- Revenue in the first nine months of the year amounted to EUR 19.33 billion, up 37% year-on-year.
- Inditex’s Executive Chairman, Pablo Isla, said: “These results are very satisfactory and demonstrate once again the solidity of our business model, the quality and commitment of our teams, and the potential being realised by our strategy of fully integrating stores and online”.
- The Group’s chief executive officer, Óscar García Maceiras, stressed the importance of these results at this time, as they “confirm the significance of extending, deepening and developing our integrated business model, the company’s key differentiating characteristic”.
- Online sales in local currencies registered year-on-year growth of 28% in the first 9 months of 2021 and growth of 124% against the same period in 2019.
- The gross margin reached 59%.
- Net profit in the first nine months came to EUR 2.5 billion, year-on-year growth of 273%; EBITDA meanwhile totalled EUR 5.43 billion, up 63% year on year; and EBIT amounted to EUR 3.3 billion, up 248% year on year.
- The Group’s net cash position also hit a fresh record, at EUR 9.57 billion as of the October close, enabled by its strong cash generation capacity.
- Inditex’s standalone third-quarter revenue, EBITDA and net profit similarly reached all-time record levels. Revenue growth in local currencies accelerated gradually over the quarter and hit 21% compared with 3Q20 and 10% compared with 3Q19.
- Store and online sales in local currencies between 1 November and 10 December 2021 registered growth of 33% compared to the same period of 2020 and 10% by comparison with 2019.
- 9M21 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS
Inditex Group revenue amounted to EUR 19.33 billion in the first nine months of its fiscal year, (1 February – 31 October 2021), marking year-on-year growth of 37%. Net profit over that same period came in at EUR 2.5 billion, compared with EUR 671 million in 9M20, up 273 %.
Inditex recorded record revenue and profit levels for a third quarter, having also posted record second quarter earnings last quarter. In addition, the Group reached a new record in cash generation to leave the net cash position at EUR 9.57 billion.
Inditex’s Executive Chairman, Pablo Isla, said: “These results are very satisfactory and demonstrate once again the solidity of our business model, the quality and commitment of our teams, and the potential being realised by our strategy of fully integrating stores and online.”
The Group’s chief executive officer, Óscar García Maceiras, stressed the importance of these results at this time, as they “confirm the significance of extending, deepening and developing that model, one of the company’s distinguishing characteristics.”
In-store sales continued to strengthen throughout the third quarter. In local currency terms, 3Q21 instore revenue topped that of 3Q19, despite 11% fewer stores.
Meanwhile online sales remained buoyant: in local currencies revenue from online sales was 28 % higher than in 9M20 and 124 % above the pre-pandemic levels of 9M19. Inditex expects online sales to account for more than 25% of total revenue in FY21.
Third-quarter revenue, in local currencies, registered growth of 21% and 10% when compared with 3Q20 and 3Q19, respectively.
Thanks to this performance, the Group continues to display outstanding cash generation: the net cash position stood at EUR 9.57 billion as of the October close, a record level, compared with EUR 8.27 billion a year earlier and EUR 7.73 billion two years earlier.
The Group’s gross margin came in at a robust 59%, evidencing the flexibility of the business model, the digital transformation effort and the capabilities of all Inditex’s teams.
With respect to the start of the fourth quarter, store and online sales in local currencies between November 1and 10 December 2021 increased 33 % year-on-year and 10% compared to the same period in 2019.
- DIGITAL ANTICIPATION AND TRANSFORMATION
During the third quarter, the Group continued to execute all aspects of its strategy, which entails investing in the digital transformation and the streamlining and modernization the store platform. As of the October close, the Group had 6657 stores, having opened 179 new stores in 39 markets during the nine months period.
The Group’s various brands continue to expand and open flagship stores, including the Zara La Défense, in Paris (France), one of the largest in Europe, and the Zara One New Change in London (UK); Zara also opened high-profile stores on Milan’s Corso Buenos Aires (Italy) and in Granada (Spain).
Pull&Bear opened a new store in Istinye Park, in Izmir (Turkey). Oysho also opened a new store in Turkey, in the city of Izmir, as well as a new branch in the I´Illa Diagonal shopping centre in Barcelona (Spain).
The Bershka on Madrid’s Preciados is one of the Group’s highest-profile openings so far in 2021 and introduces the new brand image, which made its début a few months ago in Forum Des Halles in Paris (France). Meanwhile Stradivarius opened several stores, for example in Rethymno (Greece), the Airesur shopping centre in Seville (Spain) and in the City Centre Al Zahia shopping centre in Sharjah (United Arab Emirates).
Massimo Dutti targeted the Korean market, opening a major store in Hwaseong in the Lotte Dongtan Mall , while Zara Home opened a section within the Zara flagship in La Défense in Paris. The brand also opened a new store entirely devoted to its kids collections in Coruña (Spain), which complements its flagship store on that city’s calle Padre Feijóo.
All of the new stores are generously equipped with the latest technology to ensure full and seamless integration of the store and online platforms. To that end, the Group continues to layer digital innovations onto its Inditex Open Platform (IOP), which was further developed throughout the period, paving the way for the rollout of innovative solutions such as the Store Mode service in a growing number of stores. The IOP continues to bring the Group noteworthy differential advantages in terms of performance, while its experts continue to work on the development of the entire architecture of applications and micro-services.
The Store Mode solution is already available in more than 490 Zara stores in 40 markets and is fully operational in all of the brand’s stores in Spain, the UK and Japan. In other markets, including Italy, France, Germany and the US, implementation is progressing well, with new stores being brought on stream every week.
In parallel, the Zara and Massimo Dutti apps added virtual fitting rooms for their Beauty and Footwear collections, respectively. Those virtual fitting rooms combine augmented reality and artificial intelligence to enhance the customer experience by enabling digital interaction with the Group’s products.
III. OUR SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENT
Inditex’s commitment to sustainability was reflected in its continued presence in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Inditex scored 75 out of 100 in its recent S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (Assessment date: 12 November 2021).
That score ranked Inditex in the top 98th percentile in the retail sector; in other words, 98% of the sector players attained similar or lower ESG scores than Inditex. The Group’s performance along the environmental dimension is particularly worth highlighting: with a score of 94 out of 100, Inditex ranked in the highest percentile in total.
Inditex joined the LEAF Coalition initiative, which brings together businesses and governments to work on the conservation of tropical and subtropical forests, during the third quarter. The LEAF Coalition has already mobilised over $1 billion of financing.
Elsewhere, Inditex obtained the Terra Carta Seal in November. That Seal distinguishes companies that foster innovation and leadership in sustainability matters that have demonstrated a clear commitment to countering climate change, having defined a clear path toward decarbonisation. Inditex is the only fashion retailer to have been awarded this Seal, which underscores its commitment to creating truly sustainable markets.
In tandem, the Group continues to make progress on delivery of its ambitious sustainability pledges, having brought its net zero emissions target forward by a decade to 2040. The sustainability commitments made official at the Annual General Meeting held in July include:
/ More sustainable cotton in 2023, two years ahead of the initial target of 2025.
/ Renewable energy in own operations only in 2022, up from the previously targeted 80%.
/ Over half of all garments to carry the Group’s Join Life sustainability seal in 2022.
/ And, by way of new target, a commitment to reducing the impact of water across the entire supply chain by 25% by 2025.
Framed by its ambition to continue to make every link in its business model more sustainable, Inditex has started to charge for all bags provided to customers in its stores in several markets during the quarter, even when not mandated to do so. The aim of this initiative is to foster the reduction and reuse of bags. The programme is already live in 15 markets. The money raised from this initiative will be earmarked entirely to environmental projects carried out with expert organisations.
Last year the Group already met its goal of eliminating plastic bags from its stores and online orders, replacing them with paper bags made from recycled and recyclable paper.
With the aim of reducing reliance on plastic, Inditex continues to work with the Ellen McArthur Foundation and has committed to reducing its virgin plastic footprint by 50% in 2025 when compared with 2019.
FOR&FROM: 20 YEARS CREATING OPPORTUNITIES
After the end of the third quarter, Inditex reopened its refurbished and extended Massimo Dutti for&from store in Allariz (Orense, Spain).
For&from is the Inditex Group’s community initiative designed to bring about the integration of people with disabilities into the workforce. The store in Allariz, which is managed by COGAMI, an association that works with people with disabilities in Galicia, has been refurbished and expanded to 400 m2. It is located on Rua Fonteiriña, at the heart of Orense’s historical centre. Over its nearly two decades in existence, Inditex’s for&from programme has provided job opportunities to 659 people, 532 of whom have disabilities, and generated over EUR 7 million of profits, which are reinvested in the community projects run by the organisations that manage the 15 stores that currently comprise the platform.
Under this model, the Group supplies prior-season clothing, footwear and accessories, which are sold at compelling prices by its selected partner entities. After an initial donation from Inditex for the store’s construction, the store model becomes self-sufficient and generates recurring funding for the associations via the profits earned on the products sold.
All of the stores are managed by charitable organisations that specialise in the employment of people of differing abilities, including COGAMI, Fundació El Molí d’En Puigvert, Moltacte, APSA, Fundación Prodis and, most recently, Fondazione Cometa (Italy).
EUR 2.5 MILLION DONATED TO MSF
Inditex 2
Inditex’s CEO, Óscar García Maceiras, and the president of MSF Spain, Paula Gil, officially renewed the annual collaboration agreement between the two organisations at Inditex’s headquarters in Coruña on 1 December.
Inditex’s EUR 2.5 million contribution will help fund the provision of health assistance to the Rohingya community in Bangladesh and medical and psychological care to migrants and refugees in Mexico; it will also support MSF’s Emergency Desk, which manages the organisation’s large-scale work and highly-complex operations by dispatching teams of specialists.
Inditex’s community investment model is articulated around longterm engagement with strategic partners such as MSF, which help the world’s neediest people on the ground, with a specific focus on refugees and displaced persons.
Since 2008, the Group has contributed EUR 29 million to MSF initiatives that have directly benefitted more than six million people. Inditex also cooperateswith UNHCR and the Jesuit Refugee Service on a number of initiatives set up to provide care to refugees in numerous places across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe.
La Palma volcano
Inditex, in collaboration with the Red Cross, has donated more than 47,000 Zara Home items, valued at approximately EUR 500,000, to 300 families who lost their homes to the volcano.
- COMMERCIAL INITIATIVES
During the third quarter, all of the Group’s brands remained as commercially proactive as they had been during the first half. Zara launched a new sports line, Zara Athleticz, rounding out other iconic initiatives such as the limited editions embodying the crosscutting and timeless style that characterises French artist Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Elsewhere, the Zara Origins initiative introduced a contemporary wardrobe, reinterpreting and refreshing essential pieces. The Origins collection, made using sophisticated materials and meticulous hand finishing, combines quality with a very modern feel.
During the reporting period, Zara also launched a new Studio collection, this time offering a spectrum of textures and fabrics alongside sequins mixed with velvet, plaid and tweeds. Zara Kids X Alastair McKimm was one of the eye-catching initiatives targeted at kids, with the designer and stylist paying homage to New York and the kids that grew up in the city’s parks.
After the close, on 6 December, Zara launched AZ Collection, an exclusive line designed together with the South Korean fashion brand, Ader Error. That collaboration aims to reflect on the identity and uniqueness of each one of us. The result is designs that reflect the lifestyle of a new generation whose personality is being forged by simultaneous experiences in the real and virtual worlds.
Indeed, the collaboration has an online extension in the virtual world on the ZEPETO digital platform. In what is Zara’s first foray into the metaverse, application users can buy garments from the AZ Collection for their avatars.
The Group’s other brands also came up with original ideas, such as Pull&Bear’s 30th anniversary celebrations, organised around the 30 Years Young slogan, which celebrated youth, creativity, passion, nonconformity and commitment, values that have formed part of the brand’s DNA since it opened its doors in Madrid for the first time on 21 September 1991. Pull&Bear also launched 19.91 Colours during the third quarter, presenting its most colourful message with a new category encompassing a selection of key items for the season with colour as the running theme. Pull&Bear also reformulated its iconic The Money Heist collection and added a capsule collection inspired by the NFL licence.
In November, Massimo Dutti, launched its first advent calendar replete with Body Care products and a Gift Edition put together with the help of artist Clym Everdeen, who designed special gift wrapping and window designs for some of the brand’s most important flagships around the world. Before that, during the reporting period, Massimo Dutti had marked the opening of its most important store in Dubai by putting out special collections and a dedicated microsite, while launching personalisation services embroidery and stamping – in 29 markets. The brand also embedded 3D visualisation technology into its online product functionality.
Bershka invited the singer, producer and composer from New Zealand, Benee, to collaborate with it on a new collection, as well as launching a brand tie-up with the new C. Tangana album, El Madrileño. League of Legends melded with the A/W 2021 season trends in the form of a new Bershka capsule collection celebrating the varied universe of Runaterra and the diverse League community with garments adapted for all identities.
Framed by the slogan “Love all versions of oneself”, Stradivarius launched the second edition of Varius with a manifesto featuring different women who give the movement a voice through #LOVEALLYOURVARIUS. The brand also unveiled the first edition of Stradivarius Meets Art in September with The White Canvas event, a project designed to support emerging and promising artistic talent. The brand plans to present several editions on a monthly basis. Lastly, Stradivarius made its début in the pet world with a collection of play accessories.
Oysho remained firmly committed to its pledge to deliver quality, innovation, durability and performance in all its collections. Working Leisure, an ‘athleisure’ collection that combines the sports ranges with free-time pieces such as classic blazers and shirts, accompanied Raise Up, the sports collection for more intense workouts. Targeting medium-impact sports such as yoga and Pilates, in October Oysho launched Silky Feeling, a line that ushers in a new breathable fabric made using very fine threads to maximise elasticity and feel like a second skin.
Oysho continues to support its long-held causes by sponsoring charity races such as Race for the Cure internationally and the Women’s Race in Spain, which since September is being run in person once again. As it did in previous years, Oysho again designed and made the official Women’s Race 100%-cotton T-shirt. In November, Oysho renewed its commitment to running group training sessions with its first sports clothing line for men, a capsule collection which has joined the women’s equivalent: Oysho Train Together.
The new men’s line introduces the latest technical features and is characterised by the garments’ fabric innovation, quality and performance traits.
Zara Home, meanwhile, built on the success of its Kassl Editions, in collaboration with Zara, with a new and highly cinematographic collection featuring actress and fashion icon Chloë Sevigny. The Last Line, a short film written and directed by Fabien Baron, lies at the heart of this collection, which kicked the season off. In November, the new photography collection put on sale by the brand introduces two cameras and digital printer, in collaboration with Japanese brand Fujifilm, along with all the accessories needed by photography lovers and newcomers alike. The range also includes a nurtured selection of photo albums lined in linen, equipment boxes and unique picture frame designs.
Incoming was Uterqüe’s star offering for this season. A highly innovative collection which plays on dimensions, asymmetries and juxtapositions in which colour and all manner of prints are the common theme. Hues of green, yellow and pink intertwined with beiges and neutrals. Retro-inspired natural and warm fabrics in textured presentations such as quilting and crochet.