Zara owner Inditex beat market expectations on Wednesday, posting a 10.6% rise in currency-adjusted sales for November — a month that includes the pivotal Black Friday weekend — signalling a strong start to its fourth quarter.
The upbeat figures from the fast-fashion retailer offer an early indication of how global apparel players performed during the peak discounting season, setting the tone for what is traditionally Inditex’s most lucrative quarter.
Inditex also reported solid third-quarter results for the period to 31st October, with currency-adjusted sales up 8.4% to US $ 11.42 billion, exceeding analysts’ forecasts of US $ 11.30 billion.
Chief executive Oscar García Maceiras told analysts that the group had “generated a strong performance” in the first nine months of 2025, noting that sales had grown “in a complex market environment while maintaining very satisfactory levels of profitability”.
While Inditex did not provide regional data, analysts believe Spain’s resilient economy is giving the retailer an edge at home, where it earns around 20% of its revenue. Bernstein analyst William Woods said Spain had been “phenomenal”, adding that the country’s economic tailwinds were encouraging consumers to buy more clothing.
Elsewhere in Europe, demand has remained subdued as shoppers increasingly shift from high-street retailers to ultra-cheap online platforms such as SHEIN. Even so, Inditex continues to outperform rival H&M, which generally sells at lower price points.
Asked whether the EU’s planned 2026 removal of duty exemptions for low-value parcels — a mechanism used heavily by SHEIN — would reduce competitive pressures, Inditex’s head of investor relations declined to comment, stressing only that the company does not use the exemption.
In the United States, Inditex’s second-largest market after Spain, García Maceiras said the company still sees meaningful room for expansion. He confirmed that the group plans to introduce its Bershka brand in the country, with two inaugural stores set to open in the Miami area next year.
