NEW YORK — Inditex, owner of brands including
Zara,
Bershka and Pull & Bear, will close all its stores in Venezuela in coming weeks as
a deal between the retailer and its local partner Phoenix World Trade has come
under review, a spokesperson for Phoenix World Trade said.
اضافة اعلان
Phoenix World Trade, a company based in Panama and
controlled by Venezuelan businessman Camilo Ibrahim, took over operation of
Inditex stores in the South American country in 2007.
“Phoenix World Trade is re-evaluating the commercial
presence of its franchised brands Zara, Bershka and Pull&Bear in Venezuela,
to make it consistent with the new model of integration and digital
transformation announced by Inditex,” the company said in response to a Reuters
request. “The five stores which remain open… will cease to operate in coming
weeks”. Spanish group Inditex did not respond to Reuters’ request for
information about the closing measures.
The closures come as Inditex, the world’s largest clothing
retail group, scales back smaller outlets worldwide in favor of expanding
flagship stores, with 1,200 closures expected by the end of 2021.
Up to 700 stores are due to close in Europe, as well as 100
in the Americas and 400 elsewhere in the world.
In at least three large Venezuelan malls, the spaces
formerly occupied by Zara and Pull & Bear — another Inditex brand — are
empty, said two local retail executives. Both spoke on condition of anonymity
as they were not authorized to talk publicly about the decision.
In the capital, three stores have closed in May, according
to Reuters witnesses. The Zara stores open until last week in Caracas were
offering items from the spring collection.
Ibrahim became Inditex’ local partner in 2007 to assist in
dealing with changing local regulations and keeping shelves stocked as
socialist former President Hugo Chavez’ government exerted tight control over
the foreign-exchange market, and businesses needed approval from the government
to buy the dollars needed to import clothing.
That occasionally left clothing stores empty as businesses
struggled to obtain hard currency.
Despite the decision to shut Zara locations, Venezuelan
businessmen are currently allowed to import goods and sell them at
hard-currency prices, a break from years of price controls on many key items.
Luxury stores known as bodegones, and coffee shops that advertise prices in
dollars, have surged as part of a chaotic economic liberalization.
The white walls blocking the entrance of a closed Zara store
in Caracas announce the upcoming opening of a store by the name of Lola, an
unknown brand in the country. According to local sources, Ibrahim’s group will
reopen those stores, without the commercial agreement with Inditex.
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