Inditex Expansion Continues ...

Zara, Bershka, Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius,  Zara Home, Oysho etc ... Brands we are all familiar with but were you aware these brands are all part of the same family? The Inditex group, the worlds largest retailer by value is the umbrella group for all these household names. 

Inditex, as a group has gone from strength to strength over the past number of years and only recently announced year end figures which show their net profit increasing by 12% from €1.73bn to €1.93bn! This growth can be attributed to many factors, most notably the development of all the brands online presence and also the rate at which the group are expanding into new and existing markets. Inditex opened 483 new stores over 82 markets in the past year and have focused quite heavily on developing the brands in China. 

"The new markets entered over the year were Azerbaijan, Taiwan, Australia, South Africa and Peru, while 132 outlets were opened in China, 30 of which were Zara, while the others were from other Inditex brands such as Oysho and Zara Home. Over the year the company created over 9,000 new jobs to take its total workforce to 109,512." (www.ft.com) 


Below is a video which will give you a good overview of the company and introduce you to the various aspects and departments involved in delivering this great product to you ...

This is fantastic news for this Spanish based company and proves to be an extremely motivational and inspirational news story, especially in these recessionary times! The Inditex group ended 2011 with 5,527 stores and are showing no signs of slowing down! So, here's to further growth and success for a company we all know and love! 

Gambling ... Yes/No?

Vietnam are making positive noises over the past few months as moves may be put in place to legalise sports gambling.

While Vietnam's communist government say it will not happen in the near future the issue was revisited at after their finance minister traveled to Singapore to learn about the city-states successful sports gambling industry.

The finance minister released a statement, which has since been removed, where he expressed favor for the move to legalise sports gambling in a move to minimize "social evils" and generate revenue.

This topic may be close to peoples hearts, especially after a long week of horse racing at Cheltenham, the pain of losing so much might taint people views on whether or not sports gambling should be legal ... what do you think? Are we capable of managing how much we spend on sports gambling or should the government step in and ban the activity entirely?

Celebrations Continue in Cobh ...

Titanic 100 Cobh 2012 celebrations are well and truly underway. May events such as the Walking Tour of Cobh Songs and the Titanic Centenary New Years Day Event have already proven to be a great success and this weekends kept up the same high standard when the people of Cobh (and indeed much further afield) and Irish Rail celebrated Cobh Train Stations 150th Anniversary! 

A train station filled with history. This station would have been the final port of call for many over the years as they emigrated in search of a better life. The stories and the history is endless although the station, and indeed Cobh itself is mainly known for the fact that it was indeed the final port of call for the Titanic 100 years ago. 

The railway station is still in use today and offers a fantastic service to the people of Cobh. As you can see below the rail service from Cobh very frequent and unlike many of the bus route within the city the train service is much more efficient and punctual! 

Outward Journey
From Cobh to Cork (Kent) Date Monday, 12 March 2012
Dep	Arr	Ch.	Duration	Service	Online   Fares from	Select	Info
06:00	06:24	0	0:24	Suburban
07:00	07:24	0	0:24	Suburban
07:30	07:54	0	0:24	Suburban
08:00	08:24	0	0:24	Suburban
08:30	08:54	0	0:24	Suburban
09:00	09:24	0	0:24	Suburban

As the railway station is now 150 years old the celebrations the weekend were fantastic!! The event (Birthday Party) was well attended and fun was had by all involved! This family fun day included a farmers market and children's entertainment all going along to the soundtrack of Cork's 96FM's street fleet who were also in attendance with many goodies to give away. 


This marks yet another success for the organizers of Titanic 100 Cobh 2012, and may we see many more throughout the year :)