Inditex

Early history

Amancio Ortega started in the clothing industry in the early 1960s while working for a local shirt maker in A Coruña, Spain.^[12] Ortega began developing his designs and he and his wife, Rosalia Mera, started making clothes from their home.^[9][13] Amancio had saved up enough money to open a small factory and sold garments to his former employer, amongst others.^[9]

In 1975, the couple opened their first store, Zara, which produced popular fashion at low prices.^[9][10] The following year, Zara was incorporated and began opening more stores and factories in Spain.^[9] Later that year, after Ortega noticed the growing importance of computers, a local professor, José María Castellano, was hired to grow the company's computing power.^[9][14]

1980–2000

In the 1980s, the company implemented a new design and distribution method that drastically reduced the time between design, production, and arrival at retail sites.^[15] The system was designed by Castellano, who became the company's CEO in 1984. In 1985, Industria de Diseño Textil S.A. or Inditex was created as a holding company for Zara and its manufacturing plants.^[16] In 1988, the company began expanding internationally with the opening of a Zara store in Porto, Portugal.^[17] In 1990, the company-owned footwear collection, Tempe, populated in the children's section of Zara stores.^[18] In 1991, Inditex created the company Pull and Bear, a casual menswear company.^[19][20] Later that year, the company also acquired a 65 per cent share in the upscale Massimo Dutti brand. Inditex created Lefties in 1993; the name is taken from the term leftovers and it was created to sell old Zara clothing.^[21] In 1995, Inditex purchased the remaining Massimo Dutti shares and began expanding the brand to include a women's line.^[22] In 1998, Inditex launched the Bershka brand that was aimed at urban hip fashion.^[23] The company bought Stradivarius in 1999, a youthful female fashion brand.^[9]

2001–present

Inditex had its initial public offering (IPO) in 2001, on the Bolsa de Madrid.^[24] The IPO sold 26 per cent of the company to public investors, the company was valued at €9 billion.^[25] The same year, the company launched the lingerie and women's clothing store Oysho.^[26][27]

In 2003, Inditex launched the Zara Home brand, which offers bedding, cutlery, glassware and other home decoration accessories.^[28] In 2004, with the opening of store number 2,000 in Hong Kong, Inditex had established its presence in 56 countries.^[29]

In 2005, CEO Jose Maria Castellano stepped down from the position to oversee expansion plans, he was replaced by Pablo Isla.^[30] Inditex launched Uterque in the summer of 2008, the brand specializes in women's accessories.^[31] During the same year, the company opened its 4,000th store in Tokyo after doubling in size within four years.^[29] In 2011, Ortega, the founder of the business and majority shareholder, stepped down as deputy chairman and CEO Isla handles day-to-day operations.^[29] Later that year, the company opened a store in Australia, a move that would put the company on five continents and in 77 countries.^[32] After the 2013 Savar building collapse, Inditex was one of the thirty-eight companies who signed the Accord on Factory and Building Safety in Bangladesh.^[33]

As of 2019, Inditex is the biggest fashion retailer in the world by revenue.^[34]

The company's revenue fell by 18% to $1.85 billion in the final quarter of 2020, primarily due to the fall in retail sales as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Inditex's stocks fell by 12% over the year.^[35]

In May 2021, Inditex said that all its stores in Venezuela would close as it will review its agreement with its local partner Phoenix World Trade.^[36]

In the three months to 30 April 2023, the group reported a 13% increase in sales to £6.54 billion and a 14% rise in profit to £3.96 billion.^[37][38]

In 1989, a year after entering Portugal, the company entered the U.S. market^[39] and expanded into France in 1990.^[9] Expansion continued to Mexico in 1992 and Greece in 1993. In 1994, Inditex opened stores in Belgium and Sweden.^[40] By 1997, the company had expanded to Malta, Cyprus, Norway and Israel.^[15] In 1998, expansion continued to the UK, Turkey, Argentina, Venezuela, the Middle East and Japan.^[15] Canada, Germany, Poland, Saudi Arabia and several South American countries received stores in 1999.^[40][41]

The company opened stores in Italy, Luxembourg and Jordan in 2001. In 2003, Inditex opened stores in Russia, Slovakia and Malaysia.^[41] The following year Latvia, Hungary, and Panama amongst other countries where stores opened, including the 2,000th store in Hong Kong.^[41] By 2006, the company had expanded into mainland China.^[42] In 2010, the company opened their 5,000th location in Rome^[29] and its first in India.^[42] The first stores in Australia and South Africa opened in 2011.^[32] The company's expansion continued to the Serbia, North Macedonia, Armenia, Ecuador, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2012.^[41][43] In 2014, Inditex opened stores in Albania.^[44] In 2016, Inditex announced that they planned to open stores in Vietnam, New Zealand, Paraguay, Aruba and Nicaragua.^[7]

In 2007, Inditex launched the Zara Home online retail store.^[45] Zara joined the e-commerce marketplace in September 2010, launching websites in Spain, the UK, Portugal, Italy, Germany and France.^[46][47] In November 2010, Zara's online presence grew to include Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.^[48] In September 2011, Inditex brought Zara's e-commerce platform to the U.S.,^[49] as well as adding the brands Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stadivarius, Oysho and Uterqüe to the e-commerce space.^[50] As of February 2016, Inditex operates e-commerce sites in 28 markets and plans to add 12 more by April.^[51][52][53] In September 2018, Inditex announced to sell all its brands online by 2020, even in places where it does not own any stores.^[54][55]

Inditex avoids magazine advertising, with print campaigns only occurring on billboards in certain regions like U.S. and in-store. Endorsements for celebrities to wear its labels are budgeted instead. The company also invests heavily in a prime commercial location with fashion-forward window displays for optimum high street visibility and product turnaround.^{[citation needed]}

Zara has been accused of copying artwork.^[56]

In 2017, Zara Home Belgium was convicted of plagiarism by a Brussels Court,^{[57][58][59][60][61]} which was claimed to have been the first plagiarism conviction of a fast retailer.^[62]

Under the Inditex umbrella are several brands that offer a variety of products aimed at different markets.^[63]

Board of directors

Bold indicates a company shareholder and the representative will be listed below.

Ownership

The largest shareholders in early 2024 were:^[69]

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