Zara Case Study
Kotler P. et al, (2008), Principles of Marketing, 5th European edition, Harlow, Pearson Education Ltd.
Company Case 19 Zara – the fast and furious giant of fashion
One global retailer is expanding at a dizzying pace. It is on track for what appears to be world domination of its industry. Having built its own state-of-the-art distribution network, the company is leaving the competition in the dust in terms of sales and profits, not to mention speed of inventory management and turnover. Wal-Mart, you might think? No! Tesco, possibly? No! The company is Zara, the flagship specialty chain of Spain based clothing conglomerate, Inditex. Forget football stars, the Costa del Sol and Real Madrid, they are nothing compared with Zara as Spain’s most successful international export. And it has other retailers reeling as Zara’s low-cost, fast fashion takes global markets by storm. This dynamic retailer is known for selling stylish designs that resemble those of big-name fashion houses but at moderate prices. ‘We sell the latest trends at low prices, but our clients value our design, quality and constant innovation,’ a company spokesman said. ‘That gives us the advantage even in highly competitive, developed markets, including Britain.’ More interesting is the way that Zara achieves its mission.
Fast fashion – the newest wave
A handful of European speciality clothing retailers are taking the fashion world by storm with a business model that has come to be known as ‘fast-fashion’. In short, these companies can recognise and respond to fashion trends very quickly, create products that mirror the trends, and get these products onto shelves much faster and more frequently than the industry norm. Fast-fashion retailers include Sweden’s Hennes & Mauritz (HM), Britain’s Top Shop, Spain’s Mango and the Netherland’s Mexx. Although all of these companies are successfully employing the fast-fashion concept, Zara leads the pack in virtually every way. For example, ‘fast’ at Zara
Company Case 19 Zara – the fast and furious giant of fashion
One global retailer is expanding at a dizzying pace. It is on track for what appears to be world domination of its industry. Having built its own state-of-the-art distribution network, the company is leaving the competition in the dust in terms of sales and profits, not to mention speed of inventory management and turnover. Wal-Mart, you might think? No! Tesco, possibly? No! The company is Zara, the flagship specialty chain of Spain based clothing conglomerate, Inditex. Forget football stars, the Costa del Sol and Real Madrid, they are nothing compared with Zara as Spain’s most successful international export. And it has other retailers reeling as Zara’s low-cost, fast fashion takes global markets by storm. This dynamic retailer is known for selling stylish designs that resemble those of big-name fashion houses but at moderate prices. ‘We sell the latest trends at low prices, but our clients value our design, quality and constant innovation,’ a company spokesman said. ‘That gives us the advantage even in highly competitive, developed markets, including Britain.’ More interesting is the way that Zara achieves its mission.
Fast fashion – the newest wave
A handful of European speciality clothing retailers are taking the fashion world by storm with a business model that has come to be known as ‘fast-fashion’. In short, these companies can recognise and respond to fashion trends very quickly, create products that mirror the trends, and get these products onto shelves much faster and more frequently than the industry norm. Fast-fashion retailers include Sweden’s Hennes & Mauritz (HM), Britain’s Top Shop, Spain’s Mango and the Netherland’s Mexx. Although all of these companies are successfully employing the fast-fashion concept, Zara leads the pack in virtually every way. For example, ‘fast’ at Zara