Spanish fashion giant Inditex used the word “solid” a lot rather than anything more bullish to describe the first-half figures it released on Wednesday. And there’s no denying it was justified in that assessment, as sales rose despite the many challenges out there. But those used to bigger increases may have been a little disappointed, even though the second half seems to have started more strongly.

The Zara, Bershka and Massimo Dutti owner said sales rose 1.6% year-on-year in the six months to the end of July, reaching €18.357 billion. That was certainly ‘solid’, but when looked at from a constant exchange rate viewpoint, a 5.1% rise was much more encouraging.

And the company said “the Spring/Summer collections have been well received by our customers”.

Earnings rose too with gross profit up 1.5% to €10.7 billion, although the gross margin dipped by 5 bps to 58.3%. Meanwhile EBITDA increased 1.5% to €5.1 billion, EBIT rose 0.9% to €3.6 billion and pre-tax profit edged up 0.1% to €3.6 billion. Net income increased 0.8% to €2.8 billion.

Zara remains its biggest chain by a huge margin with sales of €13.15 billion at the chain that also includes the Zara Home and Lefties operations. A year ago, its sales were €13.03 billion.

Bershka in second place saw sales of €1.438 billion, up from €1.382 billion. Stradivarius sales reached €1.327 billion, up from €1.255 billion. Fourth-placed Pull&Bear saw sales of €1.158 billion, up from €1.124 billion. At Massimo Dutti sales actually dropped to €895 million from €904 million. But Oysho rose to €389 million from €368 million.

The company continues to be dominant in Europe with that market (excluding its domestic Spanish market) accounting for 50.7% of sales this time compared to 49.9% a year ago. America accounted for 17.8%, down from 18.8%, while Asia and the rest of the world accounted for 16%, down from 16.6%. Spain made up 15.5% of sales, up from 14.7%.

Stronger second half?

The business appears to be doing well so far in the new season and it said that like SS25, the Autumn/Winter collections “have been very well received by our customers”. Store and online sales in constant currency between 1 August and 7 September 2025 increased 9% versus the same period in 2024. 

But at current exchange rates, it expects around a negative 4% currency impact on sales for the full year. 

Inditex said it operates in 214 markets “with low market share in what is a fragmented sector. Optimisation of stores is ongoing, and we expect this to drive further gains in store productivity. The growth of annual gross space in the period 2025-2026 is expected to be around 5%, with positive net space accompanied by strong online sales”.

The first half saw plenty of activity on this front and it carried out openings in 35 markets. At the close of the period, it had 5,528 stores. 

Zara reached new locations such as Leipzig Grimmasche Strasse, Freiburg Kaiser Josef Strasse and LA Brea Mall. In addition, it have carried out major extensions and refurbishments in some of its flagship stores such as Madrid Serrano and relocations such as Manchester Trafford Centre. 

The rest of the formats continued to carry out openings and renovations in key locations, such as Stradivarius in Vienna Donauzentrum, Oysho in Amsterdam Kalverstraat and Bershka in Manchester Trafford Centre.

“We have achieved a solid performance in this first half of FY2025, with satisfactory sales in a complex market environment and maintaining solid profitability levels. The efficient execution of our teams demonstrates the solidity of Inditex’s business model,” said CEO Óscar García Maceiras.