Inditex is seeking EUR 400 million for the stores in a 20-year sale-and-leaseback agreement that would give the buyer the right to vacate the properties after five years. Fourteen of the units are in Spain and two in Portugal.
Inditex, whose EUR 11.7 billion in first-half revenue was boosted by an increase in internet sales, is betting Spain will catch up with the rest of Europe in online purchasing. In 2016, 3% of Spanish retail sales were done via the internet, compared with 8% across Europe and 15 in the UK, according to Aberdeen Standard Investments.
The annual growth in internet purchases is estimated to 18% per year to 2021 for Spain, versus an average of 12% for Europe as a whole.
The sites up for sale include the Zara women’s fashion store in Calle Preciados. Inditex was founded in 1963 as a family-run workshop making affordable clothing for women and now has more than 7,000 stores in 94 countries.
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