Zara’s “Greek miracle”

The Inditex group of the Ortega family, which became synonymous with “fast fashion” and developed into a multi-billion global “empire” through -mainly- the Zara brand, completes 30 years of presence in the Greek market this year.

The Zara store on Ermou Street in Athens was one of the first to operate outside the Spanish borders as part of the new strategy to internationalise the Spanish chain.

Thirty years and dozens of new stores later, the relationship between Greeks and the Inditex Group is still very close.

To the point that ITH Hellas SA, the subsidiary of the Spanish group under whose umbrella all the brands of the Group (Zara, Bershka, Pull & Bear, Oysho, Massimo Dutti) are not only not threatened by the growing competition but also expands its shares, as explained by circles close to the company.

The same circles said that the Greek market is today one of the ten largest markets of the Inditex Group in actual sales figures and No. 2, behind Spain, in per capita spending on purchasing Zara products and the rest of the Group’s brands!

Something that ranks Greece in a small club of countries in the ranks of the Group.

According to information, the sales of ITX Hellas SA in the year 2022 were approximately 580 million euros, from 457.9 million euros in 2021. This is a performance increase of roughly 25% in just one year!

Despite inflationary pressures, the company’s circles convey an image of significant growth again this year. They do not hesitate to set the “bar” at 1 billion euros, which they estimate the subsidiary can “catch” relatively soon.

Besides, as they point out, the subsidiary operates and develops in a market with mainly local competition and not many international brands.

Today, ITX Greece operates 160 stores in Greece, of which 43 are Zara and the rest of the other brands. In comparison, the revenues achieved by the subsidiary are 55% from Zara stores and 45% from the other brands.

The new investments that the company is preparing include the new, larger Oysho store that will open on Tsimiski Street in Thessaloniki in October. But what stands out is the 6,000 m2 Zara Mega store in Piraeus Tower.

According to New Money, the store will open in early 2024, while the two stores that already operate in Piraeus and combined do not even reach 3,000 square meters will either be given to other branches or will close.

The company currently employs around 4,000 workers. 40% of them are full-time, while 60% are part-time.

The information about excellent performance this year is consistent with the financial results for the first half of the year that the Group recently announced. According to them, sales increased by 13.5% compared to last year’s period, reaching 16.9 billion euros.

At the same time, net profits reached 2.5 billion euros. In 2022, the Group recorded a turnover of 32.57 billion euros and a net profit of 4.15 billion euros for the entire year.