Zara Home opened its first store in Brazil, indeed in the southern hemisphere, in June 2012. The chain also opened its first store in Peru last year. Zara Home has over 360 stores around the world in 37 markets across Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.

Inditex first established its presence in Brazil in 1999. After Zara, Zara Home was the second of the Group’s retail formats to open stores in this market. Today Zara has 40 stores located in the Brazilian main cities, 11 of which in São Paulo.

For these openings, Zara Home chose two coveted retail destinations in showcase locations in both cities. One of the new shops is in the new Grand Front shopping mall in downtown Osaka, while the Yokohama outlet is in the Lalaport shopping centre in the area of the city closest to downtown Tokyo. The store launches stirred great interest among shoppers in both cities.

Zara Home has more than 350 stores in 36 markets in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.  Zara Home first ventured into Asia in 2011, when it opened its first location in China, where it now has 13 stores. The Japan openings expand Zara Home's presence in Asian markets, and join the chain's sizeable store network in the Middle East. 

Inditex has welcomed shoppers in Japan since 1998. Zara Home’s debut follows those of Zara and Bershka, with a combined total of 95 outlets. The Group surpassed the 1,000-store milestone in Asia in 2012.

This triple honour underscoring Inditex’s hard work is also reflected in the report’s list of Spain’s corporate executives, with Inditex founder Amancio Ortega and current chairman Pablo Isla ranked No. 1 and No. 4, respectively.

The Merco report, whose results were analysed by consulting firm KPMG to verify their independence, assesses several benchmarks, including earnings, the quality of each company's goods or services, in-house reputation, ethics, international scope and innovation.

To gauge each of these areas, Merco polled more than 12,000 people, including 1,503 executives, approximately 750 experts in business administration and nearly 9,000 workers.

]]> Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:06:10 +0200 http://www.inditex.com/en/press/other_news/extend/00000976 http://www.inditex.com/en/press/other_news/extend/00000976 Pull&Bear’s has just launched its new global image in Colombia. The new store, the chain’s first flagship store in the country, is situated on Calle 83 in Zona T, one of the most exclusive shopping and leisure areas in Bogota, the capital of Colombia.

With more than 1,000 m² on two floors, the store showcases the Man and Woman collections and is one of Pull&Bear’s most spectacular stores. It joins the ranks of other top flagship stores around the world, such as those on Madrid’s Gran Vía, Oxford Street in London, Lijnbaan in Rotterdam and the forthcoming store that will be opening on Berlin’s Tauentzienstrasse.

Pull&Bear has been operating in Colombia since 2012 and currently has another two stores situated in the Titán Plaza El Tesoro shopping malls in Bogota and Medellin respectively. So far, the Inditex Group has opened a total of 35 stores in Colombia, offering residents and visitors alike the chance to shop at Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Zara Home.

Inditex has donated 1 million euros to the collaboration on several humanitarian aid projects with Médicos Sin Fronteras and the Red Cross in the African region of the Sahel, where more than half the population lives in extreme poverty and faces major obstacles to accessing healthcare and proper nutrition.

In Mali, where a severe political crisis has forced 300,000 people to leave their homes, Inditex is working since January on a healthcare project led by Médicos Sin Fronteras. The project aims to improve healthcare and expand free access to community health clinics, especially among pregnant women and children under the age of five. The project will also launch a system for monitoring disease outbreaks and providing care in health emergencies.

Inditex’s work with the Red Cross includes programmes in two other countries in the region: Burkina Faso and Niger. In Burkina Faso, the campaign aims to improve potable water infrastructure to ensure access to safe drinking water in 12 rural communities, and will distribute basic hygiene kits in refugee camps and promote community education on these issues.

The aid in Niger focuses on strengthening the population's ability to overcome food access problems by bolstering agricultural and livestock production and creating cereal storehouses. Additionally, the project will distribute hygiene and sanitation materials to local health clinics and sponsor training campaigns on food issues, with the goal of reducing childhood malnutrition. 

]]> Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:24:33 +0200 http://www.inditex.com/en/press/other_news/extend/00000971 http://www.inditex.com/en/press/other_news/extend/00000971 • The Group created 10,802 new jobs in 2012, bringing its workforce to 120,314 employees. • Investment totalled 1.4 billion euros, notably on logistics. • Net income totalled 2.3 billion euros, an increase of 22% from 2011. • Inditex had 6,009 stores at the end of 2012, 482 more than a year earlier. New stores were opened in 64 markets, including the initial launches in five countries: Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ecuador, Georgia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. • The online store network continued to expand, reaching 23 markets, with noteworthy launches including Zara online stores in China in 2012 and Canada in 2013. • Zara is set to launch its online store in the Russian Federation during the Autumn/Winter 2013 season. • The Board of Directors will submit a proposal at the Annual General Meeting to increase the dividend by 22%, to a total of 2.20 euros per share. • Store sales in local currencies, adjusted for the calendar effect of an extra trading day in February 2012 due to the leap year, have increased by 12% from 1 February to 11 March 2013.

The Inditex Group’s net sales in FY2012 (1 February 2012 to 31 January 2013) rose by 16% from 2011, to 15.9 billion euros. Net income totalled 2.3 billion euros, an increase of 22% from a year earlier. In constant currency terms, net sales increased by 14%, while like-for-like store sales rose by 6% in the same period.

Key figures
Financial figures (in millions of euros)	2012	2011	12/11
Net sales	15,946	13,793	16%
Gross profit Gross margin	9,529 59.8%	8,180 59.3%	16%
EBITDA EBITDA margin	3,913 24.5%	3,258 23.6%	20%
EBIT EBIT margin	3,117 19.5%	2,522 18.3%	24%
Net income Net income margin	2,361 14.8%	1,932 14.0%	22%
Other performance indicators
Number of stores Net openings			6,009 482
Number of markets New markets			86 5
Employees			120,314

The Group created 10,802 new jobs during the year, as its workforce grew to 120,314 employees at the end of 2012. The company created jobs in all regions of the world in which it sells its products.

Ordinary investments in the period exceeded 1.4 billion euros and were devoted to renovating and upgrading stores, rolling out new projects in the logistics division and modernising the eight distribution centres currently in operation, all of them in Spain.  

New store image.  At the store level, it is worth noting that both new openings in coveted shopping locations and renovations of existing stores were heavily focused on the rapid rollout of the new store image, particularly that of Zara, and on a constant drive to expand the eco-efficient store programme, which is in its third year. Noteworthy examples of this policy in Spain include re-openings and launches in Barcelona, Madrid or A Coruña. In the rest of the world, this campaign is perhaps summed up best by the opening of a Zara at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City. The new eco-efficient store image is also on display in other major world cities, including London, Munich, Tokyo and Moscow.

Logistics investment plan. This growth at the store level is thrown into sharp relief by an expansion of more than 70,000 square meters at Inditex corporate headquarters in Spain. The project is currently at the construction stage and is scheduled for inauguration in the second quarter of 2013.

Inditex's expansion also directly affects the company's logistics centres in Spain, as it must constantly adapt all of its distribution hubs, including those in Arteixo (Galicia) and Meco (Madrid). Massimo Dutti’s new distribution centre in Tordera (Barcelona), which began operating in 2012, is one of the most technologically advanced distribution logistics centres in the world. Another noteworthy project currently underway will install a hanging garment automated silo at the Zaragoza logistics centre, a system which is set for completion in the second half of 2013. Separately, the company in 2012 began implementing its plan to build a new distribution centre in Cabanillas (Guadalajara).  

These projects entail investments of 450 million euros in Spain – tangible evidence of the impact of Inditex retailers’ global growth on Group operations and investments within Spain. 

New store openings in 64 markets in 2012. All Inditex concepts had a combined total of 6,009 stores in 86 markets on five continents at the end of 2012. 

The Group opened 482 stores in 64 different markets, including the initial launches in five new markets: Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ecuador, Georgia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Every Inditex concept continued to expand internationally. Highlights included Pull&Bear's first stores in Austria, Colombia and Thailand, Massimo Dutti's arrival in the US (with locations in New York City and Washington D.C.), Canada and Taiwan, the opening of Mexico’s first five Stradivarius stores, Zara Home’s debut in Brazil (in São Paulo) and two Uterqüe openings in China -- in Beijing and Hong Kong.

In Europe, in addition to growth in Russia (75 new stores), highlights included expansion in Poland (38 new shops for a total of 205), Romania (16 and 88, respectively), France (14 and 259), Germany (13 and 91), Turkey (11 and 146) and the Netherlands (7 and 42).  

Environmental policy.  Its global growth policy allowed Inditex to continue to promote and improve the rollout of eco-efficient stores worldwide, drawing recognition from the U.S. Green Building Council. Several Inditex stores possess LEED Gold or Platinum certification, the highest ratings available at the international level as part of the world's most exacting scoring system for sustainable architecture. A further development in this area was Bershka's launch of the first store in the world exclusively lit by LED technology, the most advanced and least energy-intensive on the market. Inditex in 2012 opened stores in other major world cities, and these outlets have also become benchmarks for environmental sustainability.   

Landmark locations.  A new Zara opened at  Another landmark event in the updated store image’s expansion was the arrival of a Zara on downtown Munich's Neuhauser Strasse. 

Meanwhile, Massimo Dutti in 2012 unveiled flagship stores in New York City (at 689 Fifth Avenue), Washington DC (at 1220 Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown), Hong Kong (50-52, Queen’s Road Central) and Milan (Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 2).  The Group opened several other flagship stores in 2012, including Bershka in Osaka (Shinsaibashi), Oysho and Stradivarius stores in Milan (on Via Mazzini and Via Torino, respectively), Zara Home in Munich (at 13, Fürstenfelder Strasse) and  Uterqüe at 332 Avenida Presidente Masaryk in Mexico City.

Expanding the online sales platform.  All of the company’s retailers continued to steadily expand online shopping into new markets, and as of the end of 2012 Inditex offered an online platform in 22 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Expansion milestones included the September launch of Zara's online store in China and the arrival of Massimo Dutti and Zara Home online shops in the United States. Additional launches are scheduled for 2013. Zara's Canadian online store went live on 6 March. Zara Online is scheduled to land in the Russian Federation during the Autumn/Winter 2013 season.

Dividend. The Inditex Board of Directors will submit a proposal at the Annual General Meeting – scheduled for July -- to pay a dividend of 2.20 euros per share, an increase of 22% from a year earlier. The dividend will be distributed as an interim dividend of 1.10 euros per share on 2 May 2013, followed by a combined final dividend and bonus dividend of 1.10 euros per share to be paid on 4 November 2013.

Early 2013. Store sales in local currencies, adjusted for the calendar effect of an extra trading day in February 2012 due to the leap year, have increased by 12% from 1 February to 11 March 2013. Inditex expects to increase its number of stores by between 440 and 480 new establishments in 2013. 

Garment prices are identical online and in-store and there are three classes of delivery: standard, in-store and express. Regardless of the selected delivery option, product orders will be wrapped in purpose-designed eco-friendly packaging which keeps purchased garments in an optimal state until delivery. Payments can be made using all the standard e-commerce payment methods.

Zara in Canada

Canada joins the 22-market network in which Zara.com operates: 18 European countries; the U.S and Japan, where online stores debuted in 2011; and China, which went live in September 2012.

Zara made its Canadian debut in 1999 with its first store opening in Montreal. Zara currently has 22 stores in Canadian cities. Massimo Dutti, another Inditex retailer, opened its inaugural Canadian store in Toronto in September 2012.

Inditex has reached an agreement to purchase the Zara franchise operated by the Stockmann Group in Finland. With this acquisition Inditex will begin to directly manage the operations of the four stores in the Zara Finland chain. The process is in line with Inditex’s standard management formula in the immense majority of countries where the company has a sales presence. The franchise’s staff will also be incorporated into the Inditex Group with the acquisition of Zara Finland, with the same rights and conditions they have enjoyed to date.  

Inditex has been operating in Finland since 2002, when it opened the Country’s first Zara store. The chain currently has four locations: two in Helsinki, another in Turku and the fourth in Vantaa.

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