Inditex

Early history

In the early 1960s, Amancio Ortega got his start in the clothing industry as a teen while working for a local shirt maker in A Coruna, Spain. Ortega began developing his own designs and he and his wife, Rosalia Mera, began making clothes from their home. Ortega had saved up enough money to open a small factory and sold garments to his former employer amongst 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 Ortega noticed the growing importance of computers, a local professor, José María Castellano, was hired to grow 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 CEO of the company in 1984. In 1985, Industria de Diseno 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 a Zara store in Oporto, Portugal. 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 the Stradivarius in 1999, a youthful female fashion brand.

2001–present

Inditex had its initial public offering in 2001, on the Bolsa de Madrid. The IPO sold 26 percent of the company to public investors, the company was valued at US$8 billion (€9 billion at the time). The same year, the company launched the lingerie 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, 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 current CEO Pablo Isla. 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, a move that would put the company on five continents and in 77 countries. 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.

International presence

In 1989, a year after entering Portugal, the company entered the U.S. market and expanded into the France in 1990. Expansion continued to Mexico in 1992 and Greece in 1993. In 1994, Inditex opened stores in Belgium and Sweden. By 1997, the company had expanded to Malta, Cyprus, Norway and Israel. In 1998, expansion continued to the UK, Turkey, Argentina, Venezuela, the Middle East and Japan. Canada, Germany, Poland, Saudi Arabia and several South American countries received stores in 1999. In 2016, Inditex announced that they planned to open stores in Vietnam, New Zealand, Paraguay, Aruba and Nicaragua.

The company stores opened in Italy, Luxembourg, Puerto Rico and Jordan received stores in 2001. In 2003, Inditex continued its expansion to Russia, Slovakia, and Malaysia. The following year Latvia, Hungary, and Panama amongst other countries received stores, including the 2,000th store in Hong Kong. By 2006, the company had expanded into continental China. In 2010, the company opened their 5,000th location in Rome and its first in India. The first stores in Australia and South Africa opened in 2011. The company's expansion continued to the Republic of Macedonia, Armenia, Ecuador, Georgia (country) and Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2012. In 2014, Inditex opened stores in Albania.

Online presence

In 2007, Inditex launched the Zara Home online retail store. Zara joined the e-commerce marketplace in September 2010, launching websites in Spain, the UK, Portugal, Italy, Germany and France. In November 2010, Zara's online presence grew to include Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemborg. 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, Berska, 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.

Brands

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

Board of Directors

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