The founder and owner of fashion empire Mango, Isak Andic, died yesterday in a mountain accident, police have said. He was 71.
The businessman slipped and fell over 100 metres from a cliff while hiking with relatives in the Montserrat caves near Barcelona, a police spokesperson said.
"His departure leaves a huge void but all of us are, in some way, his legacy and the testimony of his achievements. It is up to us ... to ensure that Mango continues to be the project that Isak was ambitious and proud of," Mango's CEO, Toni Ruiz, said in a statement.
Born in Istanbul, Mr Andic moved with his family to the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia in the 1960s and founded Mango in 1984 with the help of his older brother Nahman.
The company was hugely successful. Spain had just emerged from a decades-long dictatorship that ended with the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975, and consumers were hungry for more modern clothes.
He was worth $4.5 billion, according to Forbes.
Mr Andic was non-executive chairman of the company when he died.
He was seen as a rival to Amancio Ortega, the owner of Inditex, the world's largest fast-fashion retailer.
Mango had a turnover of €3.1bn in 2023 with 33% of its business online and a presence in more than 120 markets.
According to its website, the company employs 15,500 people around the world.
