The daughter inherits the “huge” fortune of the richest man in Spain, striving from the shop assistant to the most powerful person in ready-to-wear fashion.
In November 2021, Zara’s parent company, Inditex, announced that on April 1, 2022, Marta Ortega Pérez would replace Inditex president Pablo Íla.
The top change at the Spanish fashion retailer was due to Marta Ortega Pérez’s father, Amancio Ortega, who founded Inditex in 1985. He stepped down as chairman in 2011 but still owns 59% of the shares. This makes Amancio one of the richest men in the world. At the same time is the richest person in Spain with a fortune of 58.6 billion USD.
“We have been preparing for this transition for a long time. Marta has been with the company for 15 years. She has led many projects and has everything in the palm of her hand,” said Pablo Isla. in the press conference.
Marta Ortega Pérez is the head of the Zara empire. Photo: Getty Images.
The most powerful woman in the world in ready-to-wear
According to People Matters, Marta is the youngest daughter pampered by her father Amancio Ortega.
However, her appointment caused the company’s stock price to plummet 6% and founder Amancio Ortega’s fortune to drop by $3 billion. Many questions were raised about her lack of management experience. But the share price rallied back 4.5% the next day.
“I’ve always said I would dedicate my life to building on my parents’ legacy, looking to the future but learning from the past, and serving our company, our shareholders, and our customers,” said Marta. To share.
“I’ve lived and breathed this company since I was a kid. I’ve learned from all the great professionals I’ve worked with over the past 15 years,” she continued.
In her role, she will have to tackle the company’s notoriety for alleged forced labor and environmental impact. Marta is predicted to earn $1.1 million as president of Inditex, which also owns brands like Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Stradivarius along with Zara.
At the age of 38, Marta has surpassed her siblings and become the most powerful woman in the world in the field of ready-to-wear fashion. Marta will head the Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear and Bershka brands, as well as Zara all under parent company Inditex.
Pablo Isla has said that although Marta is “humble” she has “strong opinions” about many things. Marta is “on the throne” in the context of the global economy facing turbulence from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This caused Inditex to close 502 stores in Russia.
Marta has a hobby of horseback riding. Photo: IB Times.
As the head of a major fashion company, Marta almost never shows herself in the media, even though she has appeared several times in pictures in prestigious newspapers, such as in awards. race.
Despite the fact that Marta is at the head of a fashion empire, the title of Spain’s second richest person belongs to her 53-year-old sister Sandra. Sandra is not involved in the family business, but has a fortune of $6.9 billion (over VND 157 trillion). She inherited a 4.5% stake in the company after her mother Rosalia Mera died in 2013.
Zara’s key to success
Marta is credited for helping the fast fashion brand develop campaigns with some of the most famous creators in fashion, including American fashion photographer Steven Meisel and recognized Italian film director. Oscar nominee Luca Guadagnino.
Marta has also been praised for helping to elevate the brand’s image over competitors by opening stores on dominant streets.
According to The Richest, Marta also enjoys sitting in the company’s office with other employees, like her father. One thing that makes Zara successful is building a bridge between high fashion and the street.
Marta with his father Amancio Ortega. Photo: El Pais.
The 38-year-old owner believes that technology and fashion, art and function should be combined so that customers feel comfortable shopping for the brand’s products.
With Marta’s guidance, the fashion brand has nine factories and nine distribution centers in Spain alone. They also have another distribution center in the Netherlands and around 2,000 suppliers across Turkey, India, Morocco and China.
Marta has developed an efficient supply chain for Zara, driven by the way the brand responds to customer needs. The strategy that Marta uses is to keep inventory low and design short timelines that are thought to be efficient.
With this strategy, international competitors such as Topshop, Aritzia and H&M struggle to compete in terms of their product breadth and depth of reach. With Marta’s guidance, Zara was able to sell more than 450 million items a year in women’s clothing alone.
Marta is considered the key holder of Zara’s success. Photo: Bloomberg.
The connection of the fashion world
The only child from Amancio Ortega’s second marriage to Flora Perez, Marta Ortega Pérez grew up in the rainy fishing port of La Coruna (Northwest Spain) with her older sister Sandra and brother Marcos. They are the half-siblings of Marta Pérez.
The youngest child of the Inditex tycoon attended a boarding school in Switzerland and graduated from the European Business School in London (UK) in 2007. After that, she briefly worked as an assistant at the Zara store in London. for a better understanding of how it works.
“I thought I wouldn’t survive the first week. But then I became addicted to the store,” she shared in a rare interview with The Wall Street Journal.
She never told her colleagues at the store about her background. But they soon discovered that Marta was the daughter of the Inditex owner, after seeing the Rolex in her hand.
From left: Carlos Torretta, model Naomi Campbell, fashion designer Pierpaolo Piccioli and Inditex CEO Marta Ortega. Photo: Getty Images.
Marta believes that the store is the heart of the company. She is also grateful for the collaborative sales experience, through which she can better understand the brand.
Marta continues to work at Inditex headquarters in Galicia (Spain). “She has established many connections with the fashion world,” says Alfred Vernis, a professor at the Spanish business school ESADE and a former Inditex executive.
With a slim figure and blonde hair, Marta often appears on the front row of fashion shows. She plays alongside fashion icons such as Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg…
From left: “Iron Lady” Anna Wintour, new owner of Zara Marta and designer Diane von Furstenberg. Photo: SCMP.
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