AMANCIO ORTEGA GAONA

This success story is about Amancio Ortega Gaona, a Spanish fashion

entrepreneur and the co-founder of INDITEX GROUP, which includes
'fast fashion' clothing chains such as Massimo Dutti, Zara, Pull&Bear, Bershka,
Stradivarius, Oysho and Uterqe. Born into poverty, Ortega has accumulated
enormous wealth, modesty remaining his main personality trait.
Amancio Ortega was born on March 28, 1936 in a small Spanish village.
Because his family was extremely poor, he had to leave school and start
working at the age of 14. He first ventured into retail, working as store
assistant at Gala, a local shirt maker and tailor located in La Corua. His
brilliant business idea was that to earn good money, one should give customers
what they want. In the 1950s, he found the perfect spot for his business plan:
poor job alternatives in combination with numerous single women who could
sew. Ortega started to organize women into sewing cooperatives. The product
line included: lingerie, baby wear, and nightgowns.
In 1963, having gained ten years of managing sewing cooperatives
experience, Amancio founded his first company, Confecciones GOA, S.A.,
offering fast production turnaround. In 1975, with the business growing
steadily and having acquired several factories in Spain, Ortega opened his first
Zara store in La Corua, just a few blocks from where he worked as a
teenager. By the early 80s, Zara had expanded to several cities in Spain and in
1988, following the formation of Inditex, Ortega opened his first store in
Portugal, followed swiftly by New York and Paris. The group began adding to its
retail portfolio with Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti in 1991. In 1998 Inditex
creates Bershka, a new brand targeted at teenage customers and in 1999
Stradivarius becomes part of Inditex and by 2000 the company was
distributing over five different clothing chains in over 30 different markets. In
2001 Inditex creates it's new lingerie brand, Oysho and in 2008 launches
Uterqe, a brand specialized in fashion accessories.
Initially a family-run business, in 2001 Inditex began trading publicly on
the stock market, with Ortega as majority shareholder. Through Inditex Group,
Ortega oversees over 6,000 stores around the world. In 2011, Ortega stepped
down as chairman and chief executive, but remained as an official advisor to
the board.
In 30 years since Inditex was founded, Amancio Ortega has become fast
fashion mogul. According to Forbes, his total net worth is estimated at $73.5
billion, making him the richest man in Europe and the wealthiest retailer in the
world. He earns more than $400 million in dividends a year, and has invested
that money into an ever-expanding real estate portfolio, which includes
buildings in Madrid, Barcelona, London, Chicago, Miami and New York.
Amancio Ortega Gaona life story shows that he achieved his success
thanks to his self-confidence, hard work and, of course, giving to his customers
what they want.