Zara
Zara offers the latest trends in international fashion in an environment of thought-out design. Its stores, located in the main commercial areas of cities across Europe, America and Asia, offer fashion inspired in the tastes, wishes and lifestyles of today's men and women. Boundaries do not prevent anyone from sharing the same fashion culture. Thus, Zara has 917 stores in 62 countries. All of them have been designed to create a special atmosphere that will allow the client to feel the pleasure of buying fashion. At Zara, design is conceived as a process closely related to the client. From the stores we transmit to our creative teams, made up of over 200 professionals, the concerns and demands of the public. Zara moves at the pace of society, fashion ideas, and trends that society itself has natured. Hence its success among people, cultures and generations that, in spite of their differences, share a special sensitivity for fashion. Zara is part of the Inditex group, one of the largest fashion retail groups worldwide. Inditex has seven other retail chains: Kiddy's Class, Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Zara Home.
Zara & Inditex: a History
1975
The first Zara store is opened on a central street in A Coruņa (Spain).
1976-1984
The Zara fashion concept is well received by the public, and its network of stores extends to the major Spanish cities.
1985
The creation of Inditex as the head of the corporate group.
1986-87
The manufacturing companies in the Group devote their entire production to the Zara chain. The Group lays the foundations for a logistics system suited to the high level of growth expected.
1988
The opening of the first Zara store outside Spain, in Oporto (Portugal) in December 1988.
1989-1990
The United States and France are the next markets in which the Group begins its activity, with the opening of outlets in New York (1989) and Paris (1990).
1991
The birth of the Pull and Bear chain and the purchase of 65% of the Massimo Dutti Group.
1992-94
Inditex continues to open new international markets: Mexico in 1992, Greece in 1993, and Belgium and Sweden in 1994.
1995-96
Inditex acquires the entire share capital of Massimo Dutti. This year also sees the opening of the first store of the Group in Malta and the following year in Cyprus.
1997
Norway and Israel join the list of countries in which Inditex is present.
1998
The Bershka chain, targeting the younger female market, begins its activity in a year which also sees the opening of stores in new countries: Argentina, Japan, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Turkey.
1999
Inditex acquires Stradivarius, making it the Group's fifth chain. Stores are opened in new countries: the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Canada, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.
2000
Stores are opened in four new countries: Austria, Denmark, Qatar and Andorra. Inditex sets up its headquarters in a new building located in Arteixo (A Coruņa, Spain).
2001
Launch of the Oysho lingerie chain. On 23 May 2001, Inditex goes public and is listed on the stock market. The Group begins its activity in the following markets: Puerto Rico, Jordan, Ireland, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic and Italy.
2002
Construction work on the new Zara Logistics Centre in Zaragoza (Spain) begins. The Group opens its first stores in El Salvador, Finland, the Dominican Republic, Singapore and Switzerland.
2003
Opening of the first Zara Home stores (the Group's eighth chain). Plataforma Europa, the second Zara distribution centre, is opened in Zaragoza (Spain), supplementing the work of the distribution centre in Arteixo (A Coruņa, Spain). The Inditex Group opens its first stores in Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Malaysia.
2004
The Inditex Group opens store number 2,000 in Hong Kong, and reaches herewith presence in 56 countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. During this year the first stores in Morocco, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania and Panama has also been opened.
2005
Inditex opens its first stores in Monaco, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Costa Rica.
2006
Serbia, Mainland China and Tunis join the list of markets in which Inditex is present.
From zara.com and inditex.com