Amancio Ortega was born on March 28, 1936, in Busdongo de Arbás, Spain. He came from a working-class family. His father worked for the railway, while his mother worked as a domestic servant. The family faced financial difficulties, and at times even meeting basic needs was difficult. Some meals consisted of nothing more than potatoes.
At the age of just 13, Ortega left school to help support his family and began working for a tailor. He later worked as an apprentice at Gala, a men’s clothing business in La Coruña, where he gained practical experience in sewing and clothing design.
In his twenties, Ortega started a bathrobe business with his siblings and his wife. His wife, Rosalía Mera, was also involved in the business. They later married. In 1963, Ortega founded his first clothing company, which eventually became the foundation of the Inditex Group. The company expanded its range of products and hired more workers. Ortega also provided work opportunities for local women and organized a cooperative sewing system.
In 1975, Ortega opened the first Zara store in Spain. After the store became successful, he rapidly expanded the business. During the 1980s, the company expanded beyond Spain into other parts of Europe. In 1989, the company opened its first store in the United States.
As the business grew, Ortega established stores under different brands and created Industria de Diseño Textil (Inditex) as the parent company for his various brands, including Zara. Key reasons for Zara’s success included Ortega’s focus on managing a large part of the supply chain itself and the company’s ability to quickly change its clothing styles in response to changing fashion trends. By keeping part of its production in Europe, the company could produce new clothing and deliver it to stores in a very short time. Some garments reached stores in only three weeks, which was extremely fast compared with most other retailers.
In 2011, Ortega stepped down as the head of Inditex. However, he continued to receive about $400 million a year in profits from the company. By the time he left his position, Zara had thousands of stores across six continents.
Between 2008 and 2014, the world experienced a financial crisis, but Inditex and Ortega managed to withstand the difficult period. In fact, Ortega’s wealth increased by $45 billion between 2009 and 2014, while the value of Inditex shares also increased, even as the prices of other Spanish stocks were falling.
By 2015, Ortega’s wealth had exceeded $70 billion. That year, he overtook Warren Buffett to become the second-richest person in the world. In 2015, rising Inditex share prices also briefly made him richer than Bill Gates, making him the world’s richest person for a short period.
In 2022, Ortega announced that his daughter, Marta Ortega, would take over as chairperson of Inditex.
Despite his enormous wealth and success, Ortega became known for his simple lifestyle. While working at Inditex, he ate in the company’s cafeteria alongside other employees. Even after retiring, he continued to visit the company’s headquarters. He has kept his private life largely out of the public eye, avoided publicity, and given very few interviews.
Ortega’s success is especially notable because he began his life in an environment of serious financial hardship. According to his business partner of more than 30 years, Ortega’s most valuable qualities were his ability to listen to others and his ability to delegate responsibilities.
Ortega is also known as a quiet and private person. He avoided publicity whenever possible, rarely accepted awards, and stayed away from cameras. At the same time, he has taken part in philanthropic activities, including providing 500 scholarships each year for Spanish students to study abroad and making donations to emergency relief efforts and Catholic charities.
Mindset and Business Thinking
Several factors contributed to Amancio Ortega’s business success. One important factor was his strong focus on managing a large part of the company’s supply chain itself. At the same time, the company became known for quickly changing its styles in response to changing fashion trends.
Another important part of Ortega’s business approach was keeping some of the production in Europe. This allowed the company to produce new clothing and deliver it to stores in a very short time. Some garments reached stores in only three weeks, which was extremely fast compared with most other retailers.
Zara’s success was also supported by its constant introduction of new clothing and styles in its stores. As a result, customers could find something new almost every time they visited, which increased their purchases.
Personality Traits
Despite his enormous wealth and success, Ortega became known for his simple lifestyle. He wore simple clothes in his daily life and was not known for wearing clothing produced by Inditex.
While working at Inditex, he ate in the company cafeteria alongside other employees. Even after retiring, he continued to visit the company’s headquarters.
Ortega was a very private person. He avoided publicity whenever possible, rarely accepted awards, and stayed away from cameras.
According to his business partner of more than 30 years, one of Ortega’s most valuable qualities was his ability to listen to others and delegate responsibilities.
Work Style and Practical Habits
Ortega provided employment opportunities for local women and organized a cooperative sewing system. Managing a large part of the supply chain itself was also an important part of his business strategy.
Managers at Zara stores were trained to observe what people were buying, what they were looking at, and what they were wearing. This helped them keep popular trends available in the stores.
Because the stores constantly offered new products and styles, customers could almost always find something new. This wider choice of products encouraged people to buy more.
Zara changed its inventory up to twice a week. This fast-moving approach was one of the factors that helped make fast fashion more profitable.
Adaptability to Change
The ability to respond quickly to change was a notable part of Ortega’s business approach. Zara became known for rapidly changing its styles according to changing fashion trends.
By keeping part of its clothing production in Europe, the company could produce new garments and deliver them to stores in a very short time. Some styles reached stores within only three weeks, which was extremely fast compared with most other retailers.
Zara and Inditex brought changes to the fashion industry as a whole, while Ortega’s business practices also played a role in shaping the future of fashion retail.
Persistence Through Difficulties
Ortega’s success is especially notable because he began his life in an environment of serious financial hardship.
Between 2008 and 2014, the world experienced a financial crisis, but Inditex and Ortega managed to withstand the difficult period. Between 2009 and 2014, his wealth increased by $45 billion, while the value of Inditex shares also increased, even though the prices of other Spanish stocks were falling during the same period.
Philanthropic Approach
Despite his success and wealth, Ortega also took part in philanthropic activities. His charitable work included providing 500 scholarships each year for Spanish students to study abroad and making donations to emergency relief efforts and Catholic charitable organizations.