Son of
Mango fashion chain founder arrested in Spain over death of father
Catalan
police questioning Jonathan Andic over father Isak Andic’s apparent fall down a
mountain ravine in 2024
Sam Jones
in Madrid
Tue 19
May 2026 13.35 BST
Police in
Catalonia have arrested the son of Isak Andic, the founder of the fashion chain
Mango, and are questioning him in connection with the death of his father in
the mountains near Barcelona almost 18 months ago.
Andic,
who was 71, died in December 2024 after apparently falling 100 metres down a
ravine while hiking in Montserrat with his son, Jonathan. His death prompted
tributes from politicians, journalists and the fashion world.
Although
an initial investigation by the Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, had
regarded it as an accident, officers and judicial sources told El País and La
Vanguardia last year that the case was being treated as a possible homicide.
On
Tuesday, the Mossos d’Esquadra said Jonathan Andic, who is now vice-chair of
the Mango board, had been arrested. A spokesperson for the family confirmed he
was being questioned over his father’s death.
“The
cooperation has been, and will remain, total,” the spokesperson said, adding
that the family was confident of Jonathan Andic’s innocence.
El País
reported last year that police had found no direct or definitive evidence to
explain what happened in the ravine, but had “come across a series of clues
which, when taken together, had led them to move away from the idea of a mere
accident and toward the possibility of a homicide”.
La
Vanguardia reported that the judge overseeing the case changed Jonathan Andic’s
official status from witness to possible suspect in September last year.
The Andic
family issued a statement to the media at the time, saying: “The Andic family
has not and will not comment on Isak Andic’s death in all these months.
“However,
they wish to show their respect for the ongoing investigations and will
continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities, as they have done so far.
They are also confident that this process will be concluded as soon as possible
and that Jonathan Andic’s innocence will be proved.”
Isak
Andic, who was born to a Sephardic Jewish family in Istanbul in 1953, emigrated
to Catalonia with his relatives in the late 1960s and started selling T-shirts
to fellow high school pupils.
He
progressed to running a wholesale business and sold clothes in street markets
before opening his first Mango store in 1984.
“He saw
that we needed colour, style,” Mango’s global retail director, César de
Vicente, told Agence France-Presse in March last year.
Andic
soon opened dozens more stores around Europe and “realised that having the same
name, having the same brand, in all the shops would make the concept much
stronger”, added De Vicente.
No comments:
Post a Comment