Thought shopping at Zara was already nice and affordable? Think again.
Allow us to draw your attention to Lefties, the Zara outlet store you (probably) never knew about. With a name derived from "leftovers", the chain was initially launched by Zara owner Inditex to help shift excess last-season stock at discounted prices.
But, believe it or not, this isn't a new venture - the first Lefties store opened in 1993 - and now it looks as though Inditex has plans to expand the outlet offshoot. With prices averaging at around a third cheaper than Zara, it has the potential to become a serious global competitor to the likes of Forever 21 and H&M.
Originally, all stores were based in Spain, but in recent years branches have opened in Portugal, Mexico, Russia and Qatar. There are now more than 150 stores in total.
A recently refreshed website, glossy campaign and revamped shops (plus a reported hiring of new designers), points towards preparation for further international expansion.
"I think they could export the brand to other countries where Inditex has a large presence, like the UK and Germany," Carlos Hernandez of consultancy firm Planet Retail told Reuters. "Spain is not the only country where the [economic] crisis has taken its toll."
Sadly, there are no plans as yet to launch in the UK, and the nature of the stock doesn't currently allow for an e-commerce site (you can only reserve stock to collect in store), but watch this space...
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