The pandemic didn’t hurt fast fashion as some had forecasted: rather it appears to have strengthened it. The numbers prove it for both global fast fashion groups, that became public on the same day, seems to confirm it. We are talking about Inditex (owner of, among others, Zara) and H&M. Their sales’ recovery, before the second wave of lockdowns, was strong, also thanks to the online channel.
The numbers prove it (for Inditex)
Spanish group Inditex closed the August-October quarter (third financial one) with revenue down 14% (-10% at constant rates) for a value of 6.05 billion euro. The group’s net result was down 26% (866 million euro), while online sales increased by 75% during the first 9 months of the year, compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year. Inditex sold goods for 14.085 billion euro between January and November, -28.9% at current rates and -26.9% at constant rates, compared to the previous period. Net profits for the period were of 671 million euro, down 75% from the previous comparable period. It’s important to note that Inditex surpassed its previous total turnover between October 1st and 18th. But, new shutdowns began on October 19th, which led the month to close 6% down from the same month of 2019.
The numbers prove it (for H&M as well)
H&M, the second largest fashion retailer in the world after Inditex, stated that sales (in local currency worth 52.54 billion crown, equal to about 5.07 billion euro) went down by 10% in the fourth quarter (September – November 2020). The main reason behind the downturn in November was the new lockdown. Between September 1st and October 21st, the Swedish group points out, sales only decreased by 3%. That being said, overall sales from the start of the year to November 30th recorded a decrease of 22% on yearly base, “because the recovery was once more slowed by the second wave of the pandemic”. Revenue for the entire year went down by 18% to 187 billion Swedish crowns, or 18.03 billion euro. The overall economic results will be published on January 29th, 2021.
Read also:
