Case study: Zara's Disruptive Vision: Data-Driven Fast-Fashion

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Case study: Zara's Disruptive Vision: Data-Driven Fast-Fashion

Background

Senor Ortega opened a small clothing shop in La Coruna, Spain, in 1975. La Coruna is a

small shipping town in Spain. His vision by then was incomprehensible because the shop was

located contrary to famous fashion shops located in major cities such as New York, Paris,

London, Milan, and Tokyo. From the beginning, Senor Ortega's vision was "Get what the

customers want and get to them faster than everyone else." In 2016, Zara had over two thousand

strategically located storefronts in major cities in eighty countries across the globe from a

humble start. Zara's strategy of data-driven fast-fashion anchors its success of distributing

fashionable yet affordable apparel speedily.

Issue

Apparel and textiles generate more than $3 trillion in transactions. The industry is one of

the largest industries in the world. Customary to move from clothing from designers to the

market takes about three to five months. Zara has cut the traditionally know moving time to a

phenomenon two weeks! The strategy by Zara has propelled the apparel to a world-leading

apparel company. Is Data-driven fast fashion contributed to the apparels company success?

Analysis

Progressively Zara has developed world-class resources in technological expertise,

manufacturing systems, logistic know-how, and strategic stores. In manufacturing, Zara imports

less than half of what they sell. Unlike rival companies which rely on imported apparel, Zara
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employs more than 20000 workers to make high fashion apparel. In logistics, Zara invested in

carousels capable of processing forty-five thousand items in an hour. Custom orders to Europe

and the Middle East reach their destination within twenty-four hours and forty-eight hours to Far

East countries and Latin America. Zara has invested heavily to acquire prime sites for their

stores. Zara stores' locations are in high profile streets such as Champs-Elysée in Paris, Regent

street in London.

To keep with fast fashion, Zara has worked to maximize their capabilities. In design, Zara

designers gather data from store managers, magazines, tv, the internet, universities, and

nightclubs. The data collected is quickly translated into the latest fashion. Surprisingly Zara can

translate a fashion trend from a catwalk in London to a ready-for-sale item in Tokyo in less than

two weeks. Scenery and scarcity make apparel in Zara stores appealing, and buyers are attracted

to the stores due to their ambiance. Furthermore, their products' scarcity makes customers rush to

get them before they are out of stock.

Zara managers have invested in core competencies such as flexibility, fashion-tech, and

clothes shopping as an exciting adventure. Zara quickly turns around fashion trends. The items

that in-store today will not be in the store in a fortnight. Zara invests in key fashion to ensure

they have the latest trends in the store. Fashion-tech enables requests from satellite stores to

reach the headquarters in La Coruna instantly for implementations. Zara sores have a remarkable

ambiance that makes shopping enjoyable and adventurous.

Zara does not rely on the advertisement, unlike its competitors. Zara relies on word of

mouth from its loyal customers. The move made Zara cut down on production 0.3 percent of the

sale compared to its competitors who spend 3 to 4 percent on an advertisement.

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Conclusion

Zara's disruptive vision of data-driven fast fashion is the envy of apparel and textiles

companies. What most companies viewed as impossible, Zara has done it. They are designing

apparel and managing to move them in bulk across the globe in less than three weeks. The

approaches such as resources, capabilities, and core competencies have propelled the company to

a world-leading apparel company. If other companies do not adopt the fast-fashion method, they

will be obsolete in ten years to come.