Zara is definitely a winner at the fast fashion game. The brand knows exactly how to stay up to date with trends and be a favourite amongst its customers. Though the brand gets stiff competition from ASOS and H&M, here are 5 things Zara does differently to stay ahead and on top of its game!
1. Lightening fast production
At Zara, clothes go from the design stage to the stores in 15 days. Designers working with the brand produce about 3- 4 designs a day and come up with a new collection every 2 weeks! They start the production process as soon as a new trend emerges and keep the process going.
2. Reorders are rare!
Since new designs are shipped out at such a rapid pace, latest designs are produced in small quantities. As a result, the customer knows that they should buy the item they like when they see it. Because reorders are a rare, it creates a shopping impulse for every Zara customer!
3. Straight from the runway
If it’s on the runway, it will be at Zara. The company doesn’t rely on a trend forecasting team for their production. They have a very run-of-the-mill kind of production process, where they look at emerging trends in the market, designer brands and their competitors as well. That’s why you find designer look alikes in Zara all the time! The company evaluates popular trends and base their production on it.
4. Automated factories!
Rather than subcontract manufacturing, Zara built 14 highly automated Spanish factories where robots work to create unfinished goods (cutting and dyeing fabrics). The unfinished goods then go to Zara’s partnered small shops (more than 300) in Portugal and Galicia where they’re transformed into dresses and suits. This speeds up their manufacturing process and helps keeping up with trends.
5. More collections per year
As opposed to other companies, Zara doesn’t stick to the bi-annual cycle of fashion. The brand was first amongst its competitors to create more than 2 collections a year. Currently, Zara produces up to 20 collections every year! This way, the company ensures that you keep coming back for more!
