Research Buying Plan for Zara Fashion / Retail Brand (Research Paper Sample)

BUYING PLAN FOR ZARA FASHION/RETAIL BRAND
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ZARA
HISTORY OF ZARA
RosaliaMera and Amancio Ortega founded Zara, an accessories plus clothing retailer in 1975. Before Zara was established, Ortega built a factory dealing with dressmaking in 1963 (Tungate, 2012). The factory and stores then worked together to deliver products to Zara’s customers. The headquarters for Zara are located in La Coruna, Spain. The Inditex group has Zara as its main fashion brand. Zara was previously named Zorba, however, a neighboring bar had the same name, and the founders saw it fit to change the name. Zara stores have always featured items that reflect the latest fashion on the streets. During the 1970s, Zara stores were known for affordable fashionable pieces of clothes and accessories (Tungate, 2012). During the same time, the founders opened other stores throughout Spain.
GROWTH OF ZARA IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Zara started international expansion in the year 1988 through Portugal. 1989 saw its entry into the United States. During the 1990s, the stores spread to Mexico, Belgium, Sweden and Greece. During the 2000s, Zara expanded its presence into Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary, Estonia, Philippines, Romania, Indonesia, Costa Rica, South Korea, India, Australia, United Kingdom, China, Germany and South Africa. Zara has been established in 88 countries globally with approximately 7000 stores globally.
Zara’s online boutique was launched in 2010. In September 2010, online activity started in Spain followed by France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. In November 2010, online activity was extended to Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Ireland, and Austria. Between 2011 and 2014, online activity reached the United States, Russia, Canada, Mexico, South Korea and Romania (Müller, 2015).
Fig.1 Zara Brand Logo
KEY ASPECTS OF THE SUCCESS OF ZARA
Zara’s success has been attributed to its flexibility and adaptability to fast moving fashion trends. Zara stores have shown flexibility and adaptability ever since they were founded. In the 1980s, Ortega streamlined systems structures in the stores so that they could have fast responses to new trends and reduce lead times. The streamlined systems included using more than one designer simultaneously and application of technology in customer care.
Currently, Zara stores have adapted unique supply chain management techniques which work to increase its profits margins. Zara becomes a global company from a local supply chainwhich had factories in Spain. Proximity allows for flexibility in terms of having the luxury of changing design specifications, which are executed and the items’ delivery is still done on time (Tungate, 2012). Zara values flexibility in terms of being able to provide clients with the latest fashion. It takes approximately three to five weeks for a new design to be stocked on the shelves of Zara stores. The stores receive deliveries at a high frequency of two times in a week. Items that are designed at Arteixo reach stores in three weeks (Tungate, 2012). This fast pace allows Zara to have runway fashion reach its stores within a very short time.
Majority of the Spanish retailing companies have had a series of technological developments. Zara’s competitors have introduced new technological ideas in the market in both the sales and manufacturing fields. Zara has launched its technological growth in the form of ecofriendly stores openings. Through the use of technological inputs, the manufacturing processes have been simplified and made easy as the whole process gets divided into simpler tasks. The tasks are worked on by the machines while the workers do the final assembly of the process.Zara began using radio-frequency identification technology in the security tags on clothes. The chips are removed from items when they are sold and reused to mark new inventory. This technology helps in monitoring customer preferences and consequent re-stocking. The stockroom is notified when an item is sold so that it can replace the item on shelves (Tungate, 2012). For big stores like Zara, this is important as it reduces the labor required for physical inspection of shelves while checking what items need to be restocked. Additionally, Zara has technology that makes shopping easy for their clients in stores. To begin with, stores have a virtual mirror that allows clients to check if clothes fit without removing them from shelves. The other form of technology that makes shopping easy is one that enables self-service till (Tungate, 2012). The shoppers can use this application to pay for items and remove the security tags without the assistance of an employee.
Social Environmental Factor
Zara country of origin, Spain, is founded on independent cultural roots. Spain has a history of tremendous contributions in the artistic and designing domain. Spain is known for its remarkable calm social environment, its attraction of tourists on a large scale, and possesses bright cultural occasions. The tourists’ attractions on a large scale in Spain enable Zara to have access to customers and clients. The retaining of the acquired customers is possible through achieving quality satisfaction of the customers. The high turnover strategy adopted by Zara enhances the sale of items within a single visit, therefore converting the tourists into customers. Shoppers always prefer fashion that they can get at a lower price. Since Zara started its operations it has been dealing with one currency. Over the years the economic conditions of the general world have not been stable, however, Zara has been able to manage despite the fluctuating conditions. The company has not been a victim of recession despite the harsh economic conditions. The main reason why the company has emerged victorious is because Zara is at the moment not dealing with dollars and is using a fairly safer currency to carry out its transactions. Zara evaluates the economic conditions of a country before it can enter its market. Spain has been known to have a stable market and market demands that are predictable.
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
TREND ANALYSIS
After thorough research on the market, analyzing the purchasing behavior of customers, I was able to deduce some key trends (Fashionmagazine.com, 2017) associated with the two products. The two products are Zara women trench coats and Zara women high waist pants. Most of the key trends (Bizjournals.com, 2017) have been observed mostly in the designs of the trench coats. Some of these trends are:
SPRING-HAPPY SHADES TREND
While conventional and classic trench coats have a tendency to be mostly khaki or beige in color, current design trends are showing a shift away from these conventional colors. Designers are trying out warm and cool colors in a bid to match most skin tones. These new coats have a summery spin with colors such as pink, baby blue, and orange sherbet. These coats can be used to beat the winter cold while ensuring one maintains a colorful presence that is usually associated with summer.
Fig.2 The HOBO Culture
MINIMALIST WITH INTEREST TREND
This tread has trench coats that have little added touches of interest. This includes details such as sculpted bodice, lapels that can be laced-up and in some cases a tie waist. This coats when coupled up with a dress gives a laid back casual look that can still be sophisticated enough for formal events such as meetings. The minimalistic nature of these coats makes it easy to style up into different varieties of looks.
Fig.3 Burberry
PATCHWORK TREND
Designers integrate sophisticated patch worked pieces in the design of these trench coats. These patches take different graphic shapes, can utilize different materials such as furs and may occur in different hues.
Fig.4 Burberry
OVERSIZED TREND
Unlike other garments that need to be made according to the size of the individual. The trend in women trench coats seems to lean towards the coats being oversized. This oversize trend takes different shapes. These shapes take the form of elongated sleeves, lengths that can reach the shin and sloping shoulders. The trend creates a “borrowed-from-the-boys” attitude.
Fig.5 Nordstrom
SHEARING TREND
This trend involves covering the outside or inside of the coat using material obtained from animals such as sheep’s and cashmere goats. This insulates one from the cold while still maintaining a fashionable and trendy look.
Fig.6 Aliexpress.com
TOGGLE TREND
This trend involves making trench coats out of a woolen material that is coarse and thick. This material is known as a duffle. The coat has toggle fastening that can be made from different material. The toggle coat may have a hood to add on details.
Fig.7 Calvin Klein
HIGH WAIST PANTS TREND
Women high waist pants are a trend that is coming back in time for women who consider themselves fashionable. These pants are versatile and can be used both for informal events and formal obligations. Designers play around with different types of materials when coming up with these high waist trousers. These pants are designed to sit high or above the hips of the wearer, and it usually sits more than 3 inches above the navel. They also usually have long zippers that may range anywhere bet 7 to 10 inches.
Fig.8 Pinterest fig.9 manleyfashion.com fig.10 Jean Paul Gaultier
With these trends in mind, I have picked two products that I believe would make a smooth transition into Zara retail. These products are up to par with the current trend while still ensuring that they meet the high standard designs that are a benchmark of Zara retail. The other reasons for picking thes...