Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. (Inditex; , ; ) is a Spanish
multinational clothing company headquartered in
Arteixo
Arteixo (; ()) is a municipality in the province of A Coruña, part of the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. Its area is 93.76 km2 and its population is 31,005 (2013). Its population density is 317.43 people/km2.
It is ...
,
Galicia, Spain. The largest
fast fashion
Fast fashion is the business model of replicating recent catwalk trends and High fashion, high-fashion designs, mass production, mass-producing them at a low cost, and bringing them to retail quickly while demand is at its highest. The term ''fast ...
group in the world, it operates over 7,200 stores in 93 markets worldwide.
The company's predominant brand is
Zara
Zara may refer to:
Businesses
* Zara (retailer), a fashion retail company based in Spain
* Zara Investment Holding, a Jordanian holding company
* Continental Hotel Zara, Budapest, Hungary
People and fictional characters
* Zara (name), primari ...
, but it also owns a number of other brands including
Zara Home
Zara Home is a company that belongs to the Spanish Inditex group dedicated to the manufacturing of home textiles. It was created in 2003. It has around 408 stores in 44 countries. The company focuses on retailing various housewares.
The headqu ...
,
Bershka
Bershka () is a Spanish clothing retailer founded in 1998 in Spain. It is part of the Spanish Inditex group (which also owns brands such as Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull&Bear, Oysho, Uterqüe, Stradivarius and Zara Home).
The company was crea ...
,
Massimo Dutti
Massimo Dutti, S.A. () is a Spanish premium clothing retailer specializing in cashmere and wool products, established in 1985 and owned by Spanish multinational company Inditex, the parent company of Zara, Pull&Bear, and other brands.
The off ...
,
Oysho
Oysho is a fashion chain specialising in sport and leisure, founded in 2001. Its headquarters are in Tordera (Barcelona). Oysho is part of the Inditex group and operates in more than 50 countries, with a network of 433 physical stores and an online ...
,
Pull&Bear
Pull&Bear () is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Narón, Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, founded in 1991. It is part of Inditex, owner of Zara (retailer), Zara and Bershka brands.
History
The cha ...
,
Stradivarius
A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...
,
Uterqüe
Uterqüe is a fashion brand of the Spanish Inditex group dedicated to accessories and garments such as scarves and sunglasses. It was founded in 2008 as a company with headquarters in Tordera, Barcelona in Catalonia. In September 2021, Inditex a ...
and Lefties. The majority of its stores are corporate-owned, while
franchises are mainly conceded in countries where corporate properties cannot be foreign-owned.
Inditex's business model emphasises fast response to market trends. The company has implemented a system that allows for frequent product updates in stores, with the process from design to retail shelf reportedly taking as little as 15 days in some cases. This approach contrasts with the longer production cycles typical of many traditional fashion companies.
The Uyghur Rights Monitor,
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...
, and the Uyghur Center for Democracy and Human Rights have accused the company of using
Uyghur
Uyghur may refer to:
* Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia (West China)
** Uyghur language, a Turkic language spoken primarily by the Uyghurs
*** Old Uyghur language, a different Turkic language spoken in the Uyghur K ...
forced labour through the Chinese based textile supplier
Beijing Guanghua textile group
Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is lo ...
.
History
1960s and 1970s
In the early 1960s Amancio Ortega started his own business in the
clothing industry
Clothing industry or garment industry summarizes the types of trade and industry along the production and value chain of clothing and garments, starting with the textile industry (producers of cotton, wool, fur, and synthetic fibre), embelli ...
while working for a local shirtmaker in
A Coruña
A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...
, Spain. Ortega began developing his designs and he and his wife
Rosalia Mera
Rosalia or Rosalía (with diacritic) may refer to:
Persons
* Rosalia (given name)
* Saint Rosalia (1130–1166), the patron saint of Palermo in Italy
* Rosalía (born 1992), Spanish singer
Places
* 314 Rosalia, an asteroid
* Rosalia, Pisidia, a ...
started making clothes in their home.
Amancio had saved up enough money to open a small factory and sold garments to his former employer, among others.
[
In 1975, the couple opened their first store, Zara, which produced popular fashion at low prices.] The following year, Zara was incorporated and began opening more stores and factories in Spain. Later that year, after noticing the growing importance of computers, Ortega hired a local professor, José María Castellano
José María Castellano Ríos is a Spanish businessman, born in A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain in 1947.
Castellano is the former CEO and Deputy Chairman of the Inditex Group, which is one of the largest fashion groups in the world and ...
, to develop the company's computing power.
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. 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. In 1988, the company began expanding internationally with the opening of a Zara store in Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
, Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. In 1990, the company-owned footwear collection, Tempe, populated in the children's section of Zara stores. In 1991, Inditex created the company Pull and Bear, a casual menswear company. Later that year, the company also acquired a 65 percent 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. In 1995, Inditex purchased the remaining Massimo Dutti shares and began expanding the brand to include a women's line. In 1998, Inditex launched the Bershka brand that was aimed at urban hip fashion. The company bought Stradivarius in 1999, a youthful female fashion brand.
2001–present
Inditex had its initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
(IPO) in 2001, on the Bolsa de Madrid
(; Madrid Stock Exchange) is the largest and most international of Spain's four regional stock exchanges (the others are located in Barcelona, Valencia, and Bilbao) that trade shares and convertible bonds and fixed income securities, and both g ...
. The IPO sold 26 percent of the company to public investors, the company was valued at €9 billion. The same year, the company launched the lingerie
Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...
and women's clothing store Oysho.
In 2003, Inditex launched the Zara Home brand, which offers bedding, cutlery, glassware and other home decoration accessories. In 2004, with the opening of store number 2,000 in Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, Inditex had established its presence in 56 countries.
In 2005, CEO Jose Maria Castellano stepped down from the position to oversee expansion plans, he was replaced by Pablo Isla
Pablo Isla Álvarez de Tejera (born 22 January 1964) is a Spanish businessman and a civil service lawyer who was chairman and CEO of Inditex, a Spanish corporation and the world's largest fashion group, from 2005 to 2022.
Early life and educatio ...
. Inditex launched Uterque in the summer of 2008, the brand specializes in women's accessories. During the same year, the company opened its 4,000th store in Tokyo after doubling in size within four years.[ In 2011, Ortega, the founder of the business and majority shareholder, stepped down as deputy chairman and CEO Isla handles day-to-day operations.][ Later that year, the company opened a store in ]Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, a move that would put the company on five continents and in 77 countries. After the 2013 Savar building collapse
The Rana Plaza collapse (also referred to as the Savar building collapse) occurred on 24 April 2013, when the eight-story Rana Plaza commercial building collapsed due to a structural failure. The search for survivors lasted for 19 days and en ...
, Inditex was one of the thirty-eight companies who signed the Accord on Factory and Building Safety in Bangladesh
Accord may refer to:
Businesses and products
* Honda Accord, a car manufactured by the Honda Motor Company
* Accord (cigarette), a brand of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges
* Accord (company), a former public services provider in south England
* Ac ...
.
As of 2019, Inditex is the biggest fashion retailer in the world by revenue.
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
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Inditex's stocks fell by 12% over the year.
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.
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.
International presence
In 1989, a year after entering Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, the company entered the U.S. market and expanded into France in 1990.[ Expansion continued to ]Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
in 1992 and Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
in 1993. In 1994, Inditex opened stores in Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. By 1997, the company had expanded to Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
, Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
, Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
and Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.[ In 1998, expansion continued to the UK, ]Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, the Middle East and Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.[ ]Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
and several South American countries received stores in 1999.
The company opened stores in Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
and Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
in 2001. In 2003, Inditex opened stores in Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
and Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
.[ The following year ]Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
, Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, and Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
among other countries where stores opened, including the 2,000th store in Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
.[ By 2006, the company had expanded into mainland ]China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. In 2010, the company opened their 5,000th location in Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
[ and its first in ]India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.[ The first stores in ]Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
opened in 2011.[ The company's expansion continued to the ]Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
, North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
, Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
, Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
, Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north a ...
in 2012.[ In 2014, Inditex opened stores in ]Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
. In 2016, Inditex announced that they planned to open stores in Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
, Aruba
Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...
and Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
.[
]
Online sales
In 2007, Inditex launched the Zara Home online retail store. Zara joined the e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...
marketplace in September 2010, launching websites in Spain, the UK, Portugal, Italy, Germany and France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. In November 2010, Zara's online presence grew to include Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, the Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, Belgium and Luxembourg. In September 2011, Inditex brought Zara's e-commerce platform to the U.S., as well as adding the brands Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stadivarius, Oysho and Uterqüe to the e-commerce space. As of February 2016, Inditex operates e-commerce sites in 28 markets and plans to add 12 more by April. In September 2018, Inditex announced to sell all its brands online by 2020, even in places where it does not own any stores.
Marketing strategy
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 invests in commercial locations and uses window displays to increase visibility and product turnover.
Plagiarism
Zara has been accused of copying artwork.
In 2017, Zara Home Belgium was convicted of plagiarism by a Brussels Court, which was claimed to have been the first plagiarism conviction of a fast retailer.
Brands
Under the Inditex umbrella are several brands that offer a variety of products aimed at different markets.
Corporate affairs
Board of directors
Bold indicates a company shareholder, and the representative will be listed below.
Ownership
The largest shareholders in early 2024 were:
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Clothing companies of Spain
Companies based in Galicia (Spain)
Clothing companies established in 1985
Spanish companies established in 1985
Companies in the Euro Stoxx 50
Companies listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange
IBEX 35
Multinational companies headquartered in Spain
2001 initial public offerings