Pull & Bear Ireland has turnover of €603,233

Pull & Bear Ireland, the Spanish clothing retailer with three Irish outlets, had a turnover of €603,233 in its first two months of trading, according to accounts which have just become available.

The company, which targets the teenage and early 20s market, began trading on November 21st, 2005, with outlets in Dundrum and Sligo. A further store opened in Drogheda, Co Louth, on December 17th, 2005.

Accounts for the period to the end of January 2006 show the outlets produced a pre-tax loss of €183,243.

Pull & Bear is part of the Inditex group, which also operates the Zara chain and its sister brands Bershka and Massimo Dutti. These outlets had sales of more than €40 million to end January 2006, as reported earlier this month.

The accounts for Pull & Bear show that the cost of sales for the period was €291,461 and selling and distribution costs were €421,733. The company paid €113,276 on property rental in the short period.

The accounts show an annual commitment to land and building leases of €620,500 and that the lessee has to pay all insurance, maintenance and repair costs.

The company employed 38 sales staff, at a cost of €89,513. Tangible assets were given as €1.7 million, including leasehold property that cost €1 million. Its share capital is €2.9 million.

Earlier this year Pull & Bear took over the former Virgin Records retail outlet on Dublin's Henry Street. The accounts state it had authorised capital commitments in respect of a new store of €0.82 million and that the new store would involve annual lease payments of €245,000. It also operates concession units in Roches Stores outlets around the State.

Inditex is one of the world's largest fashion distributors and is making rapid inroads into the Irish market despite rising rents and the intense competition for well-located sites.

Five of the Spanish group's eight clothing brands are now established in Ireland and industry experts claim its international success is helping it secure premium retail properties.

Inditex took a maiden dividend of €2.8 million from Zara in mid-2005, only 20 months after it entered the Irish market.

The group now has 22 Irish stores and it plans to open more outlets.