Zara Story | How to Compete With Zara

One of the leading fashion retail brands, Zara, has been known for creating clothes that adhere to the demands of various cultures and age groups since it opened its door. Therefore, it has been able to stand out and has now transformed into a global fashion powerhouse. This brand has clothes from everyone, from kids to adults, everybody finds themselves enchanted in the Zara stores. 

Therefore, to understand the reason behind Zara's massive success, we need to study the story of its growth, primarily the Zara marketing strategy. 

Zara Story

Founded in 1975 as a family business by Amancio Ortega and Rosalia Mera, Zara has been one of the influential fashion brands of Spain. In 8 years of its inception, Zara was able to open stores at 9 different locations all over Spain, slowly expanding its network. 

In 1985 Zara, after incorporating Inditex, as a holding company, started a trend now known as “instant fashion,” which involves quick production and delivery of clothes that are gaining popularity among the population. Ortega expanded his network of information and made research units, which eventually increased the inflow of information, which enabled this idea to take shape. Soon after this massive success, Zara led its journey of expansion and built its stronghold in various countries over the globe. 

As a result of this policy, Zara now has 2264 stores in over 96 counties. It has over 174,000 hardworking employees working to maintain its humongous network of stores over 202 markets with around 50 e-commerce websites. However, this doesn’t mean that we don’t see any Zara competition, there are very big brands competing with it. But still, Zara is able to maintain its position due to the famous Zara marketing strategy.

Zara Marketing Strategy

Zara follows a traditional marketing strategy known as the 4P strategy, where the 4P stands for price, place, products, and promotion. 

• Products 

The products that Zara puts in its store are well researched and connected with the latest trends in the market. This is the primary reason behind Zara’s huge success. It has always been able to satisfy the needs of the local audience by providing world-class fashion to them at affordable prices. Its products meet the latest fashion trend and are also acceptable to the local culture and taste. 

• Place

With over 2000 stores spread over the globe, Zara has been able to maintain a sustainable network of distribution that doesn’t involve any third party. This ensures that the experience throughout the various stores of Zara remains synchronized. Its stores have been lavishly designed with a white shade, which gives them a modern yet royal look. 

Moreover, on its online platform too, Zara has been a very influential brand with its customized website design for every country. 

• Price 

Zara has always been a very affordable brand and has been able to meet the needs of an average customer. However, this doesn’t mean that it compromises the quality of its products. It has smartly created stores of various price ranges, which includes both premium and cost-effective clothes. 

To bring down the price of its products, Zara tries to minimize its operations and distribution costs. Its affordability has aided Zara in becoming the most popular clothing brand among the youngsters. 

• Promotion

Brand promotion has been one of the least discussed parts of the “Zara marketing strategy”. Zara does not seek to spend a lot of money on marketing and believes in word-of-mouth marketing. Zara tries to satisfy the needs of its customers and believes that they will, in turn, spread its network via recommendations.

Zara’s Marketing Tactics

The reason for Zara’s success is its successful marketing strategy, which involves -

• Not producing too many products to avoid confusion in the minds of customers. 
• Coming up with a new range of fashion each year.
• Effectively utilizing customer feedback.
• Strategically placing its stores at the busiest places of the city. 
• Value for money.

Zara Competition And Challenges

Some of the key challenges that Zara’s faces are - 

• Changing digital market in the post covid era,
• Strong competition from mobile commerce, and
• Outdated marketing strategy 

Various big names try to take Zara’s place and have been its biggest competitors. Some of these top brands are:- 

• Ralph Lauren
• Chanel
• Louis Vuitton
• Hugo Boss
• H&M
• Prada
• Gucci
• Versace
• Christian Dior

The only way Zara can continue to secure its seat at the helm is by evolving its marketing strategy. The “Zara Marketing Strategy” needs improvements for Zara to survive in this competitive market. 
If you are looking to make a presence, such as Zara and want an extensive network of retailers, get in touch with Fashinza. Fashinza is a B2B apparel manufacturing platform. We help clothing brands connect with suppliers. We overlook the entire production process from design to delivery - our partner brands only need to place the order.