Industria de Diseno Textil SA (Inditex) has become one of the world’s largest fashion retailers. It is headquartered in A Coruna, Spain and primarily operates in Europe. The company is engaged in activities relating to textiles design, production and distribution. The group is structured into more than 100 different companies, all of which operate in the fashion industry. Each of these 100 companies performs a specialized activity. This article analyzes the strategies Inditex has adopted to become one of the world’s leading fashion retailers.
Inditex was founded in 1963 by Amancio Ortega Gaona. The group opened its first Zara shop in 1975 in A Coruna, Spain. Over the following decade, Amancio Ortega Gaona expanded the group with the opening of various new stores and Inditex was established as the head of the corporate group in 1985. The group witnessed expansion outside of Spain for the first time in 1988, and has now become a renowned apparel retailer around the world. This has been achieved via a number of strategies.
The company has successfully evolved its fashion lines and markets its range of products through eight sales formats: Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Pull and Bear, Stradivarius Uterque, Zara and, Zara Home. According to MarketLine the global apparel retail industry is forecast to grow at a moderate rate representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.8% for the period spanning 2008-12; with the Asia-Pacific region being the main driver of growth. However Inditex has experienced strong growth over the last few years; and is in fact outperforming the market.
Key to Inditex’s success is its unique ‘fast fashion’ model which has revolutionized the fashion industry. This diverse product offering has enabled the Inditex group to carve a niche for itself and emerge as one of the largest fashion distributors globally.
Inditex has continued to grow and has now become a leading player in international/ emerging markets. Growth within these markets has been driven by the Asia-Pacific region and Inditex is expanding its consumer base further by introducing online retail within these regions.
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