Inditex’s net sales totalled 2,338 million euros in the first quarter of 2009, an increase of 5% over the same period a year earlier, an 8% rise in local currencies.

Net income reached 184 million euros in the first quarter, 16% less than in the same period of 2008. Gross profit rose 4% to 1,331 million euros, resulting in a gross margin of 56.9%.

The Group opened 95 new stores in 28 countries in the first quarter of 2009, bringing its total number of stores worldwide to 4,359 in 73 countries as of 30 April 2009. The Group maintains its plan for FY2009 net store openings of between 370 and 450 new stores.

Key figures (First Quarter 2009)

(millions of euros)	1Q 2009	1Q 2008	% Change  09/08	% Change in local currencies
Net sales	2,338	2,218	5%	8%
Gross Profit      Gross margin	1,331 56.9%	1,282 57.8%	4%
EBITDA	395	424	-7%
EBIT	249	294	-15%
Net income	184	219	-16%

From May 1 to June 7, 2009, store sales in local currencies rose 9%. The Group maintains its expectations for both retail space growth and CAPEX for FY 2009.

The Zara’s store, spread over 1500 m², is in one of the best locations within Star Centre and it offers womenswear, menswear and childrenswear.

The opening of this first Zara in the country takes places after the entry in the country of Pull and Bear, Bershka and Massimo Dutti. During 2009, several new openings of the Group’ stores are scheduled in Cairo as well as in Alexandria.

Pull and Bear joins Bershka that has started few weeks ago his commercial development in China where already has four stores, two of them located in Beijing, one in Hong Kong and other in Dalian. Bershka will open its first store in Shanghai in the next days.

Massimo Dutti continues its international expansion with the entry of two new markets: Colombia and the Philippines, thus reaching presence in 41 countries. The Massimo Dutti store in the Philippines is located in Manila, in Greenbelt Shopping Centre, one of the Malls with the highest shopping circulation in the capital where Zara is already present.

As for Colombia, the fist Massimo Dutti store is located on 82 street, the main shopping area in the capital, at the heart of Zona Rosa. This grand opening takes place at the same time as the launching of a Bershka store on the same street, Zara was the first format of the Group to open an outlet on such street at the end of 2008, so the number of Inditex stores in the area amounts to three.

Spread over 600 m2 on two levels, the Massimo Dutti store in Bogotá offers a wide range of goods and accessories for women, men and children. The environmental issue has also been addressed in the store, through several technical solutions which allow for responsible energy consumption.

Inditex, present in Colombia since August 2007, operates in this market with 16 stores from its Zara, Bershka, Stradivarius and Massimo Dutti formats. Bershka and  Stradivarius have recently launched a store in Barranquilla, at Buenavista Shopping Centre

The new CFO holds a degree in Economics and Business, is a member of the Senior Corps of Tax Inspectors and a professor of Government Treasury and Tax Systems at the University of A Coruña. From June 1995 until he joined Inditex in 2001, he was Chief Regional Inspector for the Special Delegation of the State Agency for Tax Administration in Galicia.

Ignacio Fernández replaces Antonio Rubio, who is leaving the company to take on new professional challenges.

]]> Fri, 15 May 2009 18:04:06 +0200 http://www.inditex.com/en/press/other_news/extend/00000717 http://www.inditex.com/en/press/other_news/extend/00000717 Inditex has been awarded the Global Retailer of the Year award during the third edition of the World Retail Congress. This category of the World Retail Awards “recognise those retailers successful demonstrating how to trade in multiple countries and therefore stand out as world-class exponents of international retailing. This prize represents those retailers that are delivering great financial performance as well as demonstrating that they have strong consistency of the retail format in all its territories”. This significant honour to Inditex has been granted in the framework of one of the most relevant meetings of the fashion retail sector, the World Retail Congress. A jury comprised of some of the major worldwide experts in the retail sector has decided to award Inditex this prize.

]]> Thu, 14 May 2009 10:14:59 +0200 http://www.inditex.com/en/press/other_news/extend/00000715 http://www.inditex.com/en/press/other_news/extend/00000715 FTSE Group has retained Inditex as a member of the FTSE4Good Ibex following its 2009 review of companies listed on the index. Inditex has been included on FTSE4Good since March 2003 and has been part of the FTSE4Good IBEX, comprised of companies traded on Spanish stock exchanges, since the index’s creation one year ago. The FTSE4Good family of indices represents a significant benchmark for investors throughout the world who value companies working to bring their business operations into compliance with social, financial and environmental responsibility standards.

Investors are placing an ever-increasing premium on companies' ability to manage social and environmental risk in a responsible manner. The inclusion and continued presence on this type of index are proof that the policies Inditex has implemented meet the demanding criteria outlined by the FTSE Group in this field. FTSE Group is an independent company which creates and manages some of the world’s leading equity indices.

]]> Wed, 13 May 2009 11:31:31 +0200 http://www.inditex.com/en/press/other_news/extend/00000713 http://www.inditex.com/en/press/other_news/extend/00000713 Inditex’s lingerie format puts to sale in its stores a CD and all proceeds form its sale shall be allocated to a WWF scheme to save dolphins and tortoises of the Mediterranean Sea.

Oysho Summer Playlist, a compilation CD with twelve songs from such renowned artists as Robyn, Feist, Nena Daconte or Annie, among others, is on sale at the more than 350 Oysho stores present in 23 countries.

All proceeds from the sale of this CD will be allocated to a scheme of WWF for the protection of dolphins and tortoises in the Mediterranean Sea in their natural habitat. Fishing and sea traffic are the major threats for these species.  

By launching this project, Oysho adheres to Inditex’s environmental initiatives. The Group structures its commitment towards environment and energy saving through its Environmental Strategic Plan which contemplates actions in all business areas of the Group, including the formats, product, logistics, stores and activities aimed at raising awareness of the society in general.

Each participant should upload a presentation video of no more than one minute's duration onto the chain's web page www.pullandbear.com , to convince that their idea deserves to be turned into something real. The presentation videos will also be available to be viewed on Pull and Bear's channel on Youtube www.youtube.com/pullandbeartv. Taking into account the Intenet users votes, a jury made up of international figures connected to the competition's themes will finally choose the three winners, who could make theirs proposals a reality.

The jury is composed of Lizzy Jagger (British top model and daughter of Mick Jagger, singer of the Rolling Stones, and also of the model Jerry Hall), Steve Aoki (in vogue Los Angeles DJ and founder of Dim Mak Records, which launched the careers of groups like The Klaxons, The Kills, MSTRKRFT, Mystery Jets, The Rakes and Envy), Mala Rodríguez (greatest exponent of hip hop in Spanish) and Brando de Sica (third generation of the famous Italian filmmakers).

The annual list of the 100 best valued companies originates in surveys conducted among 15,000 officials of 3,000 companies trading in Spain, whereby the corporate repute of companies is assessed taking into account such variables as financial results, the quality of the business offer, the internal repute and the business ethics and the corporate social responsibility, among others. Inditex has always been ranked among the top three companies with better repute in all past editions and has led the ranking since last year.

The Merco 2009 ranking was completed with such companies as Telefónica, El Corte Inglés, Santander and Repsol. Regarding the most valued entrepreneurs, Mr Ortega leads, followed by Mr Emilio Botín, Chairman of Banco Santander; Mr Isidoro Álvarez, chairman of El Corte Inglés; Mr César Alierta, chairman of Telefónica; and by Repsol’s head, Mr Antonio Brufau).

]]> Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:22:40 +0200 http://www.inditex.com/en/press/other_news/extend/00000700 http://www.inditex.com/en/press/other_news/extend/00000700