IRP notes

• The fashion industry might seem small and unimportant, especially in today's world when clothes couldn't be cheaper and more available
• The second wealthiest man in the world made his fortune in the fashion industry
• Zara


  The world's largest clothes retailer
• Story starts in Spain

  1950
• Amancio Ortega


  Founder of Zara, started as an errand boy delivering fabrics for a local clothing retail store
• Amancio's career progression


  1. Excelled at work

  2. Became senior manager in 1960

  3. Developed his own designs

  4. Started his own company Confecciones Goa in 1963
• Confecciones Goa


  • Amancio established it with $25 of initial capital
  • Got his brother, sister and wife to work alongside him
  • Supplied retail stores across the city
• Amancio's expansion


  1. Expanded to service the whole of Spain in the 1960s

  2. Organized women across the province into sewing cooperatives
• Amancio was hesitant to start his own brand due to Spain's political climate under the Franco regime
• Franco died and totalitarian Spain died along with him

  1975
• The 1970s saw sweeping social and economic reforms across Spain, which revitalized the nation
• Zara


  Amancio's first retail store, opened in La Coruña just a few months after Franco's death
• Zara's name


  Amancio wanted to call it Zorba, but reused the letter molds he had already bought
• Zara's unique approach to fashion

  • Developed new designs all year round and only produced them for a brief period, eliminating the need for discount sales
  • Zara's customers learned to buy their clothes quickly before their favorite designs got sold out
  • Limited production runs ensured clients knew their clothes would be relatively unique
• Zara's model


  Became known as 'fast fashion' and redefined the fashion industry
• Zara's expansion


  1. Expanded throughout Spain and built a 10,000 square meter logistics center

  2. Created a holding company Inditex in 1985 to expand internationally

  3. Opened first international store in Portugal in 1988, then New York in 1989 and Paris in 1990

  4. Opened over 550 new stores across the globe in the 1990s
• Inditex brands


  • Zara
  • Pull&Bear
  • Massimo Dutti
  • Bershka
  • Stradivarius
  • Oysho
  • Zara Home
  • Uterqüe
• Inditex became the largest clothes retailer in the world, blowing past H&M and the GAP
• Amancio officially retired


  2011
• Even after Amancio's departure, Inditex has continued to dominate the fashion industry
• Today, Inditex has a total of 7,292 stores spread across 93 countries and Amancio is the second wealthiest man in the world, worth $67 billion
• The first step is to identify the problem.
• The second step is to gather information about the problem.
• The third step is to analyze the data gathered from the investigation.
• The next step is to gather information about the problem.
• Once we have analyzed our findings, we can begin brainstorming solutions to address the issue at hand.
• The fourth step is to develop alternative solutions or options based on the analysis done in the previous step.
• The fifth step is to evaluate the alternatives by comparing them against criteria such as cost-effectiveness, feasibility, and impact on stakeholders.
• After developing alternatives, it's important to evaluate them by weighing their pros and cons.
• We then select the best solution that meets all requirements and addresses the identified problems.
• Cantor brand Zoo ranking

  Index that examines the top 30 brands in each nation, created based on the market capitalization of the firms and the value that consumers place on them
• Zara was once again the most valuable Spanish brand in 2022 according to the Cantor brand Zoo ranking
• Zara


  The biggest, most well-known and most prosperous firm in Spain, has succeeded in growing quickly from a modest Spanish firm to the greatest textile group in the world with locations on the world's most fashionable streets
• The original Zara store was founded by businessman Amancio Ortega


  Many years ago
• Amancio Ortega


  • Was first exposed to the Fashion World when he was quite young in La Coruna, a small city in Northern Spain
  • He had already started working as a delivery boy when he was just 14 years old
  • He was excellent at his job and as he grew older he began to relate to the store's customers and salespeople
  • In 1960 he was promoted to manager
• Ortega's business development


  1. Created his own designs at his sister's house while he was not working

  2. Attempted to duplicate known designs but included his own changes and improvements

  3. Regularly created lingerie and nightgowns which he subsequently offered for sale in the store

  4. In 1963 he felt confident enough to quit his manager job and start his own company with only $25 in startup funding

  5. Started Confection's Goal while operating out of his home

  6. As soon as he convinced his wife, brother and sister to join the business, Ortega was supplying stores throughout the city
• Zara's initial store


  Offered modestly priced items that resembled those of well-known high-end designers
• The dictator Francisco Franco passed away and with him authoritarian Spain


  1975
• The sweeping social and economic changes that took place in Spain throughout the 1970s


  Gave new life to the country and Ortega wanted to seize the opportunity
• Ortega's business name decision

  1. A few months after Franco's death he started his first business in La Coruna

  2. In honor of his favorite movie Zorba the Greek, Ortega decided to call his business Zorba

  3. When he discovered that there was a sizable bar with the same name a few streets away, he had already purchased the lettering forms for the store

  4. Ortega chose the name Zara for his business establishment after deciding to use the lettering patterns he had previously acquired