Inditex Reshapes Zara’s Leadership With Lorenzo Marcheselli at the Helm of Zara Kids

Changes in Zara’s management. Inditex is renewing the management of one of the departments of its flagship chain with the appointment of a new director for Zara Kids. According to Modaes, Lorenzo Marcheselli has been appointed head of the division.

Marcheselli, until now director of Inditex in Italy, takes over from Begoña Costas, who is leaving her position as head of the division to retire after a 46-year career at Inditex in which she has held a position of maximum relevance, leading one of Zara’s three divisions. Until now, Costas was part of the group of executives included in the company’s senior management.

The new head of Zara Kids has almost two decades of experience in the Spanish group. Marcheselli’s career in the group began at the Zara stores in Ravenna and Florence, Italy. After holding various positions in Zara’s commercial structure in Italy, he headed the Inditex subsidiary in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and subsequently took charge of Zara’s commercial management for Europe. Since 2018 he was head of Inditex’s Italian subsidiary.

Inditex places the director of its Italian business at the head of Zara’s children’s department

The appointment of a new head of Zara Kids has led to the renewal of the group’s management in Italy. Barbara Bastianelli, until now Zara’s commercial director for Europe and Asia, takes over the management of the Italian subsidiary. Bastianelli began her career at Inditex, also in stores, 22 years ago, managing Zara stores in Bologna, Pisa and Rome.

With more than 70% of the group’s sales at the end of the last fiscal year, Zara is the driving force behind Inditex’s business. Taking into account Zara and Zara Home, the concept’s sales at the close of fiscal 2024 stood at €27,778 billion, an increase of 6.6% compared to 2023.

Zara’s pre-tax profit is also the highest in the group, accounting for more than 70% of the total. At the end of 2024, Zara recorded a pre-tax profit of €5,407 billion, an increase of 8% compared to the €5,004 billion of the previous year.

Barbara Bastianelli, until now Zara’s commercial director for Europe and Asia, takes over the management of the Italian subsidiary

Over the past twelve months, Zara Kids has strengthened its positioning with collaborations and new launches. Last February, for example, the chain’s children’s line launched a collaboration with German denim specialist Closed. In October 2024, meanwhile, the company launched the Z3D line within Zara Kids to target the teenage segment, which was initially given prominence within the website but has gradually disappeared.

Born at the time of Zara’s founding in 1974, the children’s category of the chain has been growing in recent years. The absorption of the children’s fashion chain Kiddy’s Class, in 2022, simplified the structure and allowed Zara Kids to concentrate the entire Zara offer for children.

According to the latest available data, corresponding to 2023, Zara is one of the top ten children’s fashion operators in Spain by market share. According to Kantar Worldpanel data, El Corte Inglés leads the ranking, followed by Zara, Decathlon, Carrefour, H&M, Amazon, Lefties.