ZARA

Zara refers to the flagship chain store under the umbrella of Inditex Group. It is under the ownership of Amancio Ortega. It is the largest as well as the most globally present of the six retailing operations under Inditex, (Morel et al, P. 1). Zara’s concept of fashion was well received by the general public just a year after it opened operations in 1975. This assisted it in expansion of store network from their La Coruna, Galicia headquarters in Spain where their first store is based.

This company’s first overseas store was in Portugal in 1988 followed closely by their 1989 operations in the United States. Since then, Zara has opened several new bases of operation in several countries.

Zara has followed the classic ‘stage model’ of operation whereby it has strived to enter culturally or geographically close markets before embarking on activities to attract clients in other distant markets, (Morel et al, P. 2). The belief by Zara that distances across the borders should not impend sharing of one global culture has borne fruits.

By entering the highly competitive markets considered hugely as the global fashion capitals such as Milan (2001), New York (1989) and Paris (1990), Zara proved it was ready for competition posed by the big players. Through its global expansion endeavors, Zara tried some of the riskiest markets such as the United States so as to better its vision and culture for the general market.

One notable strategic intention of Zara in expanding to Portugal before other international markets is the shared cultural and geographical aspects of Portugal and Spain, (Morel et al, P. 2). This market required fewer adjustments to its Spanish model of operations.

With time, what mattered more to Zara was cultural proximity of the countries in which it expanded into Spain. For instance, some South American markets appeared culturally closer to Zara’s targeted market than the ones found in Europe. Although starting operations in New York was not a very financially attractive move, it enabled Zara not only to get close to the fashion trends of the time but to get much closer to the fashion trends of the time, (Morel et al, P. 2).

Due to the international experience that Zara had gained over the years, the management decided that it was better to reinforce its situation in the markets where it was already in operations rather than a blanket expansion strategy.  Further, the fast delivery of products which Zara implemented helped greatly improve its customer satisfaction resulting into more products, (Morel et al, P. 5). Designing and trends which Zara followed also supported it in expanding to its new uncharted markets. The online presence has also helped Zara in its global expansion strategies.

The last area which has really aided Zara is its vertical method of business integration which spans just in time production, design, sales and marketing. By adapting to requirements of its clients in the shortest time possible, Zara has been able to get to its customers what they need within the client’s timeframes.

 Zara considers timeframes for delivering of client’s orders as being far above and beyond the concerned costs of production. This has made Zara the port of call to many time constrained clients, (Morel et al, P. 5). Due to the current saturation in the European market, Zara has been looking at expansion of its product line across the continents. This has been especially to get to its clients who may form a substantial possible client base.

Therefore, capability to adapt to any cultural base has been one of the main strong points for Zara. By careful consideration of the cost of market entry and possible gains to be achieved, Zara has proven itself a major player in the international fashion industry.