Is Zara Publicly Traded?

Last Updated on 06/29/2021 by GS Staff

Can you purchase Zara stock?

Zara itself is not publicly traded. However, its parent company, Inditex (Industria De Diseno Textil), is public. It trades on the stock exchanges of Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, and Valencia. In addition to Zara, these other seven brands are owned by Inditex: Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home, and Uterque. In other words, an investment in Inditex is not solely an investment in the Zara brand.

Can U.S. investors purchase shares of Inditex?

Inditex does not trade on the major U.S. stock exchanges such as the NYSE or Nasdaq. You will need to check will your broker to see they offer shares of the company for trading. Two stock symbols that you may find Inditex through your online broker are IDEXF or IDEXY.

Inditex History

The founders of Inditex are Amancio Ortega and Rosalía Mera. Ortega began working in the clothing industry during the 1960s which inspired him to start making his own fashion designs. Ortega along with his wife, Rosalía, started to produce clothing at their home. This led to Ortega opening his own factory where he sold his items to various companies, including his former employer.

The first Zara was opened in 1975 in Galicia, Spain. The retailer was initially called Zorba but was quickly renamed due to a local business already having the Zorba name. According to Martin Roll, the store sold affordable clothing that looked similar to higher-end fashion. By 1983, Zara had nine stores in Spain that were in the highly populated major cities of the country. The company opened its first logistics center in 1984 and in 1985 Inditex was founded. Zara opened its first store out of Spain in 1988 which was located in Porto, Portugal. The following year, the first Zara store opened in the U.S. in New York.

Inditex began adding brands in 1990s while also expanding to place like France, Mexico, Belgium, and Sweden. In 1991, the company add Pull&Bear and Massimo Dutti to the companies portfolio of businesses. The brands Bershka and Stradivarius were added in the late 1990s.

The company went public in 2001 with the stock being listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange. That year the company also began Oysho, a lingerie brand. Zara Home was launched in 2003 as a home interior brand and Uterque, a fashion accessories brand, was started in 2008. Today, the company sells in approximately 200 markets globally.

Financial Information

The table below reflects selected financial data for Inditex for the previous four years. The currency is euros with all numbers in thousands.

2020201920182017
Net Sales20,402,00028,285,00026,145,00025,336,000
Net Income1,106,0003,639,0003,444,0003,368,000
Free Cash Flow2,309,0005,748,0002,408,0002,189,000
Total Debt6,165,0006,844,00089,00015,000


Sources:
Inditex Investor Relations
Image Credit – Mike Mozart/flickr