Spanish clothing group, parent of Zara, which accounts for about two-thirds of its sales. Founded by Amancio Ortega. Annual sales grew to €40bn ($46bn) in 2025 and net income rose to a record €6.2bn, up 6% on the previous year. Run by chief executive Óscar García Maceiras.
Ortega built the business around an agile logistics network that lets it adjust merchandise quickly based on shoppers' tastes. Zara and its sister brands aim to offer new items each week, sometimes twice a week, which lowers the risk of producing clothes nobody wants and having to discount them steeply. Zara targets shoppers in their 30s and 40s, who tend to be richer than those of H&M, its big European rival.
In late 2021 Marta Ortega, the founder's daughter, was appointed chair. She has aimed to give consumers a taste of luxury. Zara has collaborated with John Galliano, a designer known for elaborate couture collections during stints at Dior and Maison Margiela, and with Stefano Pilati, a former lead designer for Saint Laurent.
From 2022 to 2025 sales per square metre of store space increased by 46%, according to Deutsche Bank. Remaining shops are larger and posher, with some boasting separate boutique-like areas for handbags and shoes.
Two-thirds of Inditex's sales come from Europe. Inditex reduced the number of its shops by a fifth in the past three years, halving its locations in China, where shoppers have been gloomy. It shut operations in Russia when the war with Ukraine began.
In 2009 Inditex's operating profits were roughly on a par with those of H&M. By 2026 they were almost five times bigger.
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