The founder and owner of fashion empire Mango, Isak Andic, died yesterday in a mountain accident, Spanish police said. He was 71.
The businessman slipped and fell more than 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.
Ruiz said in a statement Andic’s death was ‘unexpected’.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed his condolences to Andic’s family in a post on X and praised the businessman saying: “All my love and recognition for his great work and business vision, which has turned this Spanish firm into a world leader in fashion.”
Born in Istanbul, Andic moved with his family to the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia in the 1960s and founded Mango in 1984. He was worth $4.5 billion, according to Forbes. He 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 3.1 billion euros in 2023 with 33 per cent of its business online and a presence in more than 120 markets.