Spanish fast-fashion giant Inditex has had a record year: thanks to higher prices, profits rose spectacularly, remarkably without damaging sales.
More with less
Inditex ended the financial year (which ended 31 January 2024) with 35.9 billion euros in sales, 10 % more than a year earlier or 7.9 % growth on a like-for-like basis. Not only did that deliver record sales, the evolution was positive in all geographical areas and for all concepts.
In-store sales were up 7.9 %, reflecting increased footfall and better shop productivity, while online sales were up 16 %. Inditex ended last year with 2 % fewer shops, but with 2 % more sales area.
Profit before tax climbed 28.2 % to 6.9 billion euros, while net profit grew even faster at 30 % to 5.4 billion euros. Inditex raised the prices of its products, but was still able to position itself more advantageously than rivals such as H&M and Mango.
Call for transparency
The new year is also off to a good start: CEO Oscar García Maceiras says the latest spring/summer collections are being well received. Between February and 11 March, sales in constant currency were already up 11 % on a year earlier. However, the fashion group does fear a negative currency effect of 1.5 % on sales this year. The margin is likely to remain stable.
Inditex is under increasing pressure from shareholders to make its supply chain more transparent. They are calling on the Zara owner to disclose its full list of suppliers, something the world’s largest clothing group now only partially does. The group releases the number of suppliers in twelve core countries, but does not elaborate on individual producers.
