Running Head: ZARA CASE STUDY 1 ZARA CASE STUDY Introduction Fast fashion refers to cheap clothing which is manufactured by various organizations in response to new trends in the market. The issue of fast fashion began in the 1960s as young people embraced the inexpensive clothing that made them look civilized and modern. There have been various companies competing for such markets. This led to the development of the global fast fashion market in the world with the major concern on satisfying the latest trends. Zara is a Spanish fashion company established at Coruña in Galicia and is a primary brand of the Group Inditex (Alonso, 2019). It deals with clothing and related accessories. The marketing approach of the company towards fashions and business has seen it expand and develop various retail stores in the country and outside. The company has been able to attract many consumers worldwide to use its products. The reason behind its achievements is the fast fashion deliveries to the stores. The products are refreshed twice a week in its stores countrywide making the stores a convenient place to shop. Apart from this, the market strategies adopted by the company have contributed immensely to the success and expansion of the business. This paper will analyze in detail Zara's market and strategic decisions that fostered its success Differences in fast fashion in Europe, Asia, and North America The differences in fast fashion in the mention countries can be attributed to the weather in the respective regions (Linden, 2016). For example, winter collection will not be availed at as South East Asia. Europe especially the Northern Europe experience winter and winter collection will sell a lot in the region. In the USA, winter runs for a very short time, i.e., from December to the end of February. Religion also plays a key role in the fashion industry (Linden, 2016). In Asia, ZARA CASE STUDY 2 Hinduism is the widespread religion, and thus, Hinduism clothes such as Kurta Pyjama or Dhoti Kurta are the most preferred collection that will sell more. In Europe and the USA, Christianity is the widespread religion, and thus, official, classy and other kinds of modern attire will be sold by the fashion industry in the two continents. This implies that there are different tastes based on different religions. Considering the marketing strategy for fast fashions, advertising will work best in the United States since people read a lot and are flexible to adopt new styles. For Asians, persuasions by mouth will be the best approach to convince them also. As a matter of fact, also, Americans have embraced online buying of goods as compared to Asians; hence, e-commerce will work better in the United States than Asia. Market The company mainly targets youths who are young and want to look classy and excellent with their outfits. The target market, therefore, is the people between the age of 18-40 years. This age represents individuals who are fashion conscious and follows trends in the new fashions in the market. The majority of the age group targeted resides in urban areas where the stores of the company are located. Zara has also targeted children by introducing the brands for them as well. This ensures that the parents can shop for themselves and their children the same product. The company also is up to date in terms of fashions and thus, many people are attracted to the fashions offered. This has made the company attract more people in the recent past. Subsequently, this is associated with increasing sales that transformed into more revenue and thus, more profits and subsequently, expansion of the stores globally. The number of stores has been tremendously rising from 2007 to 2018. In 2018 for instance, Zara had a total of 2238 stores worldwide. This can be attributed to the fact that the company is ZARA CASE STUDY 3 the leading fast fashion brand. It also has a large team of skilled designers who understand the market needs and produce the best fashion designs that are needed by the consumers. To also conquer the market, Zara has embraced new technology to give their customers and online shopping experience, and they can shop anytime and anywhere as they await the deliveries. The company’s products are also affordable in the market according to Inditex; thus, improving the market base of the fashion products (Graafland, 2018). Marketing strategies a) Advertising Like many other rivals, Zara embraces the use of adverts to reach consumers. It advertises only during sales seasons; that is during January and July. The advertisement is done through various means such as the newspapers and billboards in some cities. When customers view the product in the advert, they are compelled to go for fashion because of their best designs and attractiveness. This has attracted new customers to purchase Zara's fashions. Many people globally read the newspaper, and in the process of reading, they get the adverts and see the latest trends. Those who do not read the newspapers will view the product on the billboards on the streets in towns while traveling or walking. Zara's stores also advertise the products in the way it has been designed and because of their strategic locations in big cities and towns. The stores have banners with Zara’s name and the fashions in the market attracting customers. It is also worth knowing that Zara spent 0.3% on their revenues on advertising and marketing, which lower when compared to other competitors such as GAP and H&M who spent 3-4% on their total revenue on advertising. This exemplifies that Zara maintained cost advantage when compared to its competitors in the market (Alonso, 2019). ZARA CASE STUDY 4 Zara also advertises its products through social media such as Facebook and Instagram. In fact, it has diversified its advertising on Instagram. For instance, the company has an Instagram account @zaraman dealing with male kids and @zarakids dealing with children’s clothing. This ensures that all individuals from children to youths and even adults needs are meeting by the business (Alonso, 2019). b) Branding strategy Zara in the past and currently has been on toes on the changing fashion industry in terms of new trends. It understands that coming up with a new collection that is classic is the key to meeting the customer’s needs. The company has always been in fast in keeping pace with the latest fashions while also ensuring that such products are affordable to the consumers. The company has been able to introduce new collections without any market delay; hence, it has been in a position to compete with its rivals. Zara recognizes the fact that people only love wearing clothes for a short while and throw them when new collections are in the market. According to (Danziger, 2018), he refers the company to producing "freshly baked clothes," which attracts the public a lot. New brands also evangelize the products by letting people know of the product. This also builds the advertisement strategy. Decision strategies a) Risky decisions or investment Zara took risks by investing in many outlets globally without fear of market changes in the future that could cause a lot of losses to the company. The risky decision made by the company also is embracing the design-driven strategy whereby, approximately 11000 styles were produced every year. This implies that about 1000 styles of their products were produced every month. This ZARA CASE STUDY 5 means that there have to be new products in Zara’s stores every time the customer visits. This could have been a disaster if the brand could not be appealing to the customers. However, this kind of investment idea became a strategic decision as the company was able to compete with rivals and attracts more customers. This led to higher profits margins as well and the expansion of the companies stores in other nations. b) Centralized Logistics and Distribution decisions These are decisions pertaining to the supply chain into the stores across the world. The company decided to refresh its products with new styles in various stores twice a week. This means that there was a new taste for consumers every week. The times for deliveries and shipments are specified and followed with utmost care to ensure that there were no delays or inconveniences to the stores. This created a culture among the customers that they could find a new product each week in Zara's stores and they kept checking always. This did not only build the customers loyalty but also led to more sales for the company (Dishman, 2012). c) Pricing and Quality strategy Despite the fact that the prices of Zara's products are cheap, it does not imply that the quality merges the product. The quality of their products is appealing as it could last and could make one feel classy and modern. Because of more sales the company makes over a short period, profits are still being realized with the affordable prices. The materials used in the manufacture of fashions are quality, making the products durable. This also attracts the customers because they are able to save money and get the best outfits for themselves and their loved ones (Dishman, 2012). ZARA CASE STUDY 6 The above decisions have been the backbone of Zara’s success in the fashion industry. The company has taken a lot of serious risks that brought a lot of achievements to the company. Some decisions have gone a long way in attracting more customers and increasing the sales for the company. Conclusion The market is always a key consideration for any business. For business dealing with Fashions like Zara, they should be able to manufacture new products with different styles most often for them to conquer new markets. Zara was able to maintain its customers by coming up with many designs in a month which led to new appealing products every time customers passed by the stores. The company ensures that there is a reason for customers to purchase a product over a short time. Pricing also served as a key strategy for attracting more consumers. Provision of continuous supply to the stores is also another stronghold of the company’s success as this ensured that the stores were always operational and with stock. As seen above, it is evidenced that Zara’s marketing strategies and decision strategies worked towards the success of the company. ZARA CASE STUDY 7 References Alonso, T. (2019). Pablo Isla explains his online strategy for Inditex. Retrieved from https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Pablo-Isla-explains-his-online-strategy-forInditex,1084282.html Danziger, P. (2018). Why Zara Succeeds: It Focuses On Pulling People In, Not Pushing Product Out. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2018/04/23/zarasdifference-pull-people-in-not-push-product-out/#6e72210e23cb Dishman, L. (2012). The Strategic Retail Genius Behind Zara. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/lydiadishman/2012/03/23/the-strategic-retail-geniusbehind-zara/#65921f6869d8 Graafland, A. (2018). The secrets behind Zara's massive success. Retrieved from https://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/secrets-behind-zaras-massivesuccess-15147797 Linden, A. (2016). An Analysis of the Fast Fashion Industry. 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