Latest news with #Inditex-owned
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Circ to build $500 million cotton, polyester recycling plant in France
By Simon Jessop LONDON (Reuters) -U.S. textile recycling firm Circ has received backing from the French government and European Union to build a $500 million plant in France that will be the first to recover cotton and polyester on an industrial scale, its chief executive told Reuters. Announced by the French government on Friday, the plant at Saint-Avold in the northeast of the country will be able to process 70,000 metric tons a year after it starts operating in 2028, and employ 200 people. Funded through a mix of equity and debt, the 450 million euro ($504.09 million) plant will look to access grants and guarantees including the Strategic Projects Guarantee from the French state, Chief Executive Peter Majeranowski said. Creating a 'circular economy' by recycling more is a key part of the EU's efforts to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, although efforts to-date have been patchy. Majeranowski said the new factory would mark a turning point for the industry. "This will be the world's first industrial scale polycotton (recycling plant)," he said. "Now, most of the clothing produced is a blend of polyester and cotton, and that makes it very difficult to recycle, so having this facility is a major landmark milestone." The U.N. has said the fashion industry is responsible for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and uses more energy than the aviation and shipping industries combined. The industry is also a major consumer of water and polluter of water sources. A number of companies are developing technologies to recycle the millions of tons of polycotton waste created every year, amid demand from retailers keen to burnish their sustainability credentials and meet tougher regulations. Circ uses hydrothermal technology to break down the polyester without damaging the cotton, such that both can be recovered in the same process and reused. Clothing retailers Inditex and Patagonia have both taken stakes in Circ and its recycled materials are already being used by brands including Inditex-owned Zara. Partners in the building of the factory include Worley, GEA, and Andritz and the aim is to use it as a model for future plants, Majeranowski said, with strong demand from producers and suppliers keen to help fashion firms meet their climate goals. "We have a lot of interest from all over the world, from South Asia, East Asia, in the States of course, Canada, Australia," he said. ($1 = 0.8927 euros) Sign in to access your portfolio
Asharq Al-Awsat
21-03-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Zara Opens Flagship Store in China's Nanjing with Cafe and Content Creation Studio
Inditex-owned fast-fashion retailer Zara opened what it dubbed a new-style Asia flagship store in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing on Friday as part of its global push to cut underperforming shops and double down on larger retail formats. The Spanish company has put in place more digital integration and spaces designed to encourage shoppers to spend more time in-store, with the new features to be trialed in China before it decides whether to expand them to other markets. The need to revitalize Zara's retail network has been particularly apparent in China. Multinational brands targeting the country's middle-class consumers have been squeezed by a broader spending slowdown as well as increased competition from local brands with nimble domestic supply chains and strong digital presences. At 2,500 sq m (26,909 sq ft) spanning two floors, the Zara store in Nanjing's central business district of Xinjiekou includes a salon for private shopping experiences, complete with a lounge area and personal change rooms. It also has a "fit check" studio with multiple cameras and lighting settings where customers can shoot their own video content and download it directly to their phones. Both are available to book via popular social messaging app WeChat. The downstairs area also features the first Zacaffe coffee shop concept outside of Spain. It is not the first time Zara has experimented with new concepts in China before exporting them to other markets. Its popular series of livestreamed shopping shows on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, last year led the brand to experiment with similar livestreams in Europe and the US. Inditex has been shrinking its store footprint globally over the past few years, seeking to optimize its selling space by focusing on flagship outlets in prime locations and ramping up online sales. As recently as 2019 Inditex had 570 stores in China, its biggest physical footprint after Spain. That number had fallen to 132 as of January 31 this year.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Zara opens flagship store in China's Nanjing with cafe and content creation studio
By Casey Hall SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Inditex-owned fast-fashion retailer Zara opened what it dubbed a new-style Asia flagship store in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing on Friday as part of its global push to cut underperforming shops and double down on larger retail formats. The Spanish company has put in place more digital integration and spaces designed to encourage shoppers to spend more time in-store, with the new features to be trialled in China before it decides whether to expand them to other markets. The need to revitalise Zara's retail network has been particularly apparent in China. Multinational brands targeting the country's middle-class consumers have been squeezed by a broader spending slowdown as well as increased competition from local brands with nimble domestic supply chains and strong digital presences. At 2,500 sq m (26,909 sq ft) spanning two floors, the Zara store in Nanjing's central business district of Xinjiekou includes a salon for private shopping experiences, complete with a lounge area and personal change rooms. It also has a "fit check" studio with multiple cameras and lighting settings where customers can shoot their own video content and download it directly to their phones. Both are available to book via popular social messaging app WeChat. The downstairs area also features the first Zacaffe coffee shop concept outside of Spain. It is not the first time Zara has experimented with new concepts in China before exporting them to other markets. Its popular series of livestreamed shopping shows on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, last year led the brand to experiment with similar livestreams in Europe and the U.S. Inditex has been shrinking its store footprint globally over the past few years, seeking to optimise its selling space by focusing on flagship outlets in prime locations and ramping up online sales. As recently as 2019 Inditex had 570 stores in China, its biggest physical footprint after Spain. That number had fallen to 132 as of January 31 this year. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
10-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Spanish fashion co Mango's sales rise 8% in 2024
MADRID, March 10 (Reuters) - Spanish fashion retailer Mango reported on Monday an 8% increase in sales in 2024 to 3.33 billion euros ($3.62 billion), as it benefitted from an international expansion with a focus on the United States, similar to that pursued by its rival brand Zara. Spain's second-largest fashion company that has positioned itself as a premium retailer focusing on partywear and with higher prices than those of Inditex-owned Zara, has said it aims to reach 4 billion euros in sales by 2026. Its net profit rose 27% to 219 million euros, while gross margin reached 60.7% in 2024. The unlisted company said that 78% of its total sales came from its international stores and it invested 219 million euros to add 260 new shops to its network of 2,800 in 2024. Mango has an ongoing plan to expand its shops in the U.S., one of its top 5 markets, by opening more than 60 stores between 2024 and 2025, after its return to the country with its first flagship store in New York in 2022. The company chief executive Toni Ruiz confirmed the plan to expand stores in U.S. after becoming chairman of the board, replacing Mango's founder and owner, Isak Andic, who died in a mountain accident last December. ($1 = 0.9202 euros)
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Spanish fashion co Mango's sales rise 8% in 2024
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish fashion retailer Mango reported on Monday an 8% increase in sales in 2024 to 3.33 billion euros ($3.62 billion), as it benefitted from an international expansion with a focus on the United States, similar to that pursued by its rival brand Zara. Spain's second-largest fashion company that has positioned itself as a premium retailer focusing on partywear and with higher prices than those of Inditex-owned Zara, has said it aims to reach 4 billion euros in sales by 2026. Its net profit rose 27% to 219 million euros, while gross margin reached 60.7% in 2024. The unlisted company said that 78% of its total sales came from its international stores and it invested 219 million euros to add 260 new shops to its network of 2,800 in 2024. Mango has an ongoing plan to expand its shops in the U.S., one of its top 5 markets, by opening more than 60 stores between 2024 and 2025, after its return to the country with its first flagship store in New York in 2022. The company chief executive Toni Ruiz confirmed the plan to expand stores in U.S. after becoming chairman of the board, replacing Mango's founder and owner, Isak Andic, who died in a mountain accident last December. ($1 = 0.9202 euros) Sign in to access your portfolio
