INDITEX : Tempe Inditex unveils an updated For&From store concept in Madrid

-The new For&From Tempe Inditex establishment is located in The Style Outlets in San Sebastián de los Reyes, having just moved from its previous location in the Sambil Outlet.

-The establishment, which continues to be managed by the Prodis Foundation, has 220m2 of floor space to display and sell the Inditex brands' prior-season women's, men's and children's footwear and bags.

-The mission pursued by the For&From programme, which currently encompasses 15 stores operated under different Inditex brands, is to integrate people with different kinds of disabilities into society and the workforce, having so far generated employment opportunities for more than 750 people and €8 million of profits for the charitable organisations that run the stores.

"For me it is a pleasure to come to work as it feels like home. I get on exceptionally well with my colleagues and I like the work". María Biosca began to work as a shop assistant at the For&From Tempe Inditex store in Sambil Outlet six years ago. Her job is now moving to a new location - The Style Outlets shopping centre in Madrid's San Sebastián de los Reyes district - but her enthusiasm is undiminished.

Olga,the store manager, sums it up as follows: "for me this venture has been a source of constant learning. Throughout this time all of the people in my team, with differing abilities, have been by my side, accompanying me along the way".

The new location, which opened its doors last August, has 220m2 of floor space for displaying and selling the Inditex brands' prior-season women's, men's and children's footwear and bags. It continues to be managed by the Prodis Foundation.

New store concept

The new store offers an updated brand image conceived of to create a comfortable space with clean and pure lines. The use of a neutral palette with Mediterranean touches gives the space a timeless feel in which natural materials and meticulously-selected lighting put the products front and centre. The interior is articulated around tables and surfaces made from stony materials, walls finished in earthy textures, Italian Palladian-style terrazzo structures and birch wood. The store's conception and interior design are framed by the highest standards of sustainability and energy efficiency. Moreover, the establishment has been designed to be free from architectural barriers: all of the areas devoted to sales, storage or use by employees are 100% accessible, following easy read and universal accessibility criteria, providing 120cm-wide passageways and fitted with accessible toilets, among other features.

For&From

The For&From Tempe Inditex project aims to create a beneficial environment for the store's staff - currently made up of 18 people with different types of physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities - so as to facilitate their integration into society and the labour force. In parallel, the store will provide an important space for raising awareness about what people with disabilities can achieve by showcasing their ability to work in a benchmark retail venture, so breaking down barriers and stereotypes. All store profits go to the Prodis Foundation, which manages this store and also the Zara Home For&From establishment located in the same shopping centre.

Prodis is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to lend people with intellectual disabilities the support they need to improve their quality of living by contributing to their personal development and helping them integrate into society and the workforce. The charity's president, Soledad Herreros de Tejada, explains how ''the For&From project allows us to demonstrate that people with disabilities want to and can work and make excellent and highly responsible professionals who work tirelessly to meet all that is expected of them".

For&From dates back to 2002 when Massimo Dutti opened the platform's first store in Palafolls (Barcelona). Today, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Tempe Inditex are also part of the project. In 2019, For&From inaugurated its first international store in Como (Italy), which is managed by Fondazione Cometa. There are currently 15 For&From stores which between them have generated employment opportunities for over 750 people with different abilities and more than €8 million for the charitable work done by the various managing organisations.