Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
The billionaire owner of Zara is set to donate 300,000 face masks to Spain’s health workers and has opened the use of their factories in China to produce more to ensure supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.
Amancio Ortega, 83, who owns Inditex, the retail giant which includes Zara and Massimo Dutti, has reportedly told the Spanish government that the company will provide a weekly shipment of medical supplies to the country’s health workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Local media report 10,000 face masks have already been provided by the company, with a total of 300,000 expected to be donated by the end of the week.
Local media report Inditex have made their factories and warehouses, principally in China, available to make, store and distribute the necessary items for Spanish health workers.
The material which will be prioritised will be face masks, gloves, protective glasses, hats, plastic shoe covers and face protectors, according to reports.
The company said in a statement: “We are exploring the ability to convert part of our textile manufacturing capacity into sanitary material production, for which the Inditex production team has been involved.”
“Finally, it is important to point out the solidarity and help offered from China by different suppliers and collaborators, especially from Tsinghua University, whose mediation is proving essential to access basic medical supplies.”
Inditex has reportedly closed 3,785 shops in 39 countries worldwide in the COVID-19 pandemic, but the retail giant’s president, Pablo Isla, has also announced that ensuring the company’s workers keep their job “is the priority” for them in the crisis.
Ortega reportedly had a net worth of 68.3 billion USD (56.4 billion GBP) as of December 2019.
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