Hundreds of Zara stores have closed over the last few years, but this budget Inditex fashion brand is rising fast

Few brands have been more associated with the fast-fashion boom of the last two decades than Zara, the flagship apparel chain owned by Spanish clothing giant Inditex SA.

It may surprise some consumers to learn, then, that Zara has in fact reduced its global footprint over the last few years since the pandemic. 

The brand’s decline in physical storefronts has been moderate but meaningful, from a third-quarter peak of around 2,139 stores in 2019 to just under 1,800 stores five years later, according to earnings statements from Inditex. That’s a reduction of 16%.

Now, thanks to new accounting metrics from the company, we’ve learned that Zara’s physical footprint is even smaller than we thought.

Earlier this year, Inditex began breaking out store count numbers for Lefties, its discount chain. Lefties is small but growing. According to earnings data posted earlier this month, the chain had 213 global locations as of the third quarter of 2025, up from 203 locations from the same period last year.

What’s more, Lefties stores had previously been counted as Zara stores in Inditex earnings reports, a spokesperson confirmed with Fast Company. That means Zara’s reported store count is now lower than it had been in earlier filings: Under the new metrics, it had just 1,528 stores as of October 31.

Amaya Guillermo, who heads corporate communications for Zara USA, says the decline reflects a shift toward Inditex’s “optimization plan,” which which began several years ago.

“Under this strategy, smaller stores have been absorbed into larger, upgraded locations,” Guillermo said. “Creating distinctive retail spaces allows us to enhance the customer experience by incorporating the latest in-store technologies, including assisted checkouts, among many other features.”   

Guillermo further points out that while Inditex has fewer stores, its commercial space grew by 2% as of 2024, with sales up almost 5.9% that same year.

Inditex’s stock price reflects the appeal of its more-with-less strategy among investors. Madrid-listed shares of the group have more than doubled over the last five years.

Where have Zara locations closed?

Inditex breaks down Zara location counts by country in its annual reports each year. Comparing 2024 figures to 2017 reveals some interesting trends.

The brand’s store count has declined in many of its core European markets, including its home country of Spain, where it reported 256 stores in 2024 compared to 306 in 2017. It has also seen declines in France, Germany, Italy, and elsewhere in Europe.

Perhaps the most dramatic decline has been China, where Inditex reported just 73 Zara stores in 2024, compared to 183 in 2017.

Zara’s store count has also grown in some markets over that same period, including the United States, where it reported 98 stores as of last year versus 87 in 2017.

According to Guillermo, the United States remains a key market for Zara, with recent openings at the Las Vegas Forum Shops at Caesars Palace and in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Could Lefties be the new Zara?

Lefties is not new, but Inditex clearly sees the fast-growing chain as vital to a future.

The brand began in the 1990s as an outlet for Zara “leftovers”—hence the name—but it has become more popular and more important to Inditex’s portfolio as consumers have grown increasingly price conscious.

With Gen Z shoppers flocking to ultra-cheap online platforms like Shein, Lefties has been called Inditex’s “secret weapon.”

While store counts for Lefties are now broken out separately, sales are still reported as part of Zara’s overall sales.

As of now, the Lefties chain operates in 18 countries, mostly in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle-East. Expect that number to grow in the years ahead.

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