Press releases
Inditex today opens store number 4,000 in Tokyo
Inditex has today opened the Group’s store number 4,000 in Tokyo. It is a Zara store located in Marronnier Street, in the heart of Ginza district, one of the more remarkable commercial areas in the world. The new store develops a highly-innovative architectural solution which was chosen from an international project competition settled up by the building’s owners to raise its aesthetic and commercial value. This opening, the 35th Zara store in Japan, is also a new landmark in its growth in this market, in which has just celebrated the tenth anniversary of the opening of the first store.
In the first half-year, Inditex has sold 14% more than one year ago
• The sales of the Inditex Group amounted to 4,561 million euros in the first six months of the 2008 financial year, 14% more than in the same period last year in local currencies and constant perimeter. The net profit grew by 7% excluding the pre-tax gain in 1H2007 related to change in perimeter.
• The sales in international stores have grown by 300 basis points over the first half of 2007 and now represent 65.2% of the total.
• The Group has generated 3,030 new jobs over the first six months of the 2008 financial year, achieving a total of 82,547 employees around the world.
• In the first six months of the financial year, Inditex commenced activity in two new markets: Ukraine and South Korea, countries which are especially representative of the current international growth of the Group.
• In Asian and Eastern European markets, with high growth potential, one third of the openings of the period have taken place. Inditex expects to more than double the current commercial area in this region and to open over 500 stores in 2008 and 2009.
• The sales in countries in this area are growing at a very significant rate, and are especially important in countries such as Russia and China, where sales have increased by 64% over the first half of 2007.
• The whole area of Asia and Eastern Europe has gone from representing 11% of total sales two years ago to 16.9% now.
• All over the world, the eight Inditex concepts opened 249 stores between 1st February and 31st July this year. The Group had at that time a total of 3,940 stores in 70 countries and plans to open store number 4,000 next Sunday, 21st September, in the district of Ginza, Tokyo.
• In the final part of this period, Uterqüe, the new Group concept specialising in accessories, initiated its activity. It now has 15 stores. The sales over the first weeks have exceeded company expectations.
Inditex opens another store as part of its 'For & From' integration project in Palafolls (Barcelona)
Bershka is today opening a store in Palafolls town centre (Barcelona) where customers will be served by people with Severe Mental Illness (SMI). It is Inditex Group’s second establishment in this town as part of the ‘For & From’ social integration project that Massimo Dutti started in 2002 in conjunction with Fundació El Molí d’en Puigvert, and it is the third ‘For & From’ project overall. The third store is also Massimo Dutti and is in Allariz (Ourense), set up alongside the Confederación Galega de Persoas con Discapacidade (Cogami) and run by persons with physical disabilities. The store has been in operation since November 2007.
Uterqüe opens its first stores in A Coruña, Madrid and Barcelona
Uterqüe, the new format of the Inditex Group specialising in fashion accessories, begins trading tomorrow with the launching of its first stores simultaneously in three Spanish cities: A Coruña, Madrid and Barcelona. The first five Uterqüe stores are located in prime locations of said towns: Plaza de Lugo, 21, in A Coruña; Calle Serrano, 40 and Calle Fuencarral, 144 in Madrid; and Paseo de Gracia, 65 bis and Portal del Ángel, 15-17 in Barcelona.
Inditex General Shareholders Meeting
* Shareholders at the Annual General Meeting today approved the company’s 2007 financial statements and agreed to distribute a dividend of €652 million, a 25 % percent increase from a year earlier
* First Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Pablo Isla noted that 2007 was characterised by satisfactory growth in sales and the company's other financial indicators, and he highlighted both the creation of 10,000 jobs in the year and investments of nearly €950 million
* Isla emphasised Inditex’s 2007 international expansion drive, when 80 percent of new store openings were outside of Spain
* The most significant increases in retail floor space occurred in the Asia Pacific region (32%), Eastern Europe (61%) and Russia (65%)
* Pablo Isla also introduced shareholders to the Eco-efficient Store, one of the most significant initiatives in Inditex's Strategic Environmental Plan 2007-2010, with the first store set to welcome shoppers in October
* Inditex will debut its first five Uterqüe stores – the company’s new retail concept specialising in accessories -- in A Coruña (1), Barcelona (2) and Madrid (2) on 17 July. Between 20 and 30 Uterqüe stores are scheduled to open their doors in the second half of 2008, among them the first shops in Greece and Portugal
Inditex’s sales rose by 12% in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008
* Net income rose by 10%, to 219 million euros
* From 1st February to 8th June, store sales in local currencies increased by 14%
* Net sales reach 2,218 million euros
* Inditex opened 145 new stores as at the end of the quarter; currently is present in 70 countries with 3,890 stores
Inditex provides relief for the population affected by the earthquake in Sichuan in the amount of 5 million dollars
Inditex, today has handed over to the Red Cross International Federation a water purifier unit and has also undertaken to distribute humanitarian relief material especially addressed to child population. Both initiatives, in the aggregate amount of five million dollars, are part of the emergency plan activated by Inditex to help the rebuilding process started in the Sichuan region after the disaster caused by the earthquake last 12 May.
Pull and Bear launches in Liverpool its first store in the United Kingdom
Pull and Bear has chosen Liverpool to start trading in the United Kingdom. As of today, Friday 30 May, the international fashion proposal for young people offered by this format is available in this Northwestern city.
Appointments at Inditex
Ramón Reñón, until now managing director of Expansion, has been appointed director general-adjunto al Consejero Delegado, reporting directly to Pablo Isla. Ramón Reñón joined Inditex in 1992, and has since headed the Group's Real Estate and Expansion divisions.
Zara opens its first stores in South Korea
Zara will open its first two stores in South Korea tomorrow, bringing to 69 the number of countries in which Inditex does business. The first Zara stores to open their doors in Korea are in the capital, Seoul, one of the most important cities in the Asia-Pacific region due both to the strength of its economy and the size of its population, which exceeds 10 million people. One of the stores is in Young Plaza, one of the highest-traffic department stores in Korea, which is owned by the Lotte Group, Inditex’s partner in Korea. The second new Zara store is in the Coex Mall, the main shopping centre in the city's financial district.
Inditex continues its international expansion with a 942 million euro investment
• The Group’s net profit rose by 25% to 1,250 million euros
• Consolidated sales increased to 9,435 million euros, i.e. 15% more than the previous year, 17% in local currencies and constant perimeter. Like-for-like sales grew by 5%
• With 560 new stores during the financial year –80% of them outside Spain-, Inditex achieved a total of 3,691 stores in 68 countries, four more than the year before (Croatia, Colombia, Guatemala and Oman)
• International sales represented 62.5%, compared to 60.4% in 2006
• The gross sales margin reached 56.7%, 48 basic points higher than in the financial year 2006, and the EBIT grew by 22%
• The group created 10,277 jobs in 2007, resulting in a total workforce of 79,517 at the end of the year
• The Board of Directors will submit a proposal to the General Meeting of Shareholders to distribute 652 million euros as dividend for the year -1.05 euros per share-, which represents 25% more than the previous year
• During the beginning of 1H2008 sales performance is according to Management expectations. Store sales in local currencies have increased by 17% from 1 Feb. to 23 Mar. 2008
Inditex and ‘Médicos Sin Fronteras’ have signed an agreement to put in place humanitarian projects
Inditex and ‘Médicos Sin Fronteras’ (MSF), Spanish section of Médecins Sans Frontières, today subscribed a framework agreement for collaboration in the matter of social action and relief commitments whereby both organizations lay the foundations to promote development of health-related projects. The first joint initiative to be put in place will be a program of medical care in Somalia (Africa) to be managed by MSF Spain and towards which Inditex has agreed to contribute €1.5 million.
80% of Inditex new openings for FY2007 were in international markets
* The retail area of the Group in FY2007 amounted to approximately
two million square meters through 3,691 stores in 68 countries
* Inditex opened 560 new stores, 441 outside Spain
* Asia-Pacific (32%), Eastern Europe (61%) and Russia (65%) were the regions with the largest increase in retail area
* Inditex presence has experienced strong growth in the main European markets, especially in Italy and France
* Inditex concepts opened stores in 50 countries. Four new markets were entered: Croatia, Colombia, Guatemala and Oman
* Store openings in four new markets -Korea, Ukraine, Egypt and Montenegro- are expected over 2008
Mr. Pablo Isla announces the acquisition of Inditex shares for a total amount of €503,000
Mr. Pablo Isla, First Deputy Chairman and CEO of Inditex, has communicated to the CNMV, Spanish stock market regulator, the acquisition today of 14,700 shares of the company for a total amount of €503,056.