Zara Parent Inditex Weathers Tough Backdrop for Fashion — Update

By Andrea Figueras

Inditex, the owner of fashion brand Zara, said sales show no signs of slowing, despite continued pressure on the world's retailers from the Middle East war and a challenged global economy.

The Spanish group, also home to other high-street apparel labels such as Massimo Dutti and Bershka, booked a 9% on-year increase in sales from Aug. 1 through Sept. 7, in line with the rate of growth through the fiscal first half, and faster than growth last year.

Momentum in Inditex's top line comes despite retailers having to take on rising raw-material and transport costs due to the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran, a conflict that has darkened consumers' mood across the world's markets. The company's agile sourcing model and highly integrated logistics platform have helped it weather headwinds that have dragged sales at other fashion and consumer-goods brands.

The war is still having an impact on the sales performance, although it has improved compared with the first quarter, Inditex said. The company has around 480 stores in the Middle East operating under a franchise model, all of which are currently open.

Elevated transport costs are weighing on profitability, finance chief Andres Sanchez Iglesias said. The company's pretax-profit margin slipped to 19.5% for the period from 19.6% a year earlier.

The stock was down 3% at 54.76 euros in European morning trading. Over the year to date, shares have dropped 2.7%.

Inditex meanwhile said it continues to invest in scaling its capabilities, including in refurbishing its stores. The company operates in a fragmented fashion market, with newer and more online-focused competitors such as Shein and Temu pressuring established players like Inditex. But driven by Zara, the flagship label, the group is still a "structural winner," analysts at UBS wrote.

"Zara today occupies a more relevant place than ever in the world of fashion," Chief Executive Oscar Garcia Maceiras said during a call, noting that the group has enlarged and revamped some of the brand's top stores. Inditex expects gross store space to increase around 5% this year.

The company's performance in physical stores is particularly impressive given high summer temperatures, AJ Bell's Dan Coatsworth wrote in a note following the update.

"The group has a reputation for quality and runs a tight ship, enabling it to get products to online customers fast as well as having a decent range in its physical stores," Coatsworth said. "It's impressive that Inditex wasn't scorched by the summer heatwave in many of its key operating locations."

Write to Andrea Figueras at andrea.figueras@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 09, 2026 06:19 ET (10:19 GMT)