Zara Parent Company Inditex Hits Historic Sales High – WWD

PARIS – Zara parent company Inditex recorded another historic high in 2022 as customers returned in droves to physical stores but also continued to up their online spend.

Fourth-quarter sales were up 13 percent versus the same period last year to 9.5 billion euros.

In 2022 as a whole, sales rose 17.5 percent year-over-year to 32.6 billion euros. In constant currencies, sales were up 18 percent, while net income rose 27 percent to 4.1 billion in the full year.

The results exceeded the company’s pre-pandemic numbers, and come even as the company raised prices to keep pace with inflation. Inditex also owns upscale Massimo Dutti, young concepts Pull&Bear, Bershka and Stradivarius, as well as lingerie and loungewear brand Oysho.

EBITDA increased 20 percent to 8.6 billion euros in the full year.

“The excellent results of 2022 show the strength of our business model and its ability to move towards the next level of development in which our fashion proposition, the experience of our customers, our commitment to sustainability and the talent of our teams will continue to be key,” said chief executive officer Oscar Garcia Macieras.

The company benefitted from shoppers returning to stores, with in-store sales up 23 percent due to increased footfall, while online sales grew 4 percent to 7.8 billion euros. The company noted this sales growth took place despite shuttering its 514 stores in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, and the continued closure of its 82 stores in Ukraine.

That resulted in 10 percent fewer stores for the company globally, but per-store sales were up.

Broken down by brand, sales at Zara rose 21 percent, Pull&Bear 15 percent, Massimo Dutti 4 percent, Bershka 10 percent, Stradivarius 13 percent and Oysho 4 percent.

Regionally, Europe remained the strongest region, accounting for 47.5 percent of Inditex’s sales, while the Americas accounted for 20 percent, Asia and the rest of the world 18 percent and its home country of Spain 14.4 percent.

Inditex sees long-term growth in the U.S. and will open or enlarge 30 stores in major cities in the next two years.

The company reported a rosy outlook going into the first quarter of 2022, noting that store and online sales increased 13.5 percent year-over-year from Feb. 1 to March 13 in constant currency. Adjusting for the closing of operations in Russia and Ukraine, which took place in the same period in 2022, sales were up 17.5 percent in constant currency.

Inditex increased its inventory in 2022 due to supply chain issues, but sees it regulating moving forward. “Due to robust sales over 2022 and the progressive normalization in supply chain conditions by the end of the year, inventory returned to regular levels and was just 5 percent higher as of January 2023,” the company said.