They initially called it 'Zorba' after the classic 1964 film Zorba the Greek, but after learning there was a bar with the same name two blocks away, rearranged the letters to read 'Zara'.

[12] In the 2000s, Zara opened its first stores in Brazil (2000); Japan and Singapore (2002); Ireland, Venezuela, Russia and Malaysia (2003);[13][14][15][16] China,[17] Morocco,[18] Estonia,[19] Hungary[20] and Romania (2004);[21] the Philippines,[15] Costa Rica[22] and Indonesia (2005);[23] Colombia (2007);[24] and South Korea (2008).

[30] In November of the same year, Zara Online extended its service to five more countries: Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

[31] Online stores began operating in the United States in 2011,[32] Russia and Canada in 2013,[33][34][35] Mexico in 2014,[36] South Korea in 2014,[37][38] Romania in 2016,[39] India in 2017, Israel and Brazil in 2019,[40] and Peru in 2020.

[44] The global fashion business Journal MDS stated that while the textile commerce of the world had gone down by 2.38%, Zara's had risen 2.17%.

[58] Zara set up its own factory in La Coruña (a city known for its textile industry) in 1980 and upgraded to reverse milk-run-type production and distribution facilities in 1990.

[59] It enabled the company to establish a business model that allows self-containment throughout the stages of materials, manufacture, product completion, and distribution to stores worldwide within just a few days.

[60][59] Most of the products Zara sells are manufactured in Spain, Portugal, China, Turkey, Morocco, Bangladesh [7][61] and more recently - Armenia.

While some competitors outsource all production to Asia, Zara manufactures its most fashionable items – half of all its merchandise – at a dozen company-owned factories in Spain (particularly in Galicia), Portugal (northern part) and Turkey.

[69] Starting November 2022, Russians will be able to order products online from a range U.S. and European brands, including Nike, Zara and H&M, according to an announcement from Russia's postal service.

[73] Nine days after the report was published, Zara committed to eradicating all releases of hazardous chemicals throughout its entire supply chain and products by 2020.

[74] Zara became the biggest retailer in the world to raise awareness for the Detox Campaign,[75] and switched to a fully toxic-free production.

[76] In August 2014, Zara received criticism for selling a toddler T-shirt for closely resembling uniforms worn by Jewish concentration camp inmates.

The company also states factories responsible for unauthorized outsourcing have been asked to regularize immediately the situation of the workers involved.

[84] The company clarified the unpaid wages were due to a third-party manufacturer Bravo Tekstil,[85] who had failed to pay their employees in the period up to its closing after going bankrupt.

[88] In 2022, about 1,000 shop assistants who work at Zara and other fashion brands owned by Inditex went on strike on Black Friday in the company's home town in northern Spain to demand better salaries.

[89] Prior to a second strike, Inditex, Zara's parent company, has agreed to pay 322 euros more per month to shop assistants from 44 stores.

One of the designers, Tuesday Bassen, who previously worked with brands including Urban Outfitters and Nike, contacted Zara.

When the news was picked up by media outlets, Inditex, Zara's owning company, stated that the items in question have been suspended from sale, and that they are in contact with Bassen's lawyer to clarify and address the issue.

emblazoned on the back became controversial after it was worn by Melania Trump when she visited a detention center for migrant children separated from their parents.

[96] In January 2018, Shanghai's internet authority summoned representatives of Zara, chastising the company for listing Taiwan as a country and ordering it to rectify the situation immediately.

[97] In September 2019, Zara supported Hong Kong strikes; however after pressures from Chinese social media Zara was forced to issue a statement expressing its support of the "one country, two systems" policy adopted by China in ruling Hong Kong, and its disapproval of anti-government strikes.

[98] In 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute accused at least 82 major brands, including Zara, of being connected to forced Uyghur labor in Xinjiang.

[99] In June 2021, the company's women's head fashion designer Vanessa Perilman made anti-Palestinian comments in response to Palestinian model Qaher Harhash.

Commenters likened the similarity of the promotional photos to the images of the aftermath of air strikes in Palestine and called for a boycott of the brand.