Hi °C | Lo °C Despite a substantial difference in the cost of their clothes, Arthur Ryan of Primark and Armancio Ortega Gaona of Zara have much in common.
Ireland's Ryan and Spain's Ortega, both in their seventies, have founded chain stores which blaze a trail in fast fashion by picking up catwalk trends and getting an affordable replica onto their rails within weeks.
Interestingly, both men shun the limelight - despite the massive success of their creations - and almost never give interviews.
They both go to great lengths to avoid being photographed, with Mr Ryan managing to avoid having his image committed to film altogether between 1969 and 2010.
Their personal style could not be further removed from that of Sir Philip Green, the flamboyant Arcadia boss who has now sold a quarter of his precious Topshop and Topman business to a US private equity firm.
Zara's parent company Inditex is based in La Coruna in Galicia, and provides much needed jobs in a country where unemployment among the under-30s is at 50%. About half of its clothes are made in Spain and Portugal. It has 5,900 stores in 85 countries and, like many sprawling businesses usually do, had a humble beginning.
Ortega set up his first clothes business making housecoats and robes in 1963, then opened the first 'Zorba' store in the 1970s. As an in-depth New York Times feature explained, there was confusion between 'Zorba' the shop and a bar called Zorba in the town. Some letter play ensued, and the name Zara was born.
Here in Northern Ireland there is a Zara store in Belfast and a sister store, Pull -amp; Bear, in Victoria Square Shopping Centre. As a brand it is not as ubiquitous on home turf as Primark - which trades in Ireland as Penneys and has around 256 stores Europe-wide - but travel to the US and the sheer reach of the company is unmistakable.
It's unlikely the two will ever meet, but Ryan and Ortega would have a lot to talk about.
