Amancio Ortega, Spanish fashion executive and founding chairman of the Inditex SA, the world’s largest clothing retailer, best known for its chain of Zara clothing and accessories retail shops, passed billionaire investor Warren Buffett to become the world’s second-richest person, for the first time ever.
As Inditex - a La Coruna, Spain based company - profits rose amid surging sales, Ortega’s net worth increased 17% to $71.5 billion. Inditex operates more than 6,600 stores under brands including Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear and Zara.
The retailer has been able to respond more quickly - than competitors - to shifts in fashion trends by keeping some production facilities close to the headquarters in Spain and distributing to stores twice a week.
Inditex has built large stores in trendy shopping areas in some of the world’s biggest cities, reducing the need for other marketing expenditures. They are looking to open as many as 480 new outlets in 2015, including three in New York.
In January 2015, Inditex acquired a 4,400 square-meter building in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. The retail giant also plans to start online sales in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Contributed by Millennium Traders
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