The Spanish clothing manufacturer Mango was founded 40 years ago in Barcelona. This year, the company plans to advance its global expansion despite the economic uncertainties that have severely impacted other players in the apparel industry.
After an economic pause caused by the pandemic, the family business has had several in recent months Branches worldwide opened.
The new openings include a 400 square meter store in Los Angeles and a similarly sized store in Manchester, England, as well as a new flagship in Bengaluru, India.
Last year, Mango opened a total of 115 stores, mostly in the US, where the clothing retailer’s outlets have tripled, said Cesar de Vicente, Mango’s global retail director, in an interview with the AFP news agency.
Mango now has 2,700 stores in over 115 countries. In comparison: Zara parent Inditex – Spain’s second major retail success – operates almost 6,000 stores worldwide.
The expansion has also boosted the company’s sales. Next Monday, Mango will announce its annual results and expects sales of over three billion euros in 2023 – that would be a new record, De Vicente told AFP as he stood in front of the samples of the new collection at the Mango headquarters in a suburb of Barcelona was standing.
At the headquarters – the company’s so-called ‘campus’ – the 500 employed stylists design and test the future Mango collections.
The company sells almost 160 million items of clothing and accessories every year.
Star brand ambassadors
The company’s origins date back to 1984, when Isak Andic, with the help of his older brother Nahman, opened his first store on the famous Paseo de Gracia shopping street. At the time, Spain had just emerged from a decades-long dictatorship led by President Francisco Franco, which ended with the dictator’s death. Consumers longed for modern clothing and Andic’s business became a success.
“He saw that we needed color – and style,” said De Vicente.
Andic soon opened dozens more stores in Spain and then abroad: first in the neighboring countries of Portugal and France – all under the Mango name.
To boost sales, the company has roped in big stars like British model Kate Moss, Spanish actress Penelope Cruz and French soccer player Antoine Griezmann for its marketing campaigns.
Like its main national competitor Inditex, which owns brands such as Zara, Bershka and Pull & Bear, Mango wants to quickly adapt its production to the latest trends while offering affordable prices. The two groups have “a lot in common” because they “evolved at the same time,” but there are also some significant differences, said Marcel Planellas, a strategy professor at the Esade business school in Barcelona.
Mango only has a single brand and does not have its own factory, but rather outsources its entire production to cheaper Turkey and Asia, according to the professor.
500 new stores
The company employs around 14,000 people and wants to differentiate itself from cheap brands such as Shein and Primark through rapid rise within the market. On Monday, Mango will also present its new strategic plan along with its annual results. It is expected that the company will reaffirm its international ambitions and continue to plan to open 500 new stores by 2026.
The new openings will be mainly in the US, UK and France, the company’s second-largest market after Spain, said De Vicente.
This dynamic contrasts with the stagnation observed in other areas of the industry in Europe. The US retailer Gap had to close stores and the French clothing company Camaieu completely ceased operations.
Mango, unlike some of its competitors, is in a “solid situation,” Planellas said. He predicts the company will go public in the coming years, as Inditex did in 2001.
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.com. Translation and editing: Pia Schulz