Zara posts 11% sales rise.

Inditex, the global fashion group that owns Zara, has insisted that China remains a "core" market for the retailer after a year when zero-Covid restrictions have hit consumption in thecountry. Inditex does not release a breakdown of sales in China, but at the start of this year 303 of its roughly 6,500 stores were in the country. Its largest market is Spain, where it had nearly 1,300 stores in January. Although three years of Chinese lock-downs and quarantines, plus tensions between China and the west, have prompted some manufacturers to rethink the country’s role in their supply chains, there have been fewer signs of multinationals turning away from it as a consumer market.

García was speaking after Inditex posted an 11 per cent increase in quarterly sales globally, but more modest profit growth as the cost of goods rose in a weakening global economy still suffering from the impact of inflation. The group said yesterday that sales hit €8.2bn in the three months to the end of September while the cost of sourcing its clothing rose slightly faster, increasing 13 per cent from a year ago to €3.2bn. In an update on its most recent performance, it said store and online sales rose 12 per cent from the previous year between November 1 and December 8 2022.

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