Inditex, the Spanish fashion giant known for being the largest fashion retailer in the world, has announced that it will be closing as many as 1,200 of their stores around the globe within the next two years to focus on online shopping. The brand is also known for being the parent company of stores such as Zara, Pull and Bear, Bershka and Stradivarius.
“By 2022, online sales are expected to account for over 25 percent of the total, compared with 14 percent in [2019],” says the brand’s first quarter financial report published on its website. The report also noted that it will be investing as much as €2.7 billion (P154 billion) over the next three years to develop a “fully integrated store and online model.”
As The Guardian notes, the staff “headcount will be stable,” as the staff will be “offered roles in other jobs such as dispatching online purchases.”
The company was notably “hit hard during the pandemic,” writes The Guardian, with sales between March 1 and 16 plunging to 24 percent. In total, the brand has closed “3,785 stores in 39 markets” in response to the world going into lockdown.
Inditex isn’t the only fashion company pushing to go online in the middle of the global pandemic. Notably, Uniqlo will also be opening an online shop sometime in the near future.
Photo by Lauren Fleischmann on Unsplash
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