His Majesty the King today presented the VIII Kingdom of Spain Career in Business Award to Isak Andic, the founder and non-executive president of Mango. The Círculo de Empresarios, the Cercle d'Economia and the Círculo de Empresarios Vascos jointly organized this Award.
The award ceremony took place in the Aula Magna of the IESE Business School in Barcelona. Chaired by His Majesty the King, the event also featured Jordi Hereu, Minister of Industry and Tourism, Carlos Prieto, Government Delegate in Catalonia, and Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona, among other authorities. The presidents of the three organizations that convened the Award were also present: Manuel Pérez-Sala, president of the Círculo de Empresarios, Jaume Guardiola, president of the Cercle d'Economia, and Andrés Arizkorreta, president of the Círculo de Empresarios Vascos.
Manuel Pérez-Sala spoke on behalf of these entities, highlighting that the award winner "with his work, effort, capacity for innovation and strategic vision, has been able to build an exemplary company, a leader in its sector". He also referred to the context in which this career path has been possible, pointing out that “Spain is a liberal democracy, which takes the form of a parliamentary monarchy, and in a liberal democracy, electoral democracy is combined with respect for civil liberties, with a separation and balance of powers that represents the rule of law”. Likewise, he added that "businessmen prefer incentives to prohibitions, collaboration to submission, discretion to signaling, freedom to interventionism".
According to the Jury's decision, the prize was awarded to Isak Andic “by virtue of his contribution to Spain's economic and social development over several decades of effort and work, creating employment, internationalizing the company's activities and contributing to the improvement of its surroundings and the country's well-being. For these reasons, he is a point of reference for future generations”.
The Award winner thanked the organizers for granting the award, highlighting that “this recognition is not for Isak Andic, it is for Mango. Because Mango is much more than one person. It has a piece of the effort and work of each of the people who have worked and are working on the project. This is the key to our success: our common culture”. He continued with a wish for the future: “I hope that the Mango project, which was humbly founded in Barcelona more than forty years ago, can serve to foster the entrepreneurial spirit among youth and the aspiration to help create prosperity for many people and families and to serve society”. He concluded with the following statement: “With more initiatives and more entrepreneurs, I am convinced that our country will be stronger and more united. And our society will be better”.
The Jury that awarded the Prize was made up of distinguished representatives of Spanish civil society. Under the presidency of Santiago Muñoz Machado, Spanish academic and director of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), Luis Mateo Díez (member of the RAE), Adela Asúa Batarrita (former vice president of the Constitutional Court), José María Bermúdez de Castro (paleoanthropologist from the National Research Center on Human Evolution), Núria Cabutí (CEO of Penguin Random House), José María Guibert (Rector of the University of Deusto), Sara de la Rica (director of the ISEAK Foundation), Elvira Roca Barea (writer and essayist) and Miquel Roca Junyent (founding partner and president of RocaJunyent) formed part of the Jury. The general secretary of the Círculo de Empresarios Vascos, Enrique Portocarrero, acted as secretary of the Jury.
After nearly four decades, Isak Andic (Istanbul, 1953) has managed to turn Mango into one of the main groups in the fashion industry in Europe. Andic moved from Turkey with his family at the age of fourteen. At the age of seventeen, he began his career selling custom t-shirts until he managed to open his first Mango store in Barcelona in 1984. Currently, Mango has more than 2,700 points of sale in more than 115 countries and more than 15,500 employees. In 2023, the company achieved a historical sales record, reaching a turnover of more than 3.1 billion euros (15% more than the previous year) and doubled its net profit to 172 million euros.
Likewise, last Monday the company, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2024, presented its new Strategic Plan, called 4E, which includes its business priorities until 2026. The levers of the 4E Plan, Elevate, Expand, Earn and Empower, will be key to achieving the company's objectives, which include exceeding 4 billion euros in turnover in 2026. To achieve this, the company will reinforce its differential value proposition and promote an expansion plan that envisions opening more than 500 stores.
Speech of His Majesty the King
Speech of His Majesty the King-Video
