March 2, 2024

Inditex is preparing to reopen its stores in Ukraine - the first twenty will be opened in April.

Spanish retailer Inditex Group plans to launch a gradual recovery of its activities in Ukraine after a two-year pause caused by the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Before the invasion, 65 stores operated in the country under the brands Zara, Stradivarius, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti and Bershka. These stores were important anchor tenants of shopping centers, after the start of the invasion, the group continued to pay rent for part of the premises, but the malls have definitely lost in terms of consumer traffic.

It is planned that nearly 20 chain stores will be re-opened in April, after which their number should gradually increase to 50.

Before the invasion, the financial results of the group in Ukraine were quite good. We especially note the year 2021, when the turnover of the Ukrainian operating company of the group - Inditex Ukraine - increased significantly compared to the previous year (2 billion UAH) and amounted to almost 3.2 billion UAH.

In 2022, the company's revenue for the first two months of operation amounted to UAH 893 million, the operating loss for the year was UAH 464 million. Additional loss (shown in the statement as Other expenses) – UAH 334 million. As a result, the total loss of Inditex Ukraine for 2022 amounted to UAH 681 million.

According to our expectations, the company's loss in 2023 will be no less than UAH 300-400 million.

It should also be noted that after the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the group withdrew from the Russian market and closed all its 240 stores there.