Zara has maintained its leadership in the apparel industry through its unique supply chain strategies, including quick response to demand trends, small batch production to preserve exclusivity, and a central distribution center that can deliver new items within 48 hours. It produces 450 million items per year through hundreds of designers and production facilities near its headquarters in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. Stores are located in high traffic areas and change window displays frequently to engage customers.

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• CASE STUDY
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2. CONTENT
• Retailing
• Zara History
• Products
• Inventory management
• Design and production
• Logistics
• Customer
• Store and brand building.

3. What is retailing?
•All the activities in selling goods or services
directly to final customers for personal,
nonbusiness use.
•Retail store is any business enterprise whose
sales volume comes primarily from retailing

5. PRODUCTS
•Men’s clothing and women’s clothing and
children’s clothing
•Based on consumer trends
•Supply chain ships products twice a week
•Distribution centre in Spain
•New items delivered within 48 hours
•Produce 450 million items per year

6. INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
•Reducing response time
•Company makes 20,000 items per year about
triple what gap or H&M makes in a year’
•Produce only small quantity of each collection to
preserve exclusivity.

7. DESIGN
• Hundreds of designers at it
headquarters Spain.
• Recognize and Assimilate the
continuous changes in fashion.
• New models that respond to
customer Desires.

8. PRODUCTION
• Half the company’s production
facilities nearby in Spain,
Portugal, and Morocco.
• Production in small quantity.

9. LOGISTICS
• Distribution from Spain.
• New shipments twice a
week.
• Small quantity
attraction.

10. CUSTOMERS
•Zara focuses on
understanding
the items that its
customers
actually want.
•Daily report from
shop retailers.

11. STORES
• 90% is owned by Zara.
• Located in high traffic areas.
• Change store windows to
lure customers

12. BRAND BUILDING
• Zara’s brand name and eye-catching
window displays are the key factors in
building awareness in consumers minds

13. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
• PDA with wireless transmission capability.
• 0.5% revenue on IT department.
• Fast and response communication
within supply chain

15. Would Zara’s model work for other
retailers? Why or why not?
• Yes, I would agree that Zara’s model would work for other retailers by
following these four strategical steps
• Design and Production
• Logistics
• Customers
• Close to busy market streets.

16. How is Zara going to expand successfully all over
the world with the same level of speed and
instant fashion?
•In order for Zara to keep up with quick and
trendy fashion, they would have to invest in their
R&D and designers in countries with trend-
setting fashion

17. SUMMARY
• Zara has maintained its stand as leader in apparel
industry and what makes it unique is its supply chain
strategies.
• Quick response to demand.
• Small batch production.
• Central distribution centre.

18. DISCLAIMER
Created by Akshaya R, PSG College of
Technology Coimbatore, during a
marketing internship under Prof Sameer
Mathur, IIM Lucknow