Inditex keeps adjusting its brick: only Zara Home and Uterqüe avoid closures until third quarter

Inditex keeps reordering its stores network. The fashion distribution giant has ended the first half-year of fiscal 2018 (period finished in October) with 62 stores less than a year ago. All chains except Zara Home and Unterqüe, which have a smaller network, have reduced their number of stores during the last twelve months, whereas Massimo Dutti, together with Stradivarius, has been the one that reduced its number the most.

Despite the fact that the balance in base to last year continues to be negative, the group has again increased its network of stores during the third quarter, after three periods in a row registering net closures.

Between August and October, the three months in which Inditex traditionally concentrates the majority of its openings, the company has incorporated twenty stores more after the 26 net closures registered during the second quarter, the 27 of the first and the 29 of the last one of 2017. Specifically, the group has opened stores in 51 different markets and, by 31^st of October, it already operated with 7,442 stores in 96 territories.

Regarding its chains, only Zara Home has managed to end the period with more stores than last year. Concretely, the group’s home fashion chain operated by 31^st of October with a total of 599 stores, six more than last year. During the third quarter alone, the chain released six new points of sale. Uterqüe, on the other hand, culminated the period with the same number of stores as a year ago, constituted by a network of 91 of them.

During the last twelve months, the concepts that have reduced their stores network the most are Massimo Dutti (with 762 stores in total, nineteen less), Pull&Bear, which is way behind the bar of one thousand stores after registering 16 closures and which has 970 points of sale and Stradivarius, which closed 16 stores too thus having a total of 1,008 stores.

Out of the rest of chains, Zara Kids shrunk its stores network with 11 points of sales less, Zara in nine less, Oysho in six and Bershka, which is maintained as the second biggest chain with greater physical presence, in two.

Zara leads openings in third quarter

Taking into account only the third quarter’s activity, Inditex has recovered part of its network after an intense reorganisation that has taken place during the last quarters.

During this last period’s wave of openings, the chain that increased its stores network the most was precisely Zara, with new stores more, reaching the amount of 2,118 points of sales. Bershka increased its number too, with seven stores more, whilst Zara Home acquired six.

In fact, only three of the company’s concepts kept reducing its number of stores between August and October: Massimo Dutti, which closed two points of sales; Zara Kids, with one less, and Oysho, also with one.

Inditex ended the first nine months of the fiscal year with a net profit of 2.43 billion euros, going up by 4%. The company explains that it managed to correct the evolution of its gross margin as it avoided to participate “in the promotional activity widely seen in the sector since September”. The group had a revenue of 18.43 million euros between February and October, 3% more than in the same period of 2017.