Spain's Inditex net sales rose by 12 percent to 23.3 billion euros (24.7 billion U.S. dollars) in 2016 when compared with the same period of a year earlier, the company reported on Wednesday.
"These are a positive set of results against a backdrop of strong prior-year performance," Inditex chairman and CEO Pablo Isla said.
Isla also highlighted that "key investments continue to be made with the medium and long-term horizon in mind, framed by the ambition of making the company ever more sustainable from the financial, social, and environmental perspective."
Sales in Spain rose by 6.2 percent over the last year, Isla said, highlighting that in three years sales had increased by 20 percent.
Inditex created 9,596 new jobs last year around the world, while 2,480 were created in Spain, the company said. At the end of the fiscal year, the group's staff stood at 162,450 as opposed to the previous 152,854. In Spain alone, the number of workers stood at 48,589.
Inditex will distribute over 535 million euros to its employees in 2017 over and above their ordinary wages, the company said.
In Spain, the company reduced the number of stores from 1,826 to 1,787, closing smaller stores and opening bigger ones. Globally, Inditex has 7,292 stores in 93 markets and has opened 279 stores in five new markets: New Zealand, Vietnam, Paraguay, Nicaragua and Aruba. It opened or expanded its online platform in 20 markets over the last year.
Inditex operates eight brands, including Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho, Zara Home, Uterque, Stradivarius, and Pull&Bear. (1 euro = 1.06 U.S. dollars)
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