Spain's Inditex Group, a leading fashion retailer, opens its first Zara store in Beijing today, marking an important step in its expansion in China.

 

The outlet is in The Place shopping mall in the city's central business district area and occupies over 1,500 square meters of retail space spread over two floors.

 

"We plan to consolidate the bases of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and further develop the surrounding urban areas," said Jesus Echevarria, general manager of Inditex, in Beijing.

 

He said the company had seen fast sales growth since it opened its first China outlet in Shanghai last February, compared to its over 900 Zara shops worldwide. Echevarria declined to reveal sales figures, but said Zara had built strong brand perception in China and was confident of its future business prospects in the country.

 

"We are going to expand step by step. We want to gain experience from each shop, adjust our strategy, and then make a new decision," Echevarria said.

 

Zara set up a second store in Shanghai in August last year. It also has five stores in Hong Kong.

 

Zara delivers new stock to its stores twice a week, a policy it applies to all its outlets worldwide. Echevarria said Zara produced over 19,000 different designs a year.

 

Inditex posted global revenue of 5.7 billion euros for the first three quarters of 2006, an increase of 22 percent compared to the previous year.

 

"We expect the sales in Asia to grow twice as fast as the global average speed. And China and Japan are the priority in the region," Echevarria said.

 

Inditex Group operates in 64 countries with 3,100 stores. It has eight sub-brands: Zara, Skhuaban, Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Zara Home.

 

(China Daily February 2, 2007)