Zara opens biggest highstreet store in Mumbai; to foray into e-commerce by year-end

Global fast-fashion retailer Zara has opened its largest stand-alone highstreet store in the city and will also foray into e-commerce by the end of this year, a senior company official said.
“We expect to launch online sales in India by the end of the year,” Chief Communications and Corporate Affairs Officer at Inditex, the parent company of Zara, Jesus Echevarria was quoted by PTI as saying.
“We do not differentiate between online and offline sales as revenues are integrated,” he told PTI, when asked about how much e-commerce contributes to overall sales.
According to a PTI report: The company began to leverage online sales in Asia with Singapore and Malaysia in March this year, it had said last month.
“Asia is among our fastest growing markets, and we will continue to grow in India at the pace we have done so far,” he was quoted by PTI as saying.
The Spanish fashion brand entered the country in 2010 through a joint venture Inditex Trent, between Inditex and the Tata Group.
It has 21 stores in eight cities and plans to open 2-3 stores a year going ahead, he indicated.
So far, the company has launched two brands in India including Zara, and Massimo Dutti. When asked about whether they will launch other brands, he said Inditex is not considering this in the near-term.
When asked about sourcing, Echevarria said 60 per cent of its products are manufactured in Europe, and 40 per cent in other countries, of which India is ‘a significant contributor’.
The newest store in the heart of South Mumbai is 51,300 square feet and is housed in a 110-year-old heritage building which was jointly restored by local architects, and Zara’s in-house architects.
The fashion retailer is reportedly paying Rs 30 crore annually to lease the property.