Zara Australia to maintain prices as Australian dollar falls

Zara Australia has turned up the heat on domestic retailers by vowing to maintain prices despite a 17 percent fall in the dollar in the past five months.

Zara’s plan to keep Australian prices on hold will limit the ability of domestic suppliers and retailers to raise prices across the board to recoup the cost of importing stock from countries such as China, India, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

As reported in The Australian Financial Review last week, suppliers have warned retailers that prices for fashion clothing, underwear and basic apparel will rise significantly in the second half of calendar 2015 as currency hedges roll off and new ­season stock comes into stores.