The well-admired fashion retailer Zara will join the long list of other retail stores that have closed down due to the COVID-19 impact.
In a statement, Zara-owner Inditex SA said it will close down between 1,000 and 1,200 (16%) stores globally over the next two years and will focus more on selling online.
The fashion group has not revealed which store locations will be affected, however, it mentioned that the plan will focus on “stores that are at the end of their useful life, especially young concepts whose sales can be recovered in nearby stores and online,” which will also include the opening of 450 new shops fitted with all the latest sales integration technology.
“Inditex’s 1Q2020 has been materially impacted by COVID-19. Initial collections for Spring/Summer have been very well received by our customers. At the end of the period, 965 stores were open in 27 markets. It is expected that most key markets will have reopened by the end of June”.
As part of its new digital strategy, Inditex will focus on three key strategic areas: digitalization, integration between stores and online, and sustainability.
“Stores will play a stronger role in the development of online sales due to their digitalization and capacity to reach customers from the best locations worldwide. It is for this reason that we must focus on those high-quality stores that are best able to deliver on these long-term strategic goals. The strong growth of online supports our global strategy from 2010. Online sales are expected to reach more than 25% of total sales by 2022,” the company said.
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