Zara opens first store in Hyderabad

Spanish fashion brand Zara, which has been enjoying a successful stint in India compared to other global fashion brands present, has launched its first store in Hyderabad’s The Forum Sujana Mall. Zara now operates 17 stores in the country.

The new store spread over 2,343 sq. m. offers the brand's autumn collection for men, women and children. Zara outlets in India are operated by Inditex Trent, the joint venture between Spain's Inditex and the Tata Group. While most of Zara's back-end and merchandise sourcing is handled by Inditex, the Tata Group assists in identifying real estate and locations for new stores.

Zara has become the first apparel brand to cross the 100 million dollars (over Rs 600 crores) in sales in the country. The brand ventured into the country five years back with a joint venture with Tata Group arm Trent.

Zara reported 24 percent growth in sales for the year ended March 2015 at Rs 721 crores, Trent said in its latest annual report. In FY13-14, it had sales of Rs 580 crores. However, the rise in sales growth has almost narrowed to half from 43 percent it posted for the year ago period. Trent would now look at expanding footprint of the Zara brand in India.