Zara, the Spanish fashion brand, rebutted rumors on Tuesday about its withdrawal from the Chinese market, following speculation sparked by recent store closures, reports Caixin. Zara told Caixin that the rumors were untrue and it had only closed three stores in Huizhou, Dongguan and Shanghai in the past two months, not nine as had been alleged.
The brand owned by Spanish fashion retail group Inditex confirmed its commitment to China, saying it will be opening new flagship stores.
Zara entered the Chinese market in 2004 but over the past five years its business in China has shrunk by almost half. At the end of January, Zara had 96 stores in Chinese mainland and 23 Zara Home stores, down from 179 and 50 respectively in 2019.