Despite slowing sales growth, Inditex, the largest apparel retailer in the world and the owner of Zara reported a record net profit for the first half of the year on Wednesday.
The Spanish company reported that in the first half of its fiscal year, which concludes on 31st July, its profit increased by 10 per cent to € 2.8 billion (US $ 3.1 billion).
“The design and quality of our fashion proposition and the experience we offer our customers are, together with the efficiency and increasing sustainability of our operations, the keys to the solidity of these results,” Inditex chief executive Oscar Garcia Maceiras said in a statement.
Inditex, which also owns Pull&Bear, Bershka, Massimo Dutti and Stradivarius, said its spring and summer collections were “very well received” by customers.
Sales increased by 7.2 per cent to € 18.1 billion, but it was a slower pace than in the first six months of 2023, when they grew by 13.5 per cent.
Analysts had anticipated the slowdown, though, following four years of record profits. The group’s net profit met or above analysts’ projections according to a financial data firm study conducted by FactSet.
Established fashion stores have faced intense competition from budget-friendly online retailers like Shein, a Chinese rival, and Primark, an Irish company.
