Thirteen years after Zara entered India and stamped its authority on the country’s fashion scene, Spain’s Inditex is now even more bullish on the country and is preparing to simultaneously bring two more brands of Pull&Bear and Bershka here, according to three people familiar with the development.
“They are looking for spaces for both Pull&Bear and Bershka in a few prominent malls in Delhi and Mumbai,” said a person familiar with the development.
Another person said Inditex is scouting for space between 5,000 sq. ft. to 6,000 sq. ft. for Pull&Bear and the company officials have either held talks or requested space in Select Citywalk and DLF Malls in New Delhi and Phoenix Palladium in Mumbai. Inditex officials have told them an ideal space requirement for Pull&Bear would be around 8,000 sq. ft., the person said.
He said Inditex is looking to introduce both Pull&Bear and Bershka in India in 2024.
“They might even introduce Pull&Bear slightly ahead of Bershka in India,” he said. “They are really thrilled by the response Zara has received here and they are gung-ho about India’s market with a massive young population.”
An Inditex spokesperson in India declined to comment.
IMAGAES Business of Fashion had reported in December that Inditex – the parent company of Zara – was planning to open a Bershka store in India next year. Inditex was in talks with the Phoenix Mall of Asia in Bengaluru for a space to open Bershka there and the upcoming mall has earmarked around 5,000 sq. ft. on the ground floor of the shopping centre for Bershka, IndiaRetailing had reported in its December story.
IndiaRetailing had also reported that a high-powered Inditex delegation from the headquarters was here in India in late 2022 for a market survey. The delegation visited various malls in New Delhi and Mumbai among other cities.
Amancio Ortega, the billionaire founder of Inditex SA, launched Pull&Bear in 1991 after the success of Zara, his flagship brand. In the initial years, Pull&Bear was launched as a men’s fashion label but subsequently changed its positioning as a youthful brand catering to both men and women.
Inditex has a reason to be bullish on India and the Spanish fashion giant ranks the country among its future markets. Flagship Zara posted a 40% jump in sales in India in fiscal year 2023 as millions of Indians are upgrading their fashion and splurging on their looks, creating bigger opportunities for global fashion and lifestyle labels.
Inditex Trent, the joint venture between the Spanish fashion behemoth and Tata Group, reported a 77% jump in net profit to ₹264 crore during the fiscal year 2023 while revenue increased to ₹2,562.5 crore for the same fiscal year.
Zara is operated in India through a 51:49 joint venture between Spain’s Inditex and Tata-owned Trent Ltd. The two groups have another JV for selling Massimo Dutti in India. Inditex Trent Retail India operates 21 Zara stores in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Surat, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Gurugram.
