Amancio Ortega He is the founder of retail giant Inditex, Which is Zara’s parent company. The reason for its fame is that it is the largest fashion retailer in the world. He got so much financial benefit from this business that he is considered among the richest people in Spain and the richest people in the world.
In fashion, Ortega has worked so hard that he is now the uncrowned king of the fashion world and has established himself as the pioneer of fast fashion.
His idea proved so effective that it was based on fashion runways and pop culture icons, and he worked on rapidly producing and distributing cheaper versions of his designs.
Facts About Amancio Ortega
Amancio Ortega Net worth: 113.5 billion USD
He founded the retail giant Inditex, Zahra’s parent company and is famous for being one of the world’s largest fashion retailers.
- Due to its reputation as a pioneer of fast fashion, the retailer invented and based on this unique concept of rapid production of cheap versions of fashion runways or designs copied from pop culture icons.
- The company was founded in 1963 as a workshop in a small family home in Spain.
- In 2001, Ortega emerged as a multi-billionaire in assets and net worth when Inditex listed on the stock exchange with a valuation of £9 billion.
Education and Early Career
Amancio Ortega Gaona was born in a small village in northern Spain in 1936; they moved with their family to northwestern Spain in 1949. His family background was not so rich, but he belonged to a poor family. His father was a journeyman railway worker.
While his mother worked as a maid, the small family lived in poverty in a row house on the railroad tracks.
According to Ortega’s only interview or biography, his life is a life full of mouths, starting with a traumatic incident that happened after the family settled in their new city.
Amancio Ortega wife
Amancioa Ortega was married to Rosalía Mera Goyenechea in 1966. The couple had two children, Marcos and Sandra Ortega Mera. But their marriage lasted till 1986. The couple divorced in 1986. His first wife, Meera, died in 2013 at the age of 69.
After that, Ortega was married secondly to Flora Pérez Marcote, with whom he had a daughter, Marta Ortega Pérez, in 1984.
This one incident changed his life. One day, when he was walking home with his mother, his mother went to a grocery store and demanded that he borrow some goods from there, but the shopkeeper refused. And she was leaving the shop without anything.
Ortega felt so humiliated by the incident that he dropped out of school and went to work, a decision that led to one of the first and most successful retail careers in history.
After that, new positive changes in Ortega’s life began when Ortega started working as an assistant to a luxury shirt maker in his hometown of La Coruña in 1949 at 13.
There, he focused on learning the skill and was promoted to assistant manager and shop manager in recognition of his hard work and dedication over the 14 years he had learned to make clothes by hand.
From here, they gained new experiences and devoted themselves to learning new things, all of which dealt directly with them in purchasing fabrics and other materials for manufacturing garments.
Amancio Ortega house
Ortega resides with his wife in their large, luxurious apartment in A Coruña, Spain. They also have two modern and luxury yachts, “Drizzle” and “Valoria B”, and a Gulfstream G650 jet.
Amancio Ortega Companies
In 1963, Ortega started a small operation as a workshop in his family home, with his three siblings and his future wife as early workers or helpers. Which later became known as Inditex.
When the company took off in 2001, Indytax was listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange with a valuation of €9 billion. Thanks to this great success, Ortega, including Spain, emerged as a billionaire worldwide.
Apart from this company.
Amancio Ortega Religion
Mr. Ortega’s profile does not show any particular attachment to any religion. However, some of his affections and donations have been seen with the Caritas, which seems to point to a slight attachment to his Christian and Catholic beliefs.
But it has often been seen that they have kept religion and business separate.
The Principles of Fast Fashion
Ortega launched his business model in the 1960s with the basic operating principles of what later became known as fast fashion. And with a new idea that he and every other retailer did, the reverse was buying inventory and expecting customers to buy it.
But he launched a new idea. According to the customers’ demand, these designs started to be produced more and more, and copies were made. Their main objective was to sell things cheaply and at low prices to increase sales.
Following the advice of his co-workers, he started working on a new design with his future wife (Rosalia Mera), and his three siblings set up a small workshop in their home to create quilts based on designer brands. Bathing suits can be sewn into lingerie and sold to these local brands at low-budget prices.
This first experiment was a success, and Tega always followed two different principles, namely customer preference and fast demand, which later formed the basis of Inditex.
The First Zara Store (1975)
By 1975, Ortega and his wife were ready to embark on a fast-track launch of their brands, with their new plan to offer their brands for direct-to-consumer sales. Their first launch was called Zara Boutique, which became one of the most successful retail formats in history.
Over the next ten years, Ortega took huge steps to expand its brands, launching them in more cities.
In 1977, the company headquarters and Zara’s first garment factories were launched in the suburbs of La Coruña to expand its brands into different cities.
Due to the company’s excellent sales and demand, 1983 had nine Zara stores in shopping districts in all Spanish cities. At last, Inditex was officially incorporated as Zara’s parent company, as Ortega was looking to launch the Zara brand internationally.
IPO on Madrid Stock Exchange (2001)
At the end of the 21st century, when Ortega realized that they had reached retirement age in terms of work. Then, they discovered that taking it out of their family ownership and going public might be the best option to grow the business.
With this in mind, he registered his brands on the Madrid Stock Exchange. He was listed for the first time in the Inditex on the Madrid Stock Exchange at a valuation of €9 billion, Which was one of the most successful early public (IPOIPO) careers in 2001.
Another great success was Ortega’s receiving more than 20% of his sales, making him the richest man in Spain.
Over the next decade, Ortega worked to promote and expand their brands further; they rapidly added new formats and chains, allowing Inditex to double its stores between 199 and 2004.
Computerized Design and Distribution System
In 1980, Ortega emerged as one of the first fashion retailers to implement a computerized design and distribution system to make its brands modern and unique. This change masked his greatest weakness.
During the traditional production process of this industry, which often took six months from various stages of design, In which retail delivery, other manufacturers were stuck in old models and could never respond quickly to emerging trends. Due to this, most retailers were stuck with unsold inventory.
Ortega’s computerized system shortened the design-to-distribution process and enabled Inditex’s in-house design team to respond to customer tastes and preferences changes. But would be in a position to respond immediately.
How is Amancio Ortega so rich?
Ortega He has received most of his wealth from the success of Inditex, the brand’s success netting him around $109 billion. He has always increased his money by investing in the business.
He continued to invest most of his earnings in buying expensive, luxury commercial real estate, bringing him more money.
How many companies does Amancio Ortega own?
Currently, Amancio Ortega Gaona is the founder and former chairperson of Inditex, the world’s largest fast fashion group.
This brand is famous for its modern and beautiful design and ship clothing.
As of 2024, the company’s portfolio includes eight new and trendy clothing brands and a homewares brand.
Is Zara still successful?
Global brand value of Zara from 2016 to 2024
If you look at Zara’s global brand value from 2016 to 2024, The value of Zara Brands in 2023 was about 11 billion US dollars compared to the growth of the brand from 2019 to 2003, which is about 18.5 billion US dollars.
Which country has the most Zara stores?
According to the list of Zara brands, it is a global brand with stores in several countries. Currently, it has the largest number of stores globally. As of January 2024, it has the largest stores in Spain, France, Italy and most other European countries.