Billionaire: Founder of fashion company Mango dies in mountain accident

The founder of the globally successful Spanish fashion group Mango, billionaire Isak Andic, died in a mountain accident. The 71-year-old had an accident on Saturday, the company said. The state television broadcaster RTVE and other Spanish media reported, citing family circles, that the Turkish-born entrepreneur fell to his death during a family trip in the Montserrat mountains, approximately 40 kilometers northwest of Barcelona. It was said that he slipped in the saltpeter caves of Collbató at midday and fell around 150 meters into the depths.

Andic was considered one of the richest men in Spain, with an estimated fortune of around three billion euros. He was an enthusiastic mountaineer and hiker. The Catalan regional president Salvador Illa wrote on the news platform X that he was dismayed. Andic left an indelible mark on the Catalan and global fashion industry.

The family of the entrepreneur, who was born in Istanbul in 1953, emigrated to Spain in 1969. In the early 1980s, Andic opened several fashion stores in Barcelona and Madrid under the name Isak Jeans. 40 years ago he renamed it Mango.

With 2,700 sales points in more than 120 countries and more than 15,000 employees, Mango closed the past fiscal year 2023 with a historic sales record of more than 3.1 billion euros. This corresponds to growth of 15 percent compared to 2022. According to the group, almost 80 percent of sales are now generated outside of Spain.

“Isak was a role model for all of us,” emphasized Mango CEO Toni Ruiz in the company’s statement. “He dedicated his life to the Mango Project and left an indelible mark thanks to his strategic vision, his inspiring leadership qualities and his unwavering commitment to values ​​that he himself brought to our company.”