The folk at epoch marketing have long been fans of one of Europe’s premier clothing chains.
A casual search on any major search engine churns out very little as far as advertising goes. Through their own admission they don’t see the need.
So, how can it be so successful? The answer is in its distinctive and highly effective business model.
This is how they do it:
1. Fast fashion
Zara are the ultimate fast company. Their key competitor advantage is the speed at which they react to shopper demand. Each store manager feeds back data daily on sales. Not only which models are selling, but also which colours and sizes. The store managers also share qualitative learning on trends and customer comments. Replenishing items takes only 36 hours from factory to store. And even more impressively, an item can be designed, made and shipped to store in about two weeks.
2. Rarity creates an urgency to buy
Another admirable feature of the Zara business model is the short runs on most of its items. Shop at any major local clothing retailer and you risk seeing not one person but a whole city wearing the same item. At Zara this is much less likely. This rarity of items creates urgency to shop now. It also means people visit their stores much more often: 17 times a year compared to an industry average of four times a year.
3. Collaborative creativity
One of the keys to achieving the speed of turnaround is collaboration. Teams from marketing, design and production sit together, not in silos. Designers can react quickly and production steps into gear.
4. Centralised Manufacturing
Ever seen something in a store that you fell instantly in love with only to read the label and discover it was made somewhere in the armpit of a former Soviet republic? Somewhat distracting that. All Zara’s manufacturing takes place in Europe. So the brand retains most of its heritage. Sure it costs more to manufacture but shipping costs are reduced and quality is assured.
Strong and inventive brands are not necessarily about having better advertising or clever guerilla marketing but rather about having a better business model.
Sadly, although Zara has a footprint in 73 countries, SA isn’t one of them. Maybe one day.
Cheers,
