Do we like Zara?
Fast-fashion clothing chain and Inditex's flagship brand, based in Arteixo, Spain.
Our score: 4 out of 10. Zara is a strong business that pays its Spanish shop staff better than it used to. Supply-chain labour scandals and rising emissions hold us back, so we'd hesitate.
Zara is the flagship of Inditex, the Spanish group run from Arteixo. Founder Amancio Ortega handed over the reins, and since 2022 his daughter Marta Ortega has been chair and Óscar García Maceiras CEO. Zara brings in nearly 70% of Inditex's revenue.
Business-wise it's flying. Reuters reported currency-adjusted sales up 11.5% in May 2026, and an analyst called Zara 'clearly the outperformer'. Bloomberg said profit slightly missed forecasts in the second quarter, but sales were growing.
The ugly bit is the supply chain. In 2011 Brazilian authorities freed 15 workers, one aged 14, from a workshop subcontracted by a Zara supplier. Zara Brazil was later fined for 48 infractions. Inditex called the 2011 conditions a grave breach of its standards and said the subcontractor acted without its knowledge.
Uyghur forced-labour claims have followed too. French prosecutors opened a probe in 2021 into Inditex and others, and Inditex denied the accusations. Canada's ethics watchdog has also investigated a complaint. Inditex told it the allegations were unfounded and declined mediation.
On the plus side, Spanish unions say Inditex agreed a roughly 20% shop-pay rise in 2023, after strikes in its home town. We score it 4: a clever, well-run business, but with unresolved supply-chain and climate questions.