Inditex, the world’s largest clothing retailer, reported on Wednesday that sales and profits hit record highs, as the group maintained its recovery from restrictions in the early stages of the pandemic.
The owner of Zara, which recently announced that Marta Ortega, the daughter of the group’s founder, will take over as president, said revenue and net profit have surpassed pre-pandemic levels for three months. to the end of October.
Sales in the third quarter were 21% higher than in the same period in 2020 and 10% higher than in the same period in 2019, before the coronavirus crisis.
In the nine months to October 31, Inditex reported revenue of 19.33 billion euros, up 37% year-on-year, and net profit of 2.5 billion euros, almost four times the same period. The net money of the group reached 9.6 billion euros.
The group has increased its online sales during the pandemic, while keeping it tightly integrated with its worldwide network of stores through a sophisticated tracking system and a single technology platform. best for both. In the nine months to the end of October, online sales grew 28% year-on-year and more than doubled from the same period in 2019.
Inditex management has come into the spotlight with the departure, announced late last month, of executive chairman Pablo Isla, in which, in 16 years, the company’s market capitalization has grown. sixfold increase.
Ortega will not take over Isla’s executive role. Óscar García Maceiras, who became the group’s new chief executive officer, has only been with Inditex since March and his main experience is as a lawyer.
García Maceiras on Wednesday said the company’s record sales “affirm the importance of expanding, deepening and evolving our integrated business model, the company’s key differentiating characteristic. “.
