Zara owner Inditex has reported its first-ever quarterly loss as the coronavirus crisis took its toll on the group’s bottom line.

The fashion giant, which also owns Bershka, Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti, booked a loss of €409m (£363m) in the three months to April 30.

Sales across its fascias dropped 44% to €3.3bn during the period as store closures hammered revenues. At one stage, 88% of Inditex’s global store portfolio was shuttered amid the pandemic. Online sales surged 95% in April as shoppers switched to digital channels.

Inditex said sales have recovered “gradually” in its second quarter to date – 5,743 of its 7,412 shops are now open across 72 markets.

In countries where its stores have already reopened, Inditex said sales were down 16% last week compared to the same period last year.

The company expects stores in all of its key markets to be open by the end of June.

Inditex chair and chief executive Pablo Isla unveiled plans to spend €900m a year growing the group’s online business and estate of large stores over the next three years. It plans to open 450 new stores and shut up to 1,200 smaller stores by the end of next year.

As a result of those strategic shifts, Inditex expects online sales to account for more than a quarter of its business by the end of 2022, compared to 14% currently.

Inditex wants its shops to act as “fashion distribution hubs [in] the world’s leading cities”.

Topics