INDITEX

COMPANIES AND ENTREPRENEURS ,   I

Inditex, Spanish group founded by Amancio Ortega Gaonas

Amancio Ortega Gaona

Amancio Ortega was born in the province of León, Spain, on the 28th of March 1936. The son of an employee of the Spanish railways, Ortega started working in the Gala clothing store at the age of 14. In 1963, Ortega founded the production company Confecciones Goa SA, which includes some cooperatives of female seamstresses. A great number of manpower and the economic resale prices allowed a strong growth of the company. In 1975 the business grew steadily and Ortega acquired several factories in Spain and opened his first store in La Coruña which he called Zara.

Amancio Ortega InditexAmancio Ortega Inditex

New productive logic

In 1976, Ortega set up the company’s headquarters in Arteixo with the first logistics centre of over 10,000 square meters. Here, he experimented with new production systems thanks to the development of technologies and the use of computers. He appointed professor José Maria Castellano as head of production, who became the company’s CEO in 1984. The model adopted by the company provides for the control of the entire supply chain and the production of small quantities but with frequent replenishment of the shops – guaranteed by an efficient production network – in order to satisfy all customer needs and respond to new trends. This reduces the gap between the creation of the clothes and the customer.

In 1978 the first store was opened in Madrid. This opening will be followed by many others throughout Spain.

Confecciones Goa SA becomes Inditex

Ortega’s business grew more and more and in 1985 Confecciones Goa SA became Inditex (Industrias de Diseño Textil Sociedad Anónima). The first store opened in Portugal, quickly followed by New York and Paris. In 1991 the group expanded its portfolio by purchasing Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti. In 1998 the Bershka brand was launched, exclusively targeted at young people; while the following year the Stradivarius brand debuted. At the end of the 90s the Inditex group had a distribution of five different clothing chains in over 30 different markets. Amancio Ortega Gaona became a fashion retail tycoon.

Inditex Arteixo headquartersInditex Arteixo headquarters

In 2001 the group was launched into new product sectors and was listed on the stock exchange. It made its debut first in underwear with the Oysho stores, and shortly after with a line dedicated to the home, Zara Home. It also expanded into high-quality accessories with the chain of stores Uterqüe. In 2005 Pablo Isla became CEO of Inditex, and a profit-sharing program with employees equal to 10% of profits was activated. Under Pablo Isla’s direction, Inditex also expanded into Asian countries.

In 2011, Ortega resigned as chairman and chief executive officer but retains the role of the official advisor of the board of directors. In addition to retail, Ortega has investments in two funds: Pontegadea Inversiones and Pontegadea Inmobiliaria.

Controversies

In 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Collapse of the Rana Plaza in Savar, home of one of the Inditex textile factories, took place. More than 381 workers died and the Campagna Abiti Puliti organization accused Inditex of not protecting the safety of workers. To compensate for the heavy accusations of exploitation, in 2015 it inserted a QR code on the labels to explain all the steps in the production chain: from the origin of raw materials to packaging and marketing. Despite the numerous campaigns in support of ethical work and environmental sustainability, the production methods of the Inditex group continue to be in the sights of many environmental associations that accuse the Spanish giant of “greenwashing”, or rather of the procedures that only apparently follow sustainable logics.

Inditex after the pandemic

From January 2020 to April 2021, the group closed 711 stores worldwide. Spain, it abolished four branches: Fibracolor, Tordera Logística, Uterqüe Logística and Invercarpro. Real estate company annexed in 1992. In 2020 Inditex had 7200 stores in 93 different markets. In the first quarter of 2021 it recorded a turnover of 11.9 billion euros, up + 49% on 2020 and + 7% on 2019.

Marta Ortega at the helm of Inditex

“I have been living this company since my childhood and I have learned from all the great professionals I have been working with over the past fifteen years.”

These are some of Marta Ortega’s first words after it was made public that, starting from the 1st of April 2022, she will be the new president of Zara.

marta-ortega-and-amancio-ortegaAmancio with his daughter Marta

Inditex approved the appointment of Marta Ortega as president and Óscar García Maceiras as CEO. José Arnau Sierra remained as vice president of the board of directors.

Marta Ortega Pérez has worked in various areas of the group over the past 15 years and, in particular, she has led the strengthening of the brand image and the fashion proposal of Zara, an area that she will continue to supervise.

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