The Spanish clothing retailer Inditex, which also owns the Zara brand, fell into a loss for the first time in the first quarter. The reason was the current crisis caused by a coronavirus pandemic, which forced the company to close thousands of stores around the world.

The net loss for February to April was 409 million euros, while FactSet analysts expected a loss of only 161 million euros. Revenues fell to 3.3 billion euros from 5.9 billion euros a year ago. However, Internet sales rose 95 per cent in April.

In May, stores began to open gradually and the company expects that all its stores in important markets will be open by the end of June. In May, sales in stores and online in local currencies fell by 51 per cent. In the week of June 2-8, its sales at constant exchange rates fell by 34 per cent.

Inditex currently owns a total of eight brands, in addition to the Zara brand, also Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Uterqüe and Oysho. The company was founded by Amancio Ortega, who is currently one of the richest people in the world. The first Zara store opened in Spain in 1975, and then in 1988, the company began selling outside Spain, in Portugal.