- Mango founder Isak Andic died Saturday at the age of 71 while hiking in Spain. His chain has about 2,700 stores in 120 countries and is in the midst of a major U.S. expansion.
Isak Andic, who founded the European fashion brand Mango, died on Saturday while hiking in Spain, just as his chain is expanding rapidly in the U.S.
According to local reports, he fell down a ravine more than 320 feet deep in the Catalan mountains while hiking with his son Jonathan.
An announcement from Mango confirmed the passing of Andic, who was the company’s nonexecutive chairman, and vowed to carry on his work.
“His departure leaves a huge void, but all of us are, in some way, his legacy and the testimony of his achievements,” CEO Toni Ruiz wrote. “It is up to us, and this is the best tribute we can make to Isak and which we will fulfill, to ensure that Mango continues to be the project that Isak aspired to and of which he would feel proud.”
According to Forbes, Andic and his family have a net worth of $4 billion, making them among the wealthiest in Spain. Over the weekend, Spain’s prime minister and Catalonia’s regional president posted tributes to Andic.
That’s a far cry from where he started. Andic immigrated to Spain from Turkey in 1970 and began importing blouses from his native country, according to the Financial Times. After selling the clothes as a wholesaler in Barcelona, he hawked them directly from the back of his car.
Eventually, he opened a store and named his business Mango in 1984. Today, the company has about 2,700 stores in 120 countries and generated more than $3 billion in sales last year, while competing with fast-fashion giant Zara.
More than three-quarters of Mango’s revenue comes from outside Spain, and the U.S. is emerging as a key growth market.
Mango first established a U.S. foothold in 2006 and had 10 stores here by the end of 2022. Two years later, the company has 40 stores and expects to end 2024 with 42. The U.S. is already one of Mango’s five main markets and its main online market, according to the company.
By the end of next year, Mango expects to have about 65 company-owned stores and plans to double its U.S. workforce to more than 1,200 employees. And in 2026, Mango sees the U.S. becoming one of its three main markets in terms of turnover.
