Zara owner Inditex returns to profit

Better sales: People wait, observing social distancing. oustide a Zara shop in Paris. Inditex says online sales are growing sharply and store sales recovering in the current quarter. — Reuters

MADRID: Inditex, the owner of fashion retailer Zara, returned to quarterly profit in the three months from May to July despite a 31% fall in sales as the coronavirus crisis kept consumers away from city centre shopping districts.

Inditex, which also owns the Massimo Dutti and Bershka brands, said 98% of its stores had reopened and that current trade showed a progressive return to normality with online sales growing sharply and store sales recovering.