Mango founder Isak Andic dies in mountain accident

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Isak Andic, the Turkey-born founder and chair of Spanish fashion chain Mango, has died in an accident at the age of 71.

Andic, who founded the Catalonia-based business more than 40 years ago and became one of Spain’s wealthiest people, died on Saturday after falling down a precipice in the Catalan mountains, the company said.

The billionaire, who was Mango’s non-executive chair, turned the company into a global empire with annual sales of €3bn, second in the Spanish fashion business only to Zara owner Inditex.

“Isak has been an example for all of us,” said Toni Martinez, Mango’s chief executive. “His passing leaves a huge void but we are all, in a way, his legacy and the proof of his achievements.”

Andic, Mango’s sole shareholder, was Spain’s fifth richest person with a €4.5bn fortune, according to Forbes.

He has two daughters and a son Jonathan, who served as chief executive for several years from 2014 until mounting losses forced his father to retake control and appoint a different leader. Jonathan has a seat on Mango’s board.

Born in Istanbul, Isak Andic arrived in Catalonia in 1970 as a young immigrant and began importing blouses from the country of his birth to offer something different to people living under Spain’s dictatorship.

He traded the clothes first as a wholesaler in Barcelona, then from the back of a car he drove around Spain, and later his first store. In 1984 he named the business Mango.

The brand competes head-to-head with Zara and has become known for its affordable but stylish dresses, tops and coats, although it resists the “fast fashion” label and has recently been trying to move upmarket.

Andic masterminded the international expansion of the business; it now earns 77 per cent of its revenue outside Spain and has roughly 2,700 stores in 120 countries.

Marta Ortega, Inditex’s chair and daughter of its founder Amancio Ortega, said: “This is such tragic news for all those who were lucky enough to know Isak Andic. It is also a huge loss for the Spanish business world and the global fashion sector — in both worlds his contribution has defined an era.”