Zara Profit Jumps 45.5%, Revenue Up 9.2%

Zara Profit Jumps 45.5%, Revenue Up 9.2%

Spain's luxury fashion brand Zara posted 45.54% growth in its profit after tax to Rs 104.05 crore from the Indian market in 2020 fiscal, according to its Indian partner Trent Ltd's annual report. It had posted a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 71.49 crore in 2019 fiscal. Besides, the company posted 9.24% growth in sales to Rs 1,570.54 crore during the year as against Rs 1,437.87 crore of the previous fiscal. Zara operates in India through the association of its parent Spanish clothing company Inditex with the Tata group firm Trent Ltd. It has two separate associations with Trent - one to operate Zara stores and the other for Massimo Dutti stores in India. Inditex group of Spain owns 51%, while Trent has 49%. The entities essentially facilitate distribution of Zara and Massimo Dutti products in India through their respective stores. "During the year under review, the Zara entity recorded revenue of Rs 1,570.54 crore and PAT of Rs 104.05 crore," Trent said in its annual report for 2019-20. Zara had 22 stores operational in 12 cities as on March 31, 2020. There was no increase in the number of stores in this fiscal. "The incremental store openings for Zara continue to be calibrated with focus on presence only in very high-quality retail spaces," it said. The other brand, Massimo Dutti operates three stores and recorded revenue of Rs 67 crore in the 2020 fiscal, up 5.37% from Rs 63.58 crore in the previous fiscal. Both the entities are required to source merchandise only from the Inditex Group and also the choice of product and related specifications are at the latter's discretion. Zara competes with the likes of other foreign brands such as H&M, Uniqlo in India.