The Man Behind ZARA
Amancio Ortega Gaona is a famous fashion designer and entrepreneur from Spain.
After becoming the manager of a local clothing shop, he realised that only affluent individuals could afford to purchase fine clothing and became determined to make quality clothes accessible to everyone.
From then on, Ortega began a self-manufactured line, purchasing low-cost fabric from Barcelona and selling good quality, cheaper products to local stores. In 1963, at the age of 27, Amancio Ortega founded his own company called Confecciones Goa that made and sold fine bathrobes.
Ortega continued to build his company and in 1975 he opened his first retail store called Zara. It was located across the street from one of La Coruna's most well known department stores and Zara became famous for selling high quality designer products at affordable prices. Due to this success, Ortega continued to expand and was credited with choosing strategic locations for each successful expansion. By 1989 Amancio Ortega Gaona was profitably operating almost one hundred Zara stores in Spain.
Ortega continued to keep his brand simple and direct. His goal was to produce clothing in fewer quantities and for stores to be refilled more often to cut down on inventory and shipping costs. Since Ortega kept his factories in Spain and produced smaller amounts of clothing, he was able to pass the savings onto the consumer. Zara became so popular, in fact, that Amancio Ortega hardly needed to advertise at all.
With the success of Zara, Ortega quickly became one of the wealthiest man in the world.
