Zara in double-digit UK sales rise

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Oct 24, 2018

Revenue and profits jumped at the UK arm of fast-moving fashion chain Zara last year, but its sister brands Stradivarius and Zara Home are still in the red.

Although boosted by the the integration of online revenue, Zara sales grew by 17% to £704m in the year to 31 January 2018, as British shoppers continued to embrace its trend-led proposition. The sales boost helped the company post profits of £40.8m, up 33% from £30.6m a year earlier.

Revenue also grew strongly at the Stradivarius brand, which is also owned by Inditex, up 63% to £15.5m during the period. The increase was boosted by the opening of three stores in 2016, taking the total number of Stradivarius stores in the UK to four, but it failed to improve the company’s profitability. In the year to end of January 2018, Stradivarius had a loss of £1.87m, compared to a loss of £1.84m in the previous year.

Zara Home also reported a loss for the period. The homeware brand, which has 12 UK stores, increased sales by 16% last year, while losses improved considerably from £693,000 to £97,000.

Massimo Dutti, Inditex’s more premium brand, continued to grow during the year and emerged from the red with a full-year profit of £1m. With sales growth of 24% to £46.6m, it was also one of the best performing brands in Inditex’s UK portfolio.

The Spanish retail group also owns Bershka, which has five stores across the UK.