Retail & Brands

2024-01-25

Zara Home opens its first Portuguese for&from store for integrating persons with disabilities

Zara Home has opened its maiden for&from store, the Inditex Group initiative designed to integrate persons with disabilities into society and the labour force, in a new market for the initiative: Portugal. The new establishment, under the management of the VilacomVida Association, is located in the Freeport Lisboa Fashion Outlet in the town of Alcochete, close to the Portuguese capital, and has more than 150m2 of floor space for displaying and selling prior-season Zara Home collections.

The new Zara Home for&from is located in the Freeport Lisboa Fashion Outlet in the town of Alcochete, close to the Portuguese capital.
This opening makes Portugal the third country with for&from establishments and adds to the platform's 14 stores in Spain and single store in Italy.
The VilacomVida Association is the entity tasked with managing the new establishment, which has over 150m2 a floor space devoted to the display and sale of prior-season Zara Home collections.
The mission pursued by the for&from programme, which now encompasses 16 stores operated under the various 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.

The inauguration of the Zara Home for&from in the Freeport Lisboa Fashion Outlet makes Portugal the third country to welcome this retail format. There are now 16 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.

for&from

The new Zara Home for&from store aspires to create a beneficial environment for the store’s staff - currently made up of 17 people with different types of physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities - so as to facilitate their integration into society and the labour force.

After an initial donation by Inditex for the stores' construction, the model becomes self-sufficient thanks to the sale by the charities of prior-season products at reduced prices.

The profits are reinvested in the projects run by the network's various partner charities, in this instance the VilacomVida Association. As a result, the stores become banner retail premises for inclusion, accessibility and the elimination of barriers.

Partnership with VilacomVida

“Since the beginning, we at the VilacomVida Association have been working to create a more independent and happier future for youths with differing abilities. It is an honour to form part of this initiative which allows us turn our vision into a reality”, said Filipa Pinto Coelho and João Gomes da Silva, the founders of VilacomVida.

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 Italy, which is managed by Fondazione Cometa. With the new Zara Home for&from in the Freeport Lisboa Fashion Outlet, the platform has 16 stores, with all of the Inditex Group’s brands represented. Portugal is the third country to welcome for&from, adding to the 14 establishments already operating in Spain and the sole store in Italy. Over its more than two decades in operation, for&from has generated job opportunities for over 750 people and €8 million of profits for the charitable organisations that run the stores. © INDITEX

“We are grateful to the Inditex Group for choosing us to train the employees of this new Zara Home store and introduce the for&from concept into the Portuguese market. This partnership is an important endorsement of the work we are doing with these young people, particularly in projects like Café Joyeux”.

Store concept

The Zara Home for&from spans 150m2 dominated by natural materials and warm colours. One of the key materials is natural European oak combined with stone and pale-coloured finishes.

The meticulously-selected product range is displayed following the logic of a real home and its rooms. The collections are introduced in the central display units with alternative colours and designs shown around the edges of the store.