Spanish clothing giant Inditex, owner of the world’s leading apparel company Zara, announced on Saturday that it was “temporarily suspending its activities in 502 stores” in Russia as well as on the group’s online shopping sites in the country.
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“Due to the current conditions, Inditex cannot guarantee continuity of operations and business conditions in the Russian Federation,” the group declared in a press release, specifying that Russia accounts for approximately 8.5% of its operating profit.
“Inditex’s priority remains its 9,000+ employees, and (the group) will now develop a special support plan,” the statement added.
Of those 502 stores, 86 are Zara stores, the text says.
Inditex (short for Industria de diseño textil) is today the world’s premiere line of low-cost neck-and-neck fashion with Swedish H&M.
Eight brands are grouped into the ready-to-wear group: Zara (almost 70% of sales), Zara Home, Bershka, Oysho, Stradivarius, Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti and Utrequy. Some were launched by Amancio Ortega, the group’s founder, and others have been acquired over the years.
The group, which is located on five continents, has accelerated its reorganization after the COVID-19 crisis, which consists of closing the smallest stores to focus on mega-shops in the finest arteries of major cities. It had 6,500 stores in mid-2021.
In 2019, before the epidemic temporarily reduced its results, its turnover was 28 billion euros and profits 3.6 billion.