[2025 Fashion Barometer] Inditex, Fast Retailing, Shein, Nike… Who is really winning the battle for profits?

Featured image of the article [2025 Fashion Barometer] Inditex, Fast Retailing, Shein, Nike… Who is really winning the battle for profits?
Which omnichannel fashion retailers boosted online sales during the last financial year? How has their store network evolved? What is the impact on profitability? In the 3rd edition of our barometer, which compares the performance of the world's Top 13 retailers, mind Retail reveals the e-commerce plateau that most retailers have reached. While Shein and Zalando have gained market share and posted a 2.5% net margin, it is still traditional retailers who dictate the rules of profitability and capitalisation.
Enjoy this article for free while you’re in your trial period
You have access to our content for 15 days

The four key points

Omnichannel: for most omnichannel players, the online market share has reached a plateau. This is the case in sportswear, where it has levelled off at 20%. At H&M, Inditex, and Gap, e-commerce varies between 26% and 38%. Only Inditex and Gap continue to strengthen an omnichannel presence.

General fashion: Inditex and Fast Retailing posted double-digit sales growth in 2024 (up by 10.5% and 12.2% respectively). The Spanish company, which is engaged in a drastic reduction of a store network (reduced by 25% since 2019), remains the most profitable player with a net margin ratio of 15.2%. Fast Retailing follows closely behind, with 12%.

Discount retailers: US-based TJX and UK-based Primark gained ground in 2024. Although TJX (the world’s largest fashion retailer by sales) and Primark saw more moderate sales growth (up by 4%), these players posted impressive profitability. They rank 3rd and 4th globally in terms of net margin ratio, at over 8.5%. In terms of market capitalisation, TJX is valued at US$139.32 billion, up 30.3% in a year.

Pure players: Shein, the world’s 4th largest fashion retailer, is now hot on the heels of Inditex and recorded the strongest sales growth in 2024 (up by 19%). With the exception of Zalando, all pure players saw profitability erode.

While Nike published annual results on June 26, 2025, mind Retail compiled the key figures from the financial statements of the world’s Top 13 fashion retailers (see methodology). These include 4 pure players (Shein, Zalando, Asos, and Boohoo) and 9 omnichannel retailers: Nike, TJX, Inditex, Adidas, H&M, Fast Retailing, Gap, JD Sports Fashion, and Primark. This ranking does not include multi-sector marketplaces such as Amazon or Tmall.

In 2024, the cumulative revenue of the world’s Top 13 companies reached US$309.4 billion, up by 4% in a year (after a 17.1% rise in 2023). As a reminder, the 2023 figure was high due to the inclusion of Shein in the ranking for the first time.

Top 4: sales between US$38 billion and US$57 billion

This group brings together the world’s fashion leaders in the major categories: discount, sports, generalists and pure players. As a reminder, growth rates are shown at constant rates, except for Shein (data not available). As a sign of the good health of the discount sector, the U.S. company TJX still dominates the panel with sales of US$56.4 billion in 2024, up 4% (after a rise of 9% the previous year).

In second place, Nike‘s sales (US$46.3 billion, fiscal year ending May 2025) fell by 9%. The group is returning to wholesale after years of pushing a direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy and is resuming business via Amazon.

In third place, Inditex (revenue: US$41.8 billion) continues to slow.

You are reading this article thanks to your trial period.
Explore new horizons by checking out our other verticals:
You are reading this article thanks to your subscription to Mind Retail.
Explore new horizons by checking out our other verticals:
Do you have information to share with us?
Our other services
mind Research
Strategic Intelligence: Tailored research and market analysis services to power your insights and back your strategic decisions.
See more
mind Days
Networking & Events: Half-day conferences covering key industry topics and open to the entire ecosystem.
See more
What you absolutely must read this week
The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.
See all
How retailers are reinventing the checkout
As pressure on household budgets continues, new payment methods including account-to-account (A2A) instant payments, Wero, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), loyalty points and cashback, are gaining...
2 November 2026
Julien Cailleau, Oney: “With 3 retailers, we are testing the use of Valiuz data to streamline financing approvals”
Against a backdrop of growing pressure on household budgets, the European CCD2 Directive coming into force and a new legal framework for assisted purchasing journeys, Oney is stepping up an...
29 October 2026
Advantail signs with Formality to streamline commercial lease management
Amid an ownership shake-up following its acquisition by Evoriel, shopping centre operator Advantail has signed with Formality to digitise the management of commercial leases and contracts across...
US retailers divided over the rise of autonomous shopping agents
In the US, Gap, Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon and eBay are taking very different approaches to agentic commerce. While TV shopping giants QVC and HSN see these new intermediaries as an opportunity to...
Most viewed articles of the month on mind Retail
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
US retailers divided over the rise of autonomous shopping agents
In the US, Gap, Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon and eBay are taking very different approaches to agentic commerce. While TV shopping giants QVC and HSN see these new intermediaries as an opportunity to...