Zara owner Inditex profits
rise 27%
The world's
largest clothing retailer, Inditex, which owns Zara, has reported another jump
in profit, fuelled by rapid international expansion.
BBC
Profit in the nine months to 31
October rose 27% to 1.66bn euros
(£1.34bn, $2.2bn).
In that time, it
added 360 new stores in 54 different markets.
The company
broke the 6,000-store mark last week when it inaugurated a new flagship store
on London's Oxford Street.
Inditex owns
Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Pull and Bear.
The company said
that it created 6,598 new jobs in the first nine months of 2012, taking its
total workforce to 116,110 people.
Sales gained 17%
to 11.4bn euros.
"Inditex's
strategy of diversifying its sales worldwide continues to pay dividends,
reducing its exposure to the difficult European market," said Matt Piner
of retail analysts Conlumino.
"With the
global outlook remaining extremely tough for 2013, Inditex will struggle to
maintain its stellar growth rates, particularly on a like-for-like basis. However,
the group will undoubtedly continue to outperform its peers."
Zara created
online shopping for its Chinese customers in September and plans to open
another online store in Canada in 2013, Inditex said.
It also said
that it opened its first Massimo Dutti store in the North American market, in
New York in October.
The company has
spent hundreds of million in its home market of Spain in commercial and
logistics activities aimed at supporting international growth.