MANILA, Philippines – Inditex, the retail company that owns fashion brand Zara, said that it will close up to 1,200 stores as it focuses on online sales amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a report on their website, Inditex said that it plans to “absorb” 1,000 to 1,200 smaller-sized stores, bringing down their total store count to between 6,700 to 6,900 from the current 7,412. The stores that will be affected are older branches of brands other than Zara, they said.
Inditex’s other brands include Bershka, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, and Massumo Dutti, which all have several branches in the Philippines. It’s unclear whether the closures will affect any of the company’s stores in the country.
The company said that “headcount will remain stable” and staff members affected by closures will be offered other positions as they boost their online integration.
Inditex said that they will focus on growing their online sales, which recorded a 50% year-on-year growth in the first quarter of 2020. The company expects online sales to account for over 25% of total sales by 2022. In March, they announced that they took a 287 million euro hit ($320 million) from the coronavirus crisis.
In the Philippines, Zara launched its online store in October 2019. The brand recently announced the reopening of their Philippine stores, which include 9 branches in Makati, Mandaluyong, Taguig, Pasay, Quezon City, and Cebu City
