Inditex

Amancio Ortega started in the clothing industry in the early 1960s while working for a local shirt maker in A Coruña, Spain.[10] Ortega began developing his own designs and he and his wife, Rosalia Mera, began making clothes from their home.[7][11] Ortega had saved up enough money to open a small factory and sold garments to his former employer amongst others.[7]

In 1975, the couple opened their first store, Zara, which produced popular fashion at low prices.[7][9] The following year, Zara was incorporated and began opening more stores and factories in Spain.[7] 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.[7][12]

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.[13] 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.[14] In 1988, the company began expanding internationally with the opening of a Zara store in Porto, Portugal.[15] In 1990, the company owned footwear collection, Tempe, populated in the children's section of Zara stores.[16] In 1991, Inditex created the company Pull and Bear, a casual menswear company.[17][18] 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.[19] In 1995, Inditex purchased the remaining Massimo Dutti shares and began expanding the brand to include a women's line.[20] In 1998, Inditex launched the Bershka brand that was aimed at urban hip fashion.[21] The company bought Stradivarius in 1999, a youthful female fashion brand.[7]

Inditex had its initial public offering (IPO) in 2001, on the Bolsa de Madrid.[22] The IPO sold 26 per cent of the company to public investors, the company was valued at €9 billion.[23] The same year, the company launched the lingerie and women's clothing store Oysho.[24][25]

In 2003, Inditex launched the Zara Home brand, which offers bedding, cutlery, glassware and other home decoration accessories.[26] In 2004, with the opening of store number 2,000 in Hong Kong, Inditex had established its presence in 56 countries.[27]

In 2005, CEO Jose Maria Castellano stepped down from the position to oversee expansion plans, he was replaced by current CEO Pablo Isla.[28] Inditex launched Uterque in the summer of 2008, the brand specializes in women's accessories.[29] During the same year, the company opened its 4,000th store in Tokyo after doubling in size within four years.[27] In 2011, Ortega, the founder of the business and majority shareholder, stepped down as deputy chairman and CEO Isla handles day-to-day operations.[27] Later that year, the company opened a store in Australia, a move that would put the company on five continents and in 77 countries.[30] 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.[31]

As of 2019, Inditex is the biggest fashion retailer in the world by revenue.[32]

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 course of the year.[33]

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