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| Zara opened in Melbourne on the 15th of June 2011 |
After several weeks of frenzied activity with tradies in hard-hats and high-vis vests pulling double shifts throughout the night, the store opened with less fanfare than its Sydney rival. That said, the rope barriers for the queues were in full force, bouncers on the door, and a team of lowly paid security guards prevented wayward shoppers from stepping in-front of passing trams while gawking at the freshly painted fittings.
In terms of retail and clothing, Zara is something of a maverick. In began in 1975 and has now grown into a global player with over 2000 stores in 77 countries. It's owner, Amancio Ortega, is now the 9th richest man in the world. Zara usually copies fashion trends and designs around the world, rather than creating its own.
Almost all global clothing chains, from high end to your Kmart garden variety, have outsourced the manufacturing of their product to cheaper labour factories in Asia. However Zara opts for European clothes manufacturing, where it owns the factories and distribution methods. The upshot of this situation is that Zara can quickly turn out new stock much faster than its rivals. It is said that Zara can design, model, create and distribute new product within a 3-4 week period, compared to the industry average of 6 months. Most outlets might produce 2,000 to 4,000 new pieces each year, whereas Zara produces in excess of 10,000.
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| Security guards prevent wayward shoppers from swelling onto the tram tracks |
Fast Fashion
With considerable control over the supply chain and a frenzied approach to creating new product, Zara has pioneered the concept of fast fashion. This concept not only embodies the idea of quickly moving new creations from the catwalk to the store window, but also completely blasts the once normal concept of fashion seasons out of the water. Fast fashion thrives on the endlessly unquenchable desire for something new and requires constant change with new product to match. While traditional stores supply stock based on four seasons, Zara pumps out fresh stock twice a week, for a '104 seasons' a year cycle.
The emphasis on fast fashion has a interesting effect on buying behaviour with customers. Normally, customers might visit a store a couple of times a year, whereas Zara sees repeat business in the order of 6 times greater than its rivals. It is reported that the customers return on average to Zara seventeen times in one year.
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| Crowds gather on the opening day, eager to dive into fast fashion |
Fashion Addiction?
There is no denying that Zara are very savvy at what they do. They have not only created a successful business, but their business model is built upon the new and ever-changing. They have begun a sweeping change of the way customers view clothing, from seasonal, to twice-weekly. Constantly producing new designs and updating floor stock give the customer the impression that to keep up-to-date requires purchases on a weekly basis. This model though, encourages classic addictive behaviour. Clothing has moved beyond the realm of practicality and into the disposable, instant and one-time-use. While one can critique the fashion pros and cons of the situation, the implication is that clothing puts greater demand on the wallet. While we are encouraged to pursue the fashion-bleeding-edge, the Ortegas of this world smile all the way to the bank.
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Further Information
For a concise overview of Zara, check out this Hungry Beast video: http://hungrybeast.abc.net.au/stories/beast-file-zara
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