The fast-fashion giant, Zara was founded by Armancio Ortega Gaona and Rosalia Mera, his wife, in 1975 in Spain. Formerly, Zara named Zobra was taken from the name of the film that was loved by Goana, namely Zobra the Greek, but the name was already used by other shops so it was replaced with Zara[1].
Since Ortega had worked in a shop Spain for a long time, he had a lot of experience in the clothing business. He then realized that only a few people could afford expensive clothes at that time. That gave him the idea to establish a cheap clothing store with a luxurious design. Finally, in 1975, Ortega along with his family founded the Zara shop for the first time in La Coruna, northwestern Spain. Fifteen years later, Ortega has established nearly 100 Zara stores in Spain.
Now, Zara has opened around 2,000 stores in 88 countries all over the world. Not only clothes and accessories, Ortega develops its business for household furniture under the name of Zara Home, there are 65 stores worldwide.
The fact that Armancio Ortega is the second richest man signifies that the retail business he owns is now the largest clothing business[2]. Reported from several sources, Zara is currently the leading fast fashion business. It is not because of the large amount of marketing done, but it is the supply chain management system that has been done very well.
Initially, along with 200 designers chosen by Ortega himself, he conducted research on fashion trends regarding the level of sales. Usually, the research produces 1,000 different design ideas each month. Furthermore, the designs will be sent to production sites throughout the world, one of them is in Indonesia, which is located in Sukoharjo, Central Java.
Clothes that have been produced at manufacturing companies are returned to their home countries, which is Spain. In addition to shipping designs to manufacturing companies, managers from each of Zara's stores must provide reports on clothing and designs needed at each place to the center of Zara, Spain. The last process is sending clothes from Spain to every location of Zara stores throughout the world.
In the big retail world, here are some reasons why Zara is the leader of the pack:
Based on the current consumer’s demand for fashion, they prefer something fast. Zara itself will definitely have a new design in each shop every two weeks. Zara is considered to be the fastest brand, compared to the other fashion brands that tend to take around 12 to 18 months to provide new designs.
Zara is a fashion retailer that has the fastest response towards consumer demand. The designers monitor sales in each store to later be evaluated for the hit trend among consumers.
Zara is also a clothing company that produces clothing with a small quantity for each design. The reason why is so that designers can reevaluate their designs, and know which designs are the favorites among consumers. This company also optimizes the same material for several designs to be used.
Throughout the years, Zara always presents sales of up to 70%, such as during the season of spring, summer, and winter. In addition, Zara create large discounts in the middle and at end of the year.
Usually, fashion brands only provide a short range of size options, such as size S, M, and L. However, Zara provides the customers starting with the size XS.
Zara is also continuing to maintain its steady brand name and global presence by continuing its worldwide expansion.
Zara also focuses on its consumer’s engagement. Zara gives its customers substitution to afford high-end fashion at a lower price.
Looking at Zara’s current position now, it seems like Zara will still be the leader of the pack in the retail kingdom. The materials and designs presented by Zara itself, its affordable price with luxurious quality products, as well as Zara's awareness of cost, capacity, availability and time discipline make this retail company a success.
[1] Iwan Supriyatna, “Kisah Asal-Usul Penamaan Zara” https://lifestyle.kompas.com/read/2017/07/12/114600620/kisah.asal.usul.penamaan.zara, retrieved on April 19 2019.
[2] Indira Rezkisari, “Pemilik Zara Kalahkan Bill Gates Jadi Orang Terkaya Dunia” https://www.republika.co.id/berita/internasional/global/16/09/11/odbeg4328-pemilik-zara-kalahkan-bill-gates-jadi-orang-terkaya-dunia, retrieved on April 19 2019.
Written by: Dian Puspitasari, Anna and Ratna Sekarwangi
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