Zara has closed 71 stores for crisis that lives and say how it is in Colombia

Zara, Spanish fashion giant who, before the pandemic, exceeded 700 stores in Latin America, It has considerably reduced its commercial network in the region.

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Since its entry into the Mexican market in 1992, Inditex, the Spanish fashion conglomerate to which Zara and more brands belong, has expanded its commercial network in several Latin American countries with all its brands. However, the region has experienced a slowdown in its appeal for the company, a phenomenon that reflects the global trend in which the great fashion retailers are restructuring their operations.

In the last five years, Inditex has implemented various strategies that have included both expansion and withdrawal in Latin America. The company closed a total of twenty stores in Venezuela and, at the same time, introduced new chains into emerging markets such as Peru and Colombia. At the end of exercise 2024, Inditex had 650 establishments in nineteen countries in the region, which It represents a decrease of 71 stores compared to five years ago.

Before the start of the pandemic, Inditex had a commercial network composed of 721 stores in Latin America. However, during the 2020 year, this figure was reduced considerably due to closures in fundamental markets for the company, such as Mexico, Brazil and Panama.

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Specifically, the company went from 438 stores in Mexico in 2019 to 415 the following year, highlighting the importance of the Mexican market, which has historically been the main one for Inditex in the region. This country is remarkable for being the only one in which the company operated with all its chains, including Uterqüe, which closed its operations globally in 2021. During the year of the Pandemia, Inditex maintained thirty establishments of this brand in the Mexican market.

Situation with Inditex, owners of Zara

In 2020, Inditex also decreased its presence in Brazil, closing approximately ten establishments, mainly from Zara Home, which saw the closure of six points of sale, while Zara closed four stores.

In the last five years, Inditex rethink its strategy in Venezuela, although a year ago it restored its operations in the country. In 2019, the group operated with 22 stores, a figure that was reduced to nineteen in the year of the pandemic, before closing all its establishments due to the political crisis in the country. During this period, Inditex had worked in the Venezuelan market through a franchise format, in collaboration with its local partner, Phoenix world Trade.

Recently, the fashion giant has changed a partner in Venezuela, associating with Grupo David and making a significant investment when opening Zara’s largest store in Latin America. This decision is part of the Inditex strategy to maintain a lower number of points of sale, but with a larger area.

In addition to Brazil and Venezuela, Inditex has cut its network of stores in other countries in the region in the last five years. In Chile, in 2024, the company closed a Zara Home establishment. In El Salvador, the number of stores was reduced from nine in 2020 to eight from 2021 to date. For its part, in Panama, Inditex operated thirteen establishments in 2019 and since 2020 has maintained eleven points of sale.

How is Zara’s situation and more stores in Colombia?

Despite the reduction of its network of stores in some markets, Inditex has continued to expand its presence in other Latin American countries. In 2024, The company opened ten new establishments in the regionwith a particular emphasis on Colombia and Peru.

In Colombia, Inditex has exceeded the figure of sixty stores, reaching a total of 63 establishments at the end of 2024. This growth has been possible thanks to the openings of various brands of the group, including Zara, Pull & Bear, Bershka and Zara Home.

Currently, Colombia is positioned as the second most important market for Inditex in Latin America in terms of number of stores.

Another of Inditex’s significant initiatives in the region during the last year has been its expansion in Peru. In 2024, the company introduced its Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius and Oysho chains, adding a total of eleven new establishments in the Peruvian market. Until that time, the commercial network of Inditex in Peru had remained stable with only seven stores, all from Zara and Zara Home.

Inditex in the last 5 years

In terms of expansion, the last five years saw the greatest activity of Inditex, when the company He went from having 618 stores in the region to 640. However, in the most recent exercise, growth slowed down, registering only ten net openings.

In other markets such as Ecuador, Argentina, Costa Rica or Guatemala, Inditex has not made significant changes in its network of stores, without opening or closing new points of sale in recent years. Despite its recent growth, the Spanish Inditex group has maintained its stable commercial network in numerous markets for several exercises, without making new physical incursions into new territories since 2018.

In the last five years, the company has not inaugurated stores in countries such as Argentina, Aruba, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Puerto Rico or Uruguay, although it has not closed establishments in these markets.

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Reduces its network of stores, but grows in sales

At the global level, Inditex ended exercise 2024 (completed on January 31) with a total of 5,563 establishments around the world, a figure that represents a decrease of 129 premises compared to 5,692 counted the previous year.

During 2024, the company carried out betting on the opening of stores in 47 markets, including the inauguration of its first premises in Uzbekistan. In total, the company carried out 257 openings, 254 reforms and 386 closures in its global network.

Inditex concluded 2024 with sales of 38,632 million euros (43,953 million dollars), which represents an increase of 7.5% compared to 35,947 million euros (40.9 billion dollars) of the previous year. In addition, the net result of the company reached 5,866 million euros (6,696 million dollars), experimenting A 9 % growth compared to 2023.

* Pulzo.com is written with z

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