The unexpected death of the founder, non-executive president and main shareholder of Mango, Isak Andicopens a new stage in the Catalan textile group, which will have to resolve the succession in the presidency and the new shareholding. Andic, 71 years old, died last Saturday after falling into the void from a height of about 150 meters when he was on an excursion with his son near the Collbató saltpeter caves (Barcelona).
The businessman slipped on one of the paths and fell down a 150-meter-high ravine, in an area near those caves, which form part of the Montserrat mountain complex. The company will have to appoint a new president and see how the shareholding remains, of which Isak Andic had 95%, while the remaining 5% is in the hands of the CEO, Toni Ruiz, who is the one who runs the day-to-day running of the company and the deceased businessman’s trusted man.
Sources close to the company have assured the Efe agency that, for the moment, these matters have not been addressed within the group, since they are still They are coming to terms with the sudden and tragic death of the founder. The first steps will begin to be taken when the details of the will are known and what the new ownership of the company looks like.
Andic was the first fortune in Catalonia and the fifth in Spain, with a heritage of around 4.5 billion euroswhich in addition to the textile empire also includes real estate investments, according to Forbes magazine. Isak Andic leaves three children: Jonathan, Judith and Sarah, of whom only the first has a position on the board of directors of Mango and on the management committee, in addition to being at the forefront of the Mango Man men’s line.
Growth stage
Mango is immersed in a stage of great growth and already reinforced its corporate governance in 2023 by incorporating four independent directors into its board of directors. Mango’s new board of directors was made up of Isak Andic, non-executive president; Toni Ruiz, CEO; Jonathan Andic, Daniel López and Margarita Salvans, as executive directors; and four independent directors: Jordi Canalsprofessor at IESE Business School; Jorge Lucaya, founding partner of AZ Capital; Jordi Constans, director and former director of various national and international companies; and Marc Puigpresident and CEO of Puig.
He founded Mango 40 years ago
Isak Andic Ermay was born in 1953 in Istanbul, although at the age of fourteen he moved with his family to Barcelona. After entering the fashion sector through wholesale and retail sales, in 1984 he founded Mango, a company that closed 2023 with a record turnover of more than 3.1 billion euros. 15,500 employees and presence in more than 120 markets.
Throughout his career, Andic held positions as a member of the international advisory board of the IESE business school (IAB), vice president of Banco Sabadell and president of the Family Business Institute, from 2010 to April 2012.
Tribute to its founder in 2025
Businessmen, politicians and friends wanted to accompany the family at the Les Corts funeral home in Barcelona and say your last goodbye to the businessman, although the farewell ceremony has been intimate and strictly family. However, by the year 2025, and with a date yet to be determined, the company will prepare a public tribute to its founder.
Last June, Mango closed the best first semester in its history, with a turnover of 1,543 million euros, 6.3% more than in those months of 2023, a result that the company attributed to the “good acceptance” of the collections designed in Barcelona. The women’s collection, Woman, which represents 79% of total sales, is the driving force of the group’s business, with a growth of 4% and with the highest turnover figure in history in a semester.
With presence in more than 115 marketsthe turnover of the international business represents more than 78% of the group’s total. Spain, France, Türkiye, Germany and the United States are the markets with the highest business volume in those months. Last March, Mango presented its new Strategic Plan, which plans to exceed 4,000 million euros in turnover in 2026 and the opening of more than 500 stores in the next three years.