hague, Lisbon, Athens and Seoul. Stradivarius inaugurated two flagships in Barcelona (Paseo de Gracia) and Paris (Rue de Rivoli). Oysho began welcoming shoppers at a stunning establishment in Paris (also at Rue de Rivoli), where it debuted its updated store image. Other noteworthy openings included Uterqüe outlets on Brussels' Avenue Toison d'Or and in Istanbul's Nisantasi district, a Zara Home in Milan's Piazza San Babila and a Bershka flagship on Milan's Corso Vittorio Emanuele II.

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