Zara entered the Indian market in 2010 with a great bang, It was an oasis for Indians thirsting for fashion and saw long queues of shoppers waiting outside to enter the store. It was an instant hit and for a long time the sales went through the roof. Six years later, growth has slowed down in India, as a shortage of new shopping malls makes it hard for Zara, which has more than 2,100 stores in 88 countries, to keep adding outlets in India. For the year ending March 31st 2016, It’s revenue in India was reported at 17% trailing the 24% growth the year earlier.
During the year they added only two locations bringing its total store count in India to 18. They have plans to open a few more Zara stores in India over the next three to four years in the major cities. The main challenge to faster expansion is the availability of high quality retail spaces which can generate good sales throughout. With its mall options limited, Zara has started looking at the high streets of Mumbai. The scarcity of good locations and the entry of other large fashion chains into the country like H&M, Aeropostale, Forever 21 and Gap and taken a toll on Zara’s sales. In spite of this, Zara is believed to outperform competition in per square foot sales.
[ Via : Qz ]
