Experience with Zara (A high street brand driven by customers)

High Street Brand ZARA

Zara is one of the most important fashion companies in the world. It is owned by Inditex, which is one of the largest distribution groups in the world. 

It first opened in the UK in 1998. Since then, it has spread to more than 79 countries and opened 1,830 stores. Zara gets new designs twice a week, so their stock doesn't stay the same for long. This has made them a staple on most British high streets. 

 

Since Zara is a Spanish company, clothes can be sold for less in Spain. Some things on the shelves there can be up to £10 cheaper than in Britain. But not just Spanish tourists could benefit. Zara stores in Portugal, Greece, and France are often less expensive than those in the UK. A white linen-blend suit blazer for men that I found in the UK for £109. In Spain, Zara costs 90 euros, which is a £34 savings.

Focusing on the Zara website alone, when you first have a glance, it has a simplistic layout and uses neutral colors which gives it that elegant and smart look. However, navigation on the website is not easy and in some what way frustrating.

The key to Zara's success is a customer-driven culture

Zara's success and the heights it has reached today come from the fact that the company never stops putting the customer first.There was a really interesting story about how Zara uses customer feedback to co-create its products.
In 2015, a woman named Miko went into a Zara store in Tokyo and asked the salesperson for a pink scarf. However, the store did not have any pink scarves. Michelle in Toronto, Elaine in San Francisco, and Giselle in Frankfurt all walked into Zara stores and asked for pink scarves at almost the same time.
They all left the stores without any scarves, which is what many Zara fans around the world did over the next few days in different Zara stores. 

After 7 days, pink scarves were sold in more than 2,000 Zara stores around the world. To be exact, 500,000 pink scarves were sent out. They were gone in three days. How did the stockings of pink scarves fill up so quickly? 

The holy grail of modern business is customer insights. The more a company knows about its customers, the better it can innovate and compete. 

One of the reasons Zara is so successful around the world is that it has a culture and respect for the fact that no one is a better, more authentic trendsetter than the customer. This idea needs to be reflected in all of Zara's business strategies going forward.


So, why not start by talking to your customers?
Zara always does.