miércoles, 2 de enero de 2013

ZARA,...THE SECRETS OF THEIR SUCCESS









ZARA...WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THEM...













If we would like to talk about a successful story in retail today,..we have to talk about Zara. This Spanish retailer started in 1975 and has become a world leader in the fashion retailing industry.  Originally, it started with a small store in La Coruña, Spain, rapidly expanding, based, on a new way of doing fashion retailing,...offering fashion items at competitive prices,...using the just-in-time system, which was used mainly by the car industry. (Toyota)
Instead of making mayor part of their production in low-cost countries, they focused their collections on quick response (so short lead times), more fashionable clothes, bigger choices and styles, by producing, mayor part of their products in nearby owned factories or subcontractors in Spain and or Portugal. (who work almost exclusively for them)
This almost vertical operation, has abled them, to react very fast on the todays situation of the market, (especially in fashion, where everything depends a lot on the current trends of the day, weather conditions,..) offering small quantities (avoid them to get an excess of non sold items, at the end of the season), but very fashionable product groups, within 4 weeks, in their stores, creating like this, a continuous flow of new products and clients, repeating their visits, each week, to see and buy the latest fashion items.
In order to catch the latest trends, the stores and their staff, are playing a vital role, as they, through the latest technology, transmitting continuously, the latest needs and desires of their clients to the central office.
It is rare, to see reorders and every week, you can find new items in their stores.  This, together with their concept (this kind of luxury boutique feeling atmosphere, on top prime locations), has created of Zara, to what it is today.
Everything is based on lean management, quick response and decision making, speeding up the creating and the development process.  A real well developed ZARA COMPANY CULTURE.
The continuous renewing of their various concepts (under the name Inditex, you can find Zara, Bershka, Stradivarius, Massimo Dutti, Lefties,.Zara Home, Uterque,..) and the launch of the online business, by using the latest new ways of cross channeling, where all forms of possible retailing are combined and working together, are allowing them to serve the todays and future clients the best possible way.
Although their sales has recently stagnated in their local home markets (also due, for a part, to the difficult local economical European situation), they have increased their turn-over by expanding and using a very aggressive worldwide expansion plan.
Definitely to be followed.....
www.zara.com

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