As warm weather pushes up fashion sales, how has Inditex heiress Marta Ortega Pérez made her mark at Zara?

Despite economists forecasting a 0.2% drop in retail sales for the month of May, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that they in fact rose 0.3%. Although this is being put down to warm weather boosting fashion sales, could it simply be that the general public are simply fed up with all the doom and gloom around them and are in need of an endorphin-boosting spot of retail therapy?

The Industry Fashion reported that “warmer weather also helped retailers who sell summer clothing and outdoor goods, with online retailers especially reporting a boost. The fashion retailer Next has upgraded its profits for the year and their sales were up 9.3% year-on-year over the last seven weeks. 

So where does the high street chain Zara fit in with all this talk of the rise in fashion sales and more specifically Marta Ortega Pérez ? At the start of June 2023, Zara’s owner Inditex revealed that sales of their spring-summer collection had jumped 16% in May. On June 7,2023, Reuters reported that “Inditex, which also owns Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti outperformed other retailers in 2022 with main rival H&M (HMb.ST) struggling to compete for shoppers impacted by a cost of living crisis.”

Marta Ortega Pérez the daughter of Zara founder Amancio Ortega, took over as chairman of the high street brand in 2022 and has demonstrated  in a similar way to what Bernard Arnault’s son Alexandre is doing at Tiffany & Co, that she is more than capable of the role.

Marta Ortega Pérez has collaborated both with model Kaia Gerber and Charlotte Gainsbourg and the designer Narcisco Rodriguez was invited by Marta to reproduce 25 pieces from his archive. Although the Princess of Wales has been a favourite of Zara for years, high profile Hollywood stars such as Selena Gomez are also fans of the label. 

When Selena Gomez attended the wedding of Britney Spears, she didn’t opt for the likes of Gucci or Dior, but chose an electric blue suit from Zara. It looked incredibly chic and in many ways, much more ‘fashion forward’ than many more expensive brands. 

Karl Templer, the British fashion stylist and creative director who has worked with Marta told the Financial Times that “She is very intuitive and makes decisions quickly. She always wants to do even better and is looking forward to what could be next.”

In many ways, the likes of Alexandre Arnault and Marta Ortega Pérez have to work even harder to break down preconceived notions that they are simply heirs to their family businesses and don’t have the right or talent to be in their positions.

 On the contrary, Alexandre’s rejuvenation of Tiffany & Co is already reaping rewards. Since LVMH took over Tiffany & Co took over Tiffany & Co, their profits have doubled and Alexandre Arnault has been responsible for cultivating relationships with the likes of Beyonce and Jay-Z. 

Like Alexandre, Marta has already proved her critics wrong and is set for even greater success in the future.