Zara Founder Invests $905M in US E-Commerce Warehouses

Spanish clothing magnate, Amancio Ortega, 86 — founder of Zara and the world’s largest fast fashion retail group, Inditex — is betting on the growing role of e-commerce logistic centers by purchasing warehouses across the United States. The fashion mogul is now looking to play landlord to the multinational companies already holding medium- and long-term leases at the warehouses.

According to Bloomberg, Ortega’s real estate-focused investment company, Pontegadea, has invested $905 million in the purchase of strategically located warehouses in Tennessee, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Spanish newspaper El Pais, which first reported the acquisitions, says the facilities already house major U.S. companies, including Amazon, FedEx, TJX, Home Depot and Nestle.

Ortega’s family-run Pontegadea, headquartered in La Coruna, Spain, acquired the properties from real estate investment trust Realty Income Corp. Pontegadea’s portfolio of property holdings was valued at $15.5 billion in 2021, reports Bloomberg.

Ortega, Forbes’ 23rd-ranked wealthiest businessman, owns a controlling interest in fashion giant Inditex, whose companies include Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho, Pull and Bear and Stradivarius.