Textile giant Inditex has broken its record sales and profit in 2022 despite the challenges of a year marked by high inflation, widespread cost increases and the war in Ukraine. The multinational that owns brands such as Zara, Massimo Dutti or Bershka entered the last fiscal year (from February 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023) 32,569 million euros, 17.5% more than in 2021, when recorded sales of 27,716 million. “It has been a demanding and exceptional year”, said the CEO, Óscar García Maceiras, during the presentation of the results at the group’s headquarters, in Arteixo (A Coruña).
The growth in sales is due both to the effect of the price increase and the volume of sales, the CEO emphasized, although he did not specify how much the price increase has been. “We have a stable policy and we make selective adjustments according to the product and the market.” It thus exceeds the pre-pandemic figures, when it billed 28,286 million and earned 3,639 million. The net profit this 2022 amounts to 4,130 million euros.
In this way, the company closes a historic year, both in terms of results and for the changes it has experienced in its leadership and the exceptional closure of the Russian market, where they have ceased their activity and sold the business to the Emirati group Daher. The new president of Inditex, Marta Ortega, youngest daughter of the founder, Amancio Ortega, is about to complete her first year in office – she assumed the position on April 1, 2022 – after the departure of Pablo Isla of the company The current CEO, Óscar García Maceiras, has also completed one year at the head of the multinational.
These results, despite the adverse global context, further distance Inditex from its main competitors. The group also considers that it has not reached the ceiling and yesterday announced a “strategic update” with which it hopes to continue to drive its growth in the coming years, with a reinforcement in investments, logistics and a bet on key markets such as the United States. “We see great opportunities for growth”, pointed out the CEO.
The group estimates for this financial year an ordinary investment of 1,600 million euros to “increase capacity, obtain efficiencies and increase differentiation to the next level”. It also foresees a gross growth of the commercial space of 3%, following the model of stores with a larger format and added value due to the quantity.
With 98 Zara stores – it is not present with any of its other brands – in the country and the online channel in full operation, Inditex will boost its network of establishments with 30 projects between openings, extensions or relocations until 2025. New York, Miami, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles or Las Vegas will be some of the cities where Zara will take a new step. “Of every hundred dollars spent on fashion in the United States, we sell 50 cents, so there is a way to go,” said García Maceiras.
It will also introduce its brands in markets where they have not had a presence until now, as is the case with Stradivarius in Germany, while reforming the most important stores in London or Paris. In terms of logistics, it will expand the operation of the distribution centers in Arteixo, Saragossa, Lelystad (Netherlands), Tordera and Sallent.
The Inditex share was down 5.11% at the close of the market yesterday in a context of a general drop in the Ibex.
