Success stories are thin on the ground in Spain these days but Inditex, the retail clothing giant that includes Zara, appears immune to the slings and arrows of misfortune. A week ago its founder, Amancio Ortega, was named by Bloomberg as the third richest man in the world, with a personal fortune of EUR37.5 billion (USD46.57b). The company, the world’s biggest clothing retailer, has tripled its stock market value over the past three years with profits up 30 percent on 2011 for the first quarter of this year.
Even in Spain, where consumer spending has nosedived as a result of spending cuts and mass unemployment, Inditex has increased sales by a modest 1 percent, while competitors such as Mango saw profits fall by 38.5 percent in 2011, despite increased worldwide sales.
(Source: The Guardian )