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Inditex invests €300m in HQ and logistics expansion
The fashion retailer Inditex has highlighted that investments worth €300m ($366m) have been earmarked for new facilities in Spain and underlines the group’s focus on growth.
Pablo Isla, chairman of Inditex, underlined the group’s strategic commitment to growth and job creation while providing an overview of the group’s performance in 2011, and an outlook for 2012, at its Annual General Meeting of shareholders at the company’s headquarters in Arteixo, Spain.
Part of the investment is being spent on the expansion of Inditex’s headquarters in Arteixo, which will create 400 new jobs. The 70,000sq m addition to the head office will be used by the sales and design teams of Zara and Zara Home, and will cost about €100m ($122m).
Mr Isla also referred to the construction of Massimo Dutti’s new logistics centre in Tordera. This platform, which will be equipped with state of the art logistics equipment, has an investment price tag of €190m (£232m), and will create 500 new jobs. The new distribution centre will be operating next September.
He also highlighted Inditex’s commitment to its customers by offering products that come with health and safety warranties based on the application of the group’s in-house Clear to Wear and Safe to Wear standards.
Inditex has also made progress on its range of environmentally-friendly products through its choice to use organic cotton and biodegradable fabrics and its membership of initiatives such as the Better Cotton Initiative, CEO Water Mandate and the Textile Exchange.
On the logistics front, the group’s target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from logistics operations by 20% by 2020 through the introduction of widespread energy-efficiency measures. In this regard, the new logistics platform in Tordera will apply environmentally-friendly measures right from the drawing board stage, seeking LEED Gold certification.
At the store level, Mr Isla added that there has been progress made on the eco-efficient store model which is reducing energy consumption by 30%. Finally, the chairman highlighted that through the group’s training and internal promotion policies more than 9,000 new jobs were created in 2011.
