Inditex registers slowest sales growth in India during FY25
12 June, Mumbai 2025
Spanish owner of fashion giant Zara, Inditex experienced its slowest sales growth in India during FY25, excluding the pandemic period. The world's largest fashion group is contending with escalating competition from other international rivals in an increasingly crowded apparel market.
The company’s joint venture with Tata for operating 23 Zara stores across India, Inditex Trent registered revenue growth of less than 1 per cent last fiscal year, reaching Rs 2,782 crore. This marks a significant slowdown from the 8 per cent growth recorded the previous year. Despite this top-line stagnation, the company’s net profit impressively rose by 23 per cent to Rs 299 crore.
According to P Venkatesalu, CEO, Trent, FY25 was a relatively challenging year for retail in India. Consumers faced multiple headwinds, including high inflation that impacted discretionary spending, he noted. Nevertheless, their brands continued to gain traction, including in new Tier II and III markets, he added.
Also an operator of the Westside brand, Trent has strategically shifted focus to its lower-priced fast fashion brand, Zudio, expanding its total store count to 765 locations. Additionally, revenue of Trent’s joint venture company with Inditex for operating Massimo Dutti stores in India declined to Rs 100 crore in FY25 from Rs 101 crore the prior year.
As the world’s second most populous country, India remains an attractive market for apparel, driven by a large youth demographic increasingly embracing Western-style clothing. For Zara, Inditex primarily handles back-end operations and merchandise sourcing, while Tata's expertise centers on real estate and store locations.
In its latest annual report, the Spanish group disclosed a call option to acquire a 35 per cent stake in Inditex Trent Retail and a 49 per cent stake in Massimo Dutti India from Tata Group’s Trent. Inditex Trent has successfully replicated Zara’s global model in India: swiftly offering affordable, copycat versions of the latest fashions. Inditex maintains tight control over operations from design to distribution, pulling new styles that don't perform well within a week worldwide.
Separately, Trent also operates Trent Hypermarket, a JV with British retailer Tesco, which registered a 24 per cent rise in sales to Rs 2,743 crore during the year.
