By: Ezra Eusebio

 For the young, fashion-conscious city dwellers  Taste in clothes changed rapidly—hard to predict and influence  High end couture styles for lower prices  Sophisticated interior design-updated every 5 years THE ZARA EXPERIENCE

Fashion Life Cycle

 The idea of Zara was created by Amancio Ortega.  Partnered with Jose Catellano Rios, Inditex CEO  Inditex-Multinational clothing retailer and manufacturer  The first store opened in 1975  Headquarters are in La Coruna, Spain  Presently in over 73 countries ABOUT ZARA

 “Link customer demand to the manufacturing, and link manufacturing to distribution. That is the idea we still live by” –Jose Maria Castellano Rios, Inditex CEO  Different from average retailers  Focused on turning around delivery time within 3 weeks  Producing clothes worn by celebrities with quick turnaround THE UNIQUE IDEA

Product Development

 Product Design Team, on going development  Commercial Team-Allocation  Product Manager Team-Research  Store Managers-Selection DYNAMIC COMPANY

Division of Labor Chart

 Competitors: -HM, Gap, Benetton  No advertising-only promotes, bi-annual sales and store openings  Cost.3% revenue in marketing as opposed to the average 4%-5%.  IDEA: Not to produce classic clothes -Shorter life spans -Buyers shop on impulse -Loyal shoppers for latest trends -Non-durable garments  No selling online MARKETING

 Ordering-Store managers order based on needs from hand-held devices  Handheld device shows, photos, available garments etc  Fulfillment-allocated by commercial team, delivered to stores right away  DC to store right away  Design and Manufacturing  Difference-regularly buy for two seasons but continue to develop more in between  Operate with short lead time.  Own facilities that are quick to produce new garments and textile. OPERATIONS:3 CYCLICAL PROCESSES

 Salgado and Castellano focused on what new systems were needed if any.  No justification of IT efforts and no cost/benefit analysis  Wrote applications themselves and made own accounting software  The IT department had 50 people from local universities and divided in 3 groups: 1. Store solutions 2. Logistics support 3. Administrative systems:  Staff retention wasn’t an issue. Only one person has left in 10 years INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

 Inventory was used to simply make allocating decisions. Having 100% control on inventory  The applications just presented managers with quantities and due dates.  Most of the sophisticated technologies were put into equipment like cutting clothes and patterns  Hand held devices were known as PDA’s (Personal digital Assistants. This was because faxing order forms back and forth was too complicated.  PDA’s are constantly upgraded INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONT.

 Salgado wants to change the system. The Sanchez doesn’t  DOS (Disk Operating System) -Stopped being supported by Microsoft in But it was easy to maintain over time due to the POS application that ran on top of it  The system for new stores now is simple: -There’s two floppies with all the applications needed -If something happens and software reinstallation was created.  Daily sales were copied onto floppy disks. POS terminals and PDA’s couldn’t share information. THE CASE

 Would upgrading to a modern operating system put a risk and robust the infrastructure?  The hardware vendor said they weren’t planning on changes its machines so that it won’t run on DOS  Should Zara updated to windows UNIX or Linux?  Should they build new capabilities into the software?,  Updated apps could have larger screens and key boards. They can go wireless. Stores can do inventory transfers.  Update floppy disks? CASE CONTINUED

 Adaption to change needs smooth transition  Wireless-easier on costs  Cross information between PDA and POS  Switch from floppies, information can be linked together  IT Training, store training  Advantages -More capabilities, better capabilities, larger screens, execution of returns, data, cost efficient, no floppy disk, sales available via internet, inventory availability, avoid phone calls ANALYSIS

 Keeping it the same  Convenient, safe, and successful  Disadvantages: Newer and better capabilities limited, adaptability to change, possible expansion ANALYSIS

1.Describe the Zara Customer? a. Fashion-conscious city dwellers b. Missy c. Conservative d. All of the Above 2. Where is Zara’s corporate headquarters? a. New York b. Spain c. Italy d. France QUESTIONS 3. Zara’s Marketing Idea consists of which of the following? a. Annual Sales b. New Store Openings c. No online store d. All of the above

Answers: 1.A 2.B 3.D CONCLUSION