Zara Fast Fashion
Case Study: Zara-Fast Fashion
Case Summary: Inditex is the parent company of six different apparel retailing chains that includes Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, and, most importantly, Zara. Zara has historically been the most profitable of the chains, operating 282 stores in 32 countries at the end of 2001 (Ghemawat & Nueno, 2006). The other five chains that are operated by Inditex have not matched the growth capabilities or revenue of Zara. Zara’s apparel offers a high level of fashion at a reasonable price, effectively appealing to the middle to middle-high class. It has grown into a successful company by providing fresh fashion with short lead times and a sense of scarcity for their products. Zara’s whole business model depends on its ability to have a quick response to almost every aspect of the fashion world. For example, Zara employs many trend seekers who are required to keep their eyes on the fashionable young individuals in order to gain an understanding of the latest fashions. This information is communicated to the design team, who must produce new items as quickly as possible. Zara does most of its manufacturing internally, which allows the designs to come to fruition in a timely manner and make their way to the store shelves before the trend ends.
Zara began its global expansion in Portugal in 1988, opening a store on the northern end of the country. Since them, Zara has employed an international strategy that strives to allow Inditex to become the sole or majority owner of its global stores. Zara especially wished to own stores in “key, high-profile countries with high growth prospects and low business risk” (Ghemawat & Nueno, 2006). While this certainly required more commitment and resources, it allowed Zara to keep its best prospects close to the vest. Zara also employed the use of joint ventures in its international strategy. The company most commonly used joint ventures to enter large markets that held barriers
Case Summary: Inditex is the parent company of six different apparel retailing chains that includes Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, and, most importantly, Zara. Zara has historically been the most profitable of the chains, operating 282 stores in 32 countries at the end of 2001 (Ghemawat & Nueno, 2006). The other five chains that are operated by Inditex have not matched the growth capabilities or revenue of Zara. Zara’s apparel offers a high level of fashion at a reasonable price, effectively appealing to the middle to middle-high class. It has grown into a successful company by providing fresh fashion with short lead times and a sense of scarcity for their products. Zara’s whole business model depends on its ability to have a quick response to almost every aspect of the fashion world. For example, Zara employs many trend seekers who are required to keep their eyes on the fashionable young individuals in order to gain an understanding of the latest fashions. This information is communicated to the design team, who must produce new items as quickly as possible. Zara does most of its manufacturing internally, which allows the designs to come to fruition in a timely manner and make their way to the store shelves before the trend ends.
Zara began its global expansion in Portugal in 1988, opening a store on the northern end of the country. Since them, Zara has employed an international strategy that strives to allow Inditex to become the sole or majority owner of its global stores. Zara especially wished to own stores in “key, high-profile countries with high growth prospects and low business risk” (Ghemawat & Nueno, 2006). While this certainly required more commitment and resources, it allowed Zara to keep its best prospects close to the vest. Zara also employed the use of joint ventures in its international strategy. The company most commonly used joint ventures to enter large markets that held barriers
References: Ghemawat, P., & Nueno, J. (2006). Zara: Fast fashion. Ruiz, N. (2010, April 08). The world 's most fashionable cities. Forbes Magazine,