Closure of Russian shops presents challenge for new head of Zara owner Inditex

Spanish company has more than 500 stores in Russia, all now temporarily closed in response to the war in Ukraine

New Inditex chair Marta Ortega is the daughter of Inditex’s founder Amancio Ortega.

Marta Ortega will start her job as chairwoman of her father’s retail empire Inditex next month with an unenviable task: dealing without Russia, the Zara owner’s second-largest market in terms of stores.

Her predecessor, Pablo Isla, is leaving the company after spearheading Inditex’s expansion over 17 years.