Net sales at the world's biggest apparel marketer and owner of fast fashion brand Zara, the Inditex Group soared 17 per cent year over year in the six months to July 31, 2015.
In a press release, Inditex said its revenue surged 17 per cent in the first half of fiscal 2016 to €9.42 billion, underpinned by growth across all its geographical markets.Net sales at the world's biggest apparel marketer and owner of fast fashion brand Zara, the Inditex Group soared 17 per cent year over year in the#
Like-for-like sales grew much slower at 7 per cent, on top of the 4.5 per cent growth the company reported in the first half of fiscal 2015.
Net profit for the reporting period too drove up 26 per cent over the same period of the previous fiscal to €1.16 billion.
Inditex added that it continued to create employment at a healthy pace during the first six months of the fiscal and has generated more than 10,000 new jobs in the last 12 months.
The Group had 141,192 employees globally at the end of the first half of fiscal 2016 and of the new jobs, 2,532 were created at the headquarters and logistics platforms in Spain.
All of the Group's formats expanded their geographic reach, adding 94 new stores in the first half across 35 markets to bring the total Group store count to 6,777.
Zara Home opened new stores in central locations in two important capital cities: Berlin and Geneva, with the latter marking the home fashion brand's foray into the Swiss market.
Meanwhile, Oysho stepped up its presence on Barcelona's Paseo de Gràcia with a new three-storey flagship store.
Also during the second quarter, Zara completed store extensions and refurbishments to introduce the latest store image at stores in highly-strategic locations like Hamburg, London and Mexico City.
The company also refurbished existing Massimo Dutti flagship stores to introduce the new store image in cities such as Paris and Zurich.
The various formats also opened stores along high streets and in first-class shopping centres in Sydney, Mexico City, Bucharest, Marseilles, Moscow and Hong Kong.
The Group currently sells its products online in a total of 28 markets. In September, the online platform of Zara went live in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
While, Oysho, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius and Pull&Bear all launched their online sales platforms in China.
The Company will pay a final ordinary and bonus dividend totalling €0.26 per share before tax on November 3, 2015, thereby completing the €0.52 per share dividend declared against 2014 earnings. (AR)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India
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