Inditex buys Finnish Zara franchise

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Published
Jan 31, 2013

The Spanish retail giant has bought out its franchise from the Stockmann group to take full control stores in Finland. A significant move for the brand who had four franchised stores in the country and who faces Scandinavian brand H&M as a main competitor.

The operation means that Inditex is now able to employ its international strategy in Finland. The existing Zara team will integrate with Zara Finland and the Spanish conglomerate. Zara Finland was created in 2002 when the first store opened in the country.

Aside from Zara, Inditex owns Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius. For the first nine months of the financial year, ended November, the group reported net profit of 1.65 billion euros, an increase of 27%.