MADRID, March 14 (Reuters) - Zara-owner Inditex

more than doubled its pre-tax profits in China last year even as

the fashion retailer scaled back its physical presence, closing

a fifth of its stores in the country in a sign its focus on

online sales is bearing fruit.

Inditex has been shrinking its store footprint globally over

the past few years, seeking to optimise its selling space by

focusing on flagship outlets in prime locations and ramping up

online sales.

Of 123 net store closures globally last year, 50 were in

China, Inditex's annual report showed on Thursday. As recently

as 2019 Inditex had 570 stores in China, its biggest physical

footprint after Spain. The retailer now has 192, as of Jan. 31

this year.

"Inditex for several years has adopted a more digital first

strategy in China given the structural trends in the market

there and the huge importance of e-commerce", said RBC analyst

Richard Chamberlain.

Inditex's profit before tax in China more than doubled to

241 million euros ($263 million) for the 2023 financial year

ended Jan. 31.

Inditex launched a weekly livestream experience on

video-sharing platform Douyin in China late last year as a way

to boost online sales, and plans to launch livestreams for its

core brand Zara in the United States and Britain this year.

"We view this initiative positively... given the widespread

integration of digital platforms into people's everyday lives,

we believe that leveraging platforms like Douyin can effectively

engage Chinese consumers," said Firdaus Ibrahim, equity analyst

at CFRA Research.

Overall Inditex increased its online sales by 16% to 9.1

billion euros in 2023, accounting for a quarter of total sales.

Inditex has 5,692 stores globally, over a third of which are its

core brand Zara.

The China results contrast with Inditex's performance in the

United States, its second-biggest market by sales, where pre-tax

profits fell 7% last year, according to the annual report.

($1 = 0.9171 euros)