The company initially entered Romania in 2004 under a franchise system with Zara and Pull&Bear brands and three years later tapped the market directly.
Right from the beginning, the Spanish company embarked upon aggressive expansion, driving its revenue to EUR175 million in 2013 with all the seven brands. The only brands the company has not brought to Romania are Uterque and Lefties. The company considered adding them this year, but the decision has been delayed for the moment.
Owing to strong expansion, Inditex group gained the leading position from the first years of presence in Romania. IN 2014, though it opened no new stores, the Spanish company managed to generate revenue worth almost EUR200 million in Romania, according to ZF estimates based on market data, with an over 10% increase.
According to market sources, in 2014 the Spanish-held company did not open any new store as there were no new projects to approach.
On the local market, the Spanish-owned company opened stores only in malls and street-front locations. Moreover, it bet on the country’s large cities. The strategy limited its number of openings.
However, starting 2014, the company also expanded online. Six stores will be opened in Brasov and four in Bucharest this year.
Like most fashion retailers, Inditex banked on openings in shopping centers and malls, opening just a few stores in street-front locations, in cities such as Pitesti and Sibiu. In Bucharest, while the company considered the supply of street-front locations, it has not opened any such units. By comparison, H&M was one of the first brands to go to Bucharest’s old town.
Inditex does not operate only in retail, but works with around 100 plants in Romania, with Romanian suppliers accounting for 25% of the total number of EU suppliers, according to the latest data available.
Nevertheless, just 1% of the group’s apparel is manufactured in Romania, namely around 9 million units. Thus, while it works with a big number of plants in Romania, the weight in total output is low, a sign the group has preferred to seal contracts with small units.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)