How Zara Became the Largest Clothing Retailer in the World (2024)

The pioneer of fast fashion.

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Zara was founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and today stands at the forefront of fast fashion. The main brand of the Inditex group, Zara is currently the world’s largest apparel retailer and has made Ortega the second wealthiest man in the world. But many people do not know about Zara’s humble beginnings, as the retailer was establishedfollowing a politically unstable time in Spain. Ortega began working as a textiles delivery boy, eventually working his way up and founding Zara after the fall of the Spanish dictatorship. Additionally, Ortega established the commonly used fast fashion model which optimizes certain aspects of the supply chain for trends to be designed and manufactured quickly and inexpensively.

Learn more about how Zara built its fast fashion empire above and learn how Nike, H&M and Zara are the world’s most valuable brands.

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How Zara Became the Largest Clothing Retailer in the World (2024)

FAQs

How Zara Became the Largest Clothing Retailer in the World? ›

Rather than pushing marketing out, Zara draws customers in, cultivates them as brand ambassadors, and encourages them to spread the word. And that is how ZARA became the world's largest clothing retailer!

How Zara grew into the world's largest? ›

The secret to Zara's success has largely being driven by its ability to keep up with rapidly changing fashion trends and showcase it in its collections with very little delay. From the very beginning, Zara found a significant gap in the market that few clothing brands had effectively addressed.

How did Zara become successful? ›

Zara is well known for its ability to be prompt in quickly delivering new clothes to their stores which are achieved by following a strict routine. Twice a week, at precise times, store managers order clothes, and twice a week, on schedule, new garments arrive.

Is Zara the world's largest retailer? ›

Zara is a Spanish clothing retailer based in Galicia, Spain. Founded by Amancio Ortega in 1975, it is the flagship chain store of the Inditex group, the world's largest apparel retailer.

How did Zara become a global brand? ›

The international expansion of Zara started with the opening of a store in Oporto (Portugal) in 1988. By the end of January 2006, Zara was operating in 59 countries with 852 stores: 664 stores were located in Europe (259 in Spain), 112 in America, 45 in the Middle-East and Africa and 31 in Asia.

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