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Zara’s secret to success
Behind Zara’s fast-selling items lies a secret – two actually. One is big data and the second, an agile supply chain.
Respond quickly. That is the mantra Zara lives by. And it is a mantra that has stood it in good stead.
Zara is “always keeping a close eye on how our customers are responding to the current collections and the trends they may be asking for." In the case of Zara, big data forms the backbone of the enterprise.
Using a sophisticated technology-driven system, specialist market analysts based in Inditex's (the company that owns Zara) headquarters in La Coruna, Spain, data-mine the daily updates and use them to paint an accurate picture of exactly what Zara's customers are demanding.
This information - culled from 93 markets from Portugal to Kazakhstan - is quickly translated by a vast team of more than 300 in-house designers into tangible designs that are trendy, decently made and sold at pocket-friendly prices. It takes just three weeks for a design to go from concept to the retail floor.
Zara credits all this to a flat and nimble system. With hardly any advertising to speak of, Zara chooses to invest in real estate, opening flagship stores in historical buildings and outlets in prime shopping areas.