Following today’s release of Inditex’ figures for the three months to 30 April 2025; Louise Deglise-Favre, senior apparel analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view: “Inditex’s net sales grew only 1.5% to €8.3bn in Q1 FY2025/26, significantly slowing from its FY2024/25 growth of 7.5%. In constant currency, sales grew 4.2%, which while more positive, is also a slowdown on the 10.5% growth it registered in FY2024/25. This can partially be explained by consumers refraining from shopping its fashionable designs amid macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties, however, Inditex has proved resilient amid financial uncertainty among shoppers in the last couple of years. Its sales have picked up slightly so far in Q2, up 6% in constant currency between 1 May and 9 June, but this momentum needs to be sustained throughout the year, or its market share’s upward trajectory could stall for the first time in years. The group’s EBIT only rose 0.3% in Q1, a far cry from the 11.0% growth it recorded in FY2024/25. These disappointing results have led its share price to drop around 5% in the early hours of trading this morning.
“The group continued to optimise its store portfolio in Q1 FY2025/26, carrying out openings in 26 markets, such as the US and Greece, and refurbishments, including Massimo Dutti and Pull&Bear’s flagships on London’s Oxford Street. The group anticipates its annual gross space to grow 5% for the full year. Zara also opened a new flagship in Nanjing China in Q1, as part of its global push to cut underperforming stores and focus on larger locations. The store features experiential elements, such as a lounge area, private shopping experiences and a “fit check” studio with multiple cameras and lighting options allowing shoppers to create their own social media content. The store also contains a café named Zacaffé, one of only three globally with Seoul and Madrid, adding to its store experience, and helping foster a sense of community.
“The fashion giant also remains committed to improving its online proposition, now offering a “Travel Mode” to clients in the UK, Italy and Japan, which allows tourists to receive their online purchases at their hotels and access travel tips for key cities such as London, Rome and Tokyo. This new feature will shortly be rolled out to other popular travel destinations such as Spain, France and Turkey in the coming months. Inditex is also continuing to execute its logistics expansion plan in FY2025/26, worth €900, starting with the opening of its second Zaragoza distribution centre in the summer, allowing it to improve online delivery times and store availability.”
