Inditex sees online sales reach more than 1.1 billion euros in Europe

Online sales at the Spanish fashion group Inditex increased to €1.37 billion ($1.62m) in the last financial year, ended 31 January 2017, representing a 35.4% increase on the previous year.

Fashion Retail, the company which operates Inditex’s online business in Europe, grew its headcount from 340 employees to 417 and reported a 15% rise in net profits to €57.31 million ($67m), according to accounts recently submitted to Spain’s Central Mercantile Register, provided by Infoempresa.com.

Operating income was €78.49 million ($93m), compared to €70.51 million in the previous year, while the income tax expenses amounted to €19.25 million ($22.8m), decreasing slightly from the €19.41 million it reported last year.

Fashion Retail distributes products for Zara, Bershka, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Uterqüe, Oysho, Massimo Dutti and Zara Home, and operates in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, France, Monaco, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. In 2016, it started operations in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia.

As a result of the business’ evolution in the sale of fashion clothing, accessories and homewares, the company said it has seen a “progressive integration” of the different sales channels and aims to divide responsibilities throughout the current financial year to ensure subsidiaries take over the distribution of the products in their respective markets.

This integration has already occurred in Greece, according to the documents submitted to the Central Mercantile Register.

Inditex president Pablo Isla recently talked about the “strength and sustainability” of the brand’s physical and online approach, which “continues to demonstrate its capacity for growth with a strong commitment to the creation of social and environmental value and a remarkable capacity to generate employment, particularly in Spain.”

Inditex had net profits of €1.36 bn in the first half of its 2017-18 financial year ending on 31 July, representing a 9% increase on the same period of the previous year.

Sales were up 11.5% to €11.67 bn, with positive developments across all brands and in all areas of the business, while same store sales grew 6%.On a currency-neutral basis, sales increased by 11%.