Inditex

Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. engages in the retail and online distribution of clothing, footwear, accessories, and household textile products through various commercial concepts. Its retail concepts include Zara, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home, and Uterqüe. 

As of July 13, 2021, the company operated 6,829 stores in 96 markets; and online stores in 216 markets. It is also involved in textile manufacturing, design, financial services, real estate, logistics, insurance, and combined heat and power plant, and construction businesses. The company operates in Spain, the rest of Europe, the Americas, and internationally. Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. was founded in 1963 and is based in Corunna, Spain.

Early history

Amancio Ortega started in the clothing industry in the early 1960s while working for a local shirt maker in A Coruña, Spain. Ortega began developing his designs and he and his wife, Rosalia Mera, started making clothes from their home. Amancio 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 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, Portugal. In 1990, the company-owned footwear collection, Tempe, populated 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 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. 

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 which was aimed at urban hip fashion. The company bought Stradivarius 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 per cent of the company to public investors, the company was valued at €9 billion. 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 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. 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 that signed the Accord on Factory and Building Safety in Bangladesh. 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. 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.

“Our aim is to work in a sustainable and transparent way, with the goal of creating attractive, ethical and quality fashion.”

“Our employees have a shared vision of value built on sustainability, of growing alongside our suppliers and of building a positive future for our communities.”