About the Company
Zara is a Spanish accessory and clothing brand and the Inditex group flagship brand as well. Zara is the go-to-fashion choice for everyone because of its trending yet affordable options. Started in Spain in the form of a small store, today it is the largest retailer in the world, & Amancio Ortega, the company’s founder is the 4th wealthiest in the world.
Zara’s History
The story of Zara began when in 1963 Ortega opened Inditex, a factory for dress-making. It was in 1973 when he opened a store in La Coruna, Spain named Zorba with a budget of meagre 30 euros. A few years later he changed the name to Zara without any intention and that is how Zara was born. It started producing clothes copying the styles from famous brands and later opened more stores across Spain. Later in 1980, he came up with the concept of instant fashion. Zara slowly expanded its outlet abroad and finally to Portugal and by 1990 it has its presence in almost all over Europe, France, and the US. Today it is present in over 88 countries with more than 6500 stores.
Zara’s Success
The biggest secret of Zara’s success is it coping up with the changing street fashion. By observing the changes frequently, Zara comes up with a new trend every two weeks while other companies take approximately 6 months for the new products to be available in their stores. Just like any other eating material, it is said that even the perishable commodities of Zara can be used and thrown after a certain point in time.
Headquarters and Global Presence
The brand is famous for its street fashion and for being one of the most eco-friendly companies. In La Coruna, in its headquarter, it uses wind turbines and solar panels. Most of the materials used to produce its clothes are toxic-free. Its flagship stores are located in many places but some of the most famous ones include:
- Fifth Avenue, NewYork
- Calle Serrano, Madrid
- Oxford Street, London
- Via del Corso, Rome
- Nevsky Prospect, Saint Petersburg
- Champs-Élysées, Paris
- GUM, Vladivostok
- Ginza and Shibuya, Tokyo
- Myeongdong, Seoul
Key People
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Amancio Ortega Gaona
He is the founder of Zara as well as its parent company Inditex Group. He is the wealthiest retailer according to Forbes 2019 whose worth then was USD 69.1 Billion.
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Pablo Isla Alarez De Tejera
He is the chief executive and chairman of Inditex since 2005 and is responsible for manufacturing, sales, distribution, and designing.
Products
The Zara stores deal with women, men as well as kids’ clothing, accessories as well as footwear. Recently it has launched Zara Beauty as well. It also has Zara Home items but mainly in Europe. Youngsters aged 18 to the ones in their 30’s are the major segment of Zara’s customers. Spain is the distribution centre of Zara and all the clothing products are processed from there.
Zara’s Manufacturing Unit
12,000 products yearly are selected by Zara from around 40,000 options and it just takes a week to develop and get the product to its stores. Instead of putting money in advertising, Zara prefers using those funds towards opening a new store. It has its textile industry in La Coruña which was founded in 1980. Bangladesh, Morocco, Turkey, Portugal, and Spain are mainly the manufacturing hubs for Zara products.
