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With 99% of votes counted by 11:45 p.m. (2145 GMT), the opposition People's Party (PP) had 136 seats while Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's ruling Socialists (PSOE) had 122 seats. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsNegotiations by the two blocs to form governments will start after a new parliament convenes on Aug. 17. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a surprise snap election after the left took a drubbing in local elections in May. In the present scenario, Sanchez' PSOE would rely heavily on Catalan separatist parties Junts and ERC or Basque separatists EH Bildu. In 2019, two more elections were held before the PSOE and far-left Podemos agreed to form Spain's first coalition government.

Persons: Pedro Sanchez's, Vox, King Felipe VI, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, Mariano Rajoy, Sanchez, Steve Smith, Pedro Sanchez, Ignacio Jurado, Carlos, Juan Medina, Madrid's Calle Genova, Galo Contreras, we're, Francisco Franco, Teruel Existe, El, Junts, Carles Puigdemont, Podemos, Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, Belen Carreno, Jesus Aguado, Emma Pinedo, Joan Faus, Corina Pons, Charlie Devereux, Nick Macfie, Frances Kerry, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: PSOE, People's Party, Socialists, Reuters Graphics Reuters, European Union Council, Voters, Feijoo's PP, Vox, Carlos III University, People's, REUTERS, Madrid's Calle, PP, Basque Nationalist Party, Teruel, Junts, ERC, Basque, European Council, Foreign Relations, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Spain, swimsuits, Madrid, Madrid's, Burgos, El Pais, Catalan

Another 25% will come from "next-generation" materials in which the group is investing, and the remaining 10% from other sustainable sources, the company said. The new targets come as the European Commission is drawing up regulations to make clothing retailers pay for the waste they produce, arguing that fast-fashion companies "encourage customers to shop impulsively and incentivise purchasing larger quantities of clothes". Inditex previously had targets to use more sustainable cotton, linen, polyester, and fibres made from wood pulp, but did not have an overall goal for recycled fibres. Shoppers walk past a Zara clothes store, part of the Spanish group Inditex, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, December 13, 2022. REUTERS/Borja Suarez/File Photo"Moving forward on sustainability is natural for us," said Inditex Non-Executive Chair, Marta Ortega, in brief comments to investors at the AGM.

Persons: Inditex, Oscar Garcia Maceiras, Borja Suarez, Marta Ortega, Ortega, Adam Gofton, Corina Pons, David Latona, Helen Reid, Andrei Khalip, Mark Potter, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Companies Zara, European Commission, Las Palmas de, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, REUTERS, Mackenzie Investments, Thomson Locations: MADRID, LONDON, Zara, Spanish, A Coruna, Spain, Las Palmas, Las Palmas de Gran, Toronto, Inditex, Madrid, London

☆ Madrid joins race for high-spending tourists with bet on five-star hotels
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Corina Pons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] A swimming pool is seen at the top of Hyatt's Thompson Madrid Hotel, overlooking central Madrid, Spain, June 13, 2023. RISING ROOM RATESThe arrival of luxury hotels has marked a new peak in room rates. "We're seeking to capture the highest-spending international tourists," said Madrid's tourism director, Luis Martin. Employment in Madrid's tourism sector has grown by 15% since 2019, compared with 5.4% nationally. "The Spanish tourism sector has always tried to compete with other destinations on low prices," he said.

Persons: Hyatt's, Violeta Santos Moura, Santo Mauro, Richard Brekelmans, ”, Carlos Erburu, Thompson, Antonio Catalan, Alejandro Pitashny, Luis Martin, Jose Maria Martinez, Corina Pons, Belen Carreño, Charlie Devereux, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Madrid Hotel, REUTERS, Violeta Santos Moura MADRID, Hotels, Puerta del Sol, Dior, Marriott, Santo, Santo Mauro Palace, Westin, Ritz, Universal Music, Southern, Madrid, Colliers, Hyatt Hotels Corp, Reuters, Robuchon, Michelin, Airlines, Air, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Europe, Paris, London, Milan, Puerta del, Southern Europe, Barcelona, United States, Rome, Argentine, Iberia, America, Air China, China, Spanish

☆ Ferrovial says Dutch relocation could damage brand in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, June 15 (Reuters) - Ferrovial's (FER.MC) decision to move its holding company to the Netherlands to try to speed up a U.S. listing could have an adverse impact on its brand in Spain, the company said in a document published on Thursday. The operation "could potentially have a negative impact on its brand in Spain, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on the group's competitive position," it said. The reverse merger, under which its Dutch subsidiary Ferrovial International SE (FISE) has absorbed holding company Ferrovial, was fully completed on Thursday. In the website prospectus, Ferrovial said Spanish tax authorities could decide the merger falls outside a special tax regime for holding companies that allows dividends and capital gains from the transfer of shares from subsidiaries to be exempt from taxation. Ferrovial on Thursday had no comment beyond the published document.

Persons: Ferrovial, Rafael del Pino, Nadia Calvino, Corina Pons, Emma Pinedo, Charlie Devereux, Sharon Singleton, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Ferrovial, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Netherlands, U.S, Spain, Amsterdam, Madrid, Ferrovial, Spanish

LONDON/MADRID, June 11 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners is poised to buy Sacyr's (SCYR.MC) Valoriza Servicios Medioambientales in a deal that could value the unit at close to 600 million euros ($644.8 million) including debt, people familiar with the matter said. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure has prevailed over other firms in an auction that Valoriza's owner, Spanish construction firm Sacyr, held for the company which started in February, the sources said on Sunday. Valoriza Servicios Medioambientales is specialized in managing a range of services in the waste recycling chain such as collection, treatment and management of waste. Sacyr and Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Sacyr has been advised by Santander and Nomura, while Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners was advised by Deutsche Bank, the sources said.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Valoriza, Sacyr, Morgan, Andres Gonzalez, Corina Pons, Jan Harvey, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure, Santander, Nomura, Deutsche Bank, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Spanish

In-store and online sales rose 13% to 7.6 billion euros in the first quarter, in line with the 13.5% seen in the first six weeks of the financial year. The company said it plans to invest 1.6 billion euros to increase gross store space in 2023 by about 3%. Inditex closed its over 500 stores in Russia in March 2022 following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February and subsequent Western sanctions. Inditex has begun to charge for online returns in more countries with no impact on sales, the company said. Inditex is also invested in more self-scanning checkouts and is replacing hard anti-theft tags with chips sewn into garments to avoid checkout queues.

Persons: Inditex, Massimo Dutti, Anne Critchlow, Jelena Sokolova, Zara, Corina Pons, Helen Reid, Charlie Devereux, Matt Scuffham, Josephine Mason, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Spain Company, Societe Generale, Inditex, Group, Morningstar, Thomson Locations: Spain, MADRID, LONDON, Zara, United States, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, UAE, France, Germany

Net profit came in at 1.2 billion euros ($1.24 billion) for the quarter that ended in April, exceeding analysts' average expectations of 980 million euros in a Refinitiv poll. Inditex reported solid sales, in line with analyst expectations of 7.56 billion euros, even after selling its profitable Russian division in 2022 and absorbing higher labour costs. Part of Inditex's strategy, which also owns Pull&Bear and Massimo Dutti, is to maintain higher prices outside the Eurozone. STEADY MARGINSThe gross margin reached a record 60.5%, showing it has been able to pass on higher prices to shoppers. Analysts believe only the strongest global fashion retailers will gain market share in an environment where consumers are becoming more discerning.

Persons: Inditex, Massimo Dutti, Corina Pons, Helen Reid, Charlie Devereux, Matt Scuffham, Josephine Mason Organizations: Thomson Locations: MADRID, LONDON, Zara, Spain, United States, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Europe

☆ Spain considers ending or curbing controversial 'golden visa' scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/ Albert GeaMADRID, May 8 (Reuters) - Spain could pull the plug on its so-called "golden visa" scheme that grants residency rights to foreigners who invest in real estate in the country, according to the leader of a left-wing party negotiating the issue with the government. "Spanish citizenship cannot be bought," Errejon said, adding that golden visas had led to a "brutal" rise in housing prices and forced locals out of their neighbourhoods without creating any new jobs. Earlier on Monday, El Pais newspaper reported Spain was considering tougher requirements for golden visa applications. From the start of the golden visa scheme in 2013 until last November, Spain issued almost 5,000 permits, with Chinese investors leading the list, government figures show. Errejon said the visas represented a "backdoor privilege" for millionaires, turning Spain into a "sort of colony, often attracting dark money".

BARCELONA, April 25 (Reuters) - Europe's cost of living crisis has benefited discount retailers but mid-market names are being squeezed as shoppers watch their spending, executives and analysts at an industry conference said on Tuesday. Although price rises are slowing, retailers globally are still worried inflation will dampen consumer spending and are looking for new ways to attract customers. In Europe especially, some have seen sales slow as high energy bills lead customers to buy less or cheaper food and clothes. And passing higher costs on to shoppers is likely to become harder: 72% of respondents said they expected consumers to be more price-sensitive this year. "It's a very positive moment," said Ying Xu, president of Chinese supermarket chain Wumart, referring to the reopening.

☆ Retailers to tackle sustainability at key conference
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

They will discuss the challenges facing their businesses as inflation causes consumers in Europe and elsewhere to reduce spending. The European Commission is drawing up new rules on textile waste that will make companies responsible for managing the waste their products create. Decathlon, the world's biggest sporting goods retailer, sells repair services, spare parts and tools for people to repair their own bicycles, tents, and kayaks. Retailers are working with local authorities ahead of an EU law that will require member states to separately collect textile waste by Jan. 1, 2025. Firms including Decathlon, Mango, Inditex, and IKEA recently created an association in Spain for the management of textile waste.

☆ Ferrovial shareholders vote on Dutch move in possible prelude to U.S. listing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Corina Pons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MADRID, April 13 (Reuters) - Ferrovial (FER.MC) shareholders vote on Thursday on a plan to move the Spanish construction group's holding company to the Netherlands, paving the way to a listing in the U.S. and potentially access to subsidies available there. The government fears more companies could follow suit and argues that a full U.S. listing is perfectly possible for a Spain-based company, although there are no such precedents. The move must be approved by a majority of shareholders to go ahead in a meeting that starts at midday (1000 GMT). Several investment funds have said they will vote in favour and two independent proxy advisers recommended backing the move. Ferrovial also wants to approach institutional funds in the U.S. willing to buy stakes if it gets a listing there.

Amancio Ortega set up the first Zara store in A Coruna in the north west of Spain in 1975. Marta Ortega started from the bottom at Inditex, stacking shelves at a Bershka store when she was 23. Ortega, whose father owns 59.3% of Inditex, has mainly worked in the background, leaving the spotlight to the CEO. "We feel that Marta Ortega has repositioned Zara slightly upwards," said Patricia Cifuentes, analyst at the investment banking arm of Spanish investment firm Bestinver. "Reinforcing that Zara sells fashion, not just clothes, has allowed Inditex to increase prices and protect the margins amidst the inflationary storm."

☆ Zara founder buys luxury apartment building in Dublin for $108 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, March 31 (Reuters) - Spanish billionaire and Zara founder Amancio Ortega has bought a luxury residential building with 120 apartments for rent in Dublin, Ireland, for around 100 million euros ($108 million), his private firm Pontegadea said on Friday. It is the first residential building that Ortega's firm has bought outside the United States, Pontegadea said, adding it was part of its strategy to invest in multiple real estate assets. The Opus 6 Hanover Quay building is at the heart of Silicon Docks, the nickname for Dublin's business and technology district, and offers luxury apartments and townhouses for long-term rent, according to the building's website. Pontegadea has focused on investing in real estate assets worldwide and in Spain's energy infrastructure. ($1 = 0.9189 euros)Reporting by Corina Pons Editing by David Latona and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Spain's drought devastates olive oil output, drives world prices up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, March 24 (Reuters) - Drought in Spain, the world's largest olive oil producer, is likely to halve the country's output this year compared with the previous year, official estimates from the European Commission show, pushing prices up. Spanish exporters' association Asoliva estimates there will be at least 10% less olive oil available worldwide this year from the 3.1 million tonnes produced in the season ending in 2021. "Every day that goes by without rain, the forecasts get worse," Dcoop, Spain's largest olive oil producers' cooperative, told Reuters. In Spain, the price of bottles of olive oil rose by around 60% in 2022, according to industry groups and companies consulted. The price hikes have reduced sales volumes of olive oil in Spain by 8% in the year to February, according to a study by consulting firm Nielsen.

☆ Investors punish Zara owner Inditex over spending plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Corina Pons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

As the cost of making garments increased, H&M took a profit hit while Inditex was able to pass on costs to shoppers. But higher expected capital expenditure for 2023, of 1.6 billion euros, surprised investors, sending Inditex shares down more than 5% by 1140 GMT. An Inditex logo is seen at the entrance of a Zara factory, the headquarters of Inditex group, in Arteixo, northern Spain, March 9, 2016. Inditex closed stores in mainland China at double its average rate, shutting a fifth of its shops there in 2022. Meanwhile Inditex plans to continue expanding in the United States, with at least 30 new projects planned from 2023 to 2025.

☆ Zara owner Inditex invests in tech to speed future sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Corina Pons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Inditex has extended its lead over Swedish rival H&M (HMb.ST), in part because of a less price-sensitive customer base. As the cost of making garments increased, H&M took a profit hit while Inditex was able to pass on costs to shoppers. In-store and online sales rose 18% to 32.6 billion euros ($34.99 billion) from 2021 and were 15% higher than in 2019, before the pandemic hit. Excluding Russia, where Inditex stores have been closed since the Ukraine conflict started just over a year ago, sales in that period were up 17.5% in constant currency terms. Inditex also delivered a surprise, but by hiking capital expenditure to 1.6 billion euros from 1.1 billion euros previously.

☆ Zara owner Inditex sees 2023 sales keep pace, but capex plans disappoint
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Corina Pons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In-store and online sales for the world's biggest fashion retailer rose 18% to 32.6 billion euros ($34.99 billion) from 2021 and were 15% higher than in 2019, before the pandemic hit. The pace of sales continued in the first six weeks of Inditex's current fiscal year to Jan. 31, 2024. Between Feb. 1 and March 13, Inditex said sales jumped by 13.5% from the same period a year earlier. Excluding Russia, where Inditex stores have been closed since the Ukraine conflict started just over a year ago, sales in that period increased by 17.5% in constant currency terms. But Inditex surprised investors with a hike in capital expenditure to 1.6 billion euros from 1.1 billion euros in the previous year, a higher level than expected by the market.

☆ Zara owner Inditex's profit jumps in Marta Ortega's first year in charge
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Corina Pons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, March 15 (Reuters) - Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC) on Wednesday posted a 27% increase in net profits in 2022 as sales exceeded pre-pandemic levels in the first full year since Marta Ortega, daughter of founder Amancio Ortega, took over as company chair. Between Feb. 1 and March 13, Inditex said its sales jumped by 13.5% from the same period a year earlier. The 2022 revenues were in line with analysts' expectations as the company benefited from shoppers' appetite for fashion as COVID-19 lockdowns ended. The results may also lessen investor doubts about Marta Ortega succeeding the veteran Pablo Isla as non-executive chair in April, in a generational handover that began a decade ago when her father retired. Also on Wednesday, rival H&M (HMb.ST) reported a 12% increase in net sales for its December-February period.

☆ Spain's Mango plans U.S. expansion after China retreat
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Corina Pons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BARCELONA, Spain, March 14 (Reuters) - Spanish fashion retailer Mango is focusing on U.S. expansion after turning its back on China, Chief Executive Officer Toni Ruiz said. It will target states where online sales are already strong. It maintains four franchise outlets and online sales through Alibaba's Tmall e-commerce platform. Mango reported record sales last year, helped by selling more items at higher prices. Its biggest rival, Inditex-owned label Zara (ITX.MC), is expected to report record sales on Wednesday, partly due to its aggressive U.S. expansion.

REUTERS/Miguel VidalA CORUNA, Spain/LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - In Spain's A Coruna, two contrasting fashion business models collide - pitching the growing demands for the clothing industry to become more sustainable against the constant need to drive sales. This rainy, windswept, city on the rugged Atlantic coast is the unlikely headquarters of Zara-owner Inditex (ITX.MC) - the world's biggest fast fashion retailer. It also hosts small boutiques offering high quality, durable products that consider themselves an alternative to the fast and affordable fashion propelling Inditex's annual sales of 28 billion euros ($30 billion). "If you release tonnes and tonnes of clothes, textiles, shoes into the market, you will have to collect it," he said. But Circ and its competitors are only capable of producing 1% of the textiles needed to make the 109 million tonnes of clothes per year that the global fashion industry churns out.

☆ Top brands pull out of Russia, but their goods remain easy to find
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Brands' continued availability shows the challenge companies face in controlling supply chains when exiting a market. Market leader Wildberries sells old stock from Inditex brands and has almost 17,000 goods in its Zara catalogue. Informal supply routes could lead to more poor-quality goods entering Russia, however, as regulators lose oversight, Ben Tzion said. IKEA brand owner Inter IKEA Group said it sold remaining stock for an undisclosed amount to Yandex as it down-scaled IKEA Retail Russia. IKEA said it was looking into goods being advertised as similar to IKEA online.

☆ Zara owner Inditex agrees to 20% pay rise in Spain -union groups
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Zara owner Inditex reached an agreement to raise salaries in its Spanish stores by an average 20%, Spain's two largest unions, CCOO and UGT, said on Thursday night. The salary increases reached as much as 40% in the areas of Spain that were the least well paid, UGT said in a statement. Union groups said Inditex also agreed to continue increasing salaries in line with inflation over the next three years. In November, Inditex had agreed with UGT and CCOO to pay a one-off bonus of 1,000 euros in February for all full-time shop assistants employed across Spain, and now it has agreed to pay the same bonus next year. Inditex employs 165,000 people in 177 countries, with a third of all staff based in Spain, according to its annual report.

☆ Zara starts charging for clothing returns from home in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Fashion giant Zara has started charging shoppers in Spain for returns of online purchases, the company announced on Wednesday, though store returns remain free. However, items bought online can still be returned for free at physical stores, it added. Inditex, (ITX.MC) which owns Zara, will also introduce return charges in Spain for its other brands such as Massimo Dutti and Pull&Bear. Early last year, Zara introduced charges for some online returns in Britain and other core markets, following similar measures from rivals such as Uniqlo or Next. Inditex expects online sales to exceed 30% of total sales by 2024.

[1/3] People with their dogs enjoy the sun in front of the sea during unseasonably warm temperatures in Malaga, southern Spain, January 4, 2023. Property purchases by foreigners increased by 62% from a year earlier in the region of Andalusia, which includes Malaga, in the first half of 2022, according to the Centre for Statistical Information of Notaries. The local government last year eliminated a wealth tax that obliges residents and non-residents to pay income tax on money held abroad. Citigroup (C.N) announced in March 2022 plans to open a hub for junior investment bankers in the city, offering what it said was "a better equilibrium between work and private life to attract young talent". Additional reporting by Jesus Aguado; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Zara shopworkers call off strikes in company's hometown after 25% pay rise - union
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Dec 23 (Reuters) - A union representing shop assistants at fashion retailer Zara has called off planned strikes in the company's hometown in northern Spain following an agreement on a 25% pay rise, a union leader said on Friday. "Our salaries as shop assistants will go up by 25% from January in A Coruña," Naveiro said. The deal also includes future pay increases of 20 euros in November 2023 and 40 euros in 2024, she added. Zara shop assistants' monthly salaries currently range between 1,058 euros and 1,400 euros in the city, the union leader said. CIG had pushed for a bigger pay rise after rejecting a hike of 200 euros in monthly salaries by 2024.

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