Retail Purchasing and Supply Chain of Zara - Case Study Example

The retail purchasing and supply chain of Zara In the clothing and fashion industry, businesses are prone to making marketing decisions that may affect their programs either positively or negatively. The decisions imply the set goals and objectives in the long-range plans and are further followed by the setting of the mission and vision statements of the organization (Easey, 2009, p. 9). The common goal in every business unit is to expand profitably, a factor ensured through offering of value and satisfaction to the consumers. The cloth industry depicts relevance to the process as established through Zara’s marketing programs, to reach the market effectively despite the prevailing variables that may hinder progress. The buying decision process at Zara Zara produces wears for the global consumer market; thus, the need to understand the buying process towards the fashion offers becomes a necessity in order to ensure that all programs target the needs of the consumer (Evans, et al 2004, p. 23). The garment store establishes that the emerging trends in the consumer market pose the feeling of deprivation as the female gender seeks to match with the prevailing trends in the market. For example, the company recognizes that the consumers realize that there is need to access the most current fashion on seeing other influential characters wear the item. In most cases, Zara depicts the consumer needs through fashion advertisements in the television media and analyzes that there could be relative consumer needs in the global market (Pahl and Mohring, 2008, p. 40). Therefore, Zara establishes consumer need recognition as the first approach the consumers take towards the company’s programs. Zara understands that consumers search for the right information concrning the emerging fashion trends. The company establishes that different sources of information may serve to deviate or enhance consumer knowledge and understanding; thus, the best initiative that the company establishes should focus on availing effective information (Evans, et al., 2004, p. 30). Zara creates an informative flow that affects efficiency in reaching the customers at the right time. The company depends on online and television advertisements to relay information to the consumers at a critical time, when the consumer seeks for the available fashions as advertised in the television shows. In response to the growing consumer anxiety to access information, Zara designs relevant fashions and distributes them throughout the chain stores while ensuring effective advertisement of the offer. This aspect tames consumer loyalty; thus, with the emergence of new fashion trends, the fashion consumer segments tend to search information on Zara’s line of offer (Toru, 2007, p. 12). The clothing company researches and implements that the fashion business does not eradicate the problem of evaluation of alternatives as consumers seek to access the best offers out of the emerging trends (Rosenbloom, 2009, p. 70). Information linkages are turning the world into a global market place, and thus the consumer gains access to an effective criterion of assessing the value preposition of a trend over another. Zara establishes the aspect that the global consumer may vary its products with those of the H&M and other close competitors. However, this fails to yield consequential pressure over the company based on the delivery criteria (Evans, et al., 2004, p. 34). Although this is not a dependant aspect in marketing, Zara improves it through ensuring quality and progressive innovation, which controls all perceptions of the global consumer to assume that Zara offers the desired products duly and to the anticipated status. Consumers seem to establish different buying decisions with effect to their distinct perceptions towards products. The fashion market depicts convergence in the buying decisions as outweighing the differences. For example, the Zara company outlets tend to offer standardized products in the different countries they operate in, an implication that the global consumer needs merge in respect to fashion trends. The company establishes that the tastes and preferences draw similarities in the global market place as depicted through sales response in the European, American, and Asian markets, whereby the customer turnout is always positive with regard to making prior purchases. The post-purchase decisions of the fashion consumer to Zara tend to be positive, as depicted through the turnout, whenever the company launches a new item (Rosenbloom, 2009, p. 72). Research implies that Zara sells a profitable output immediately after the launch. Competition in the fashion industry The company designs programs that should undermine competitive threats to desired point that will ensure the company achieves the set plans profitably. The company communicates effectively to the consumers, which implies that the consumers remain aware of the company programs to enhance value delivery. Therefore, the aspect of information delivery to the consumer implies a competitive advantage, as consumers tend to purchase products that are available as long as there are no close substitutes (Rosenbloom, 2009, p. 74). The company further perfects the production process of the standardized products by ensuring effective distribution throughout the company’s outlets worldwide. This variable waves off the availability of close substitutes in the markets as delivery and sale of the trend offers is strict to the exclusive company outlets globally. Statistics depict that Zara is capable of delivering a trend to the 1,500 outlets in the global market within the first week of launch, and the aspect of competitive advantage takes bid (Tungate, 2008, p. 45). The company further anticipates that the purchase decision model is convergent in the global market, and consumers show similar tastes and preferences; hence, Zara reaches the needs with similar value prepositions. For example, research shows that the fashion company sold a uniform kaki skirt in the European, American, and the Asian markets effectively as derived from the reflective demand. The company establishes a similar price throughout the global markets, thus enhancing loyalty and response, which also serves to wave off the aggressive competitors (Toru, 2007, p. 56). The company ensures that products suit the consumer needs and the sole plans to enhance profits. The company’s product mix strategy Zara focuses all the marketing programs on the feminine market segments across the globe. However, the company distinguishes the most viable niche segment consisting of the young consumer market that shows a promising purchase behavior. The company establishes that the young consumers show relevance in tastes and preferences because of the media and online communications. Probably, the entertainment industry is a major influential variable that influences the choice that the customer will make towards a product, with the same behavior showing throughout the segments (Rosenbloom, 2009, p. 78). The company establishes a strategic product approach, which tends to merge other marketing mix variables to a positive customer approach. The company restricts production to the company’s ultramodern factory that upholds the set approach to particulars in relevance to the needs of the actual consumer. During production, the company improves the variables that the consumer would deem fit in accordance with the dynamics of change in the fashion world. Similarly, the garments made tend to be appositive to the global consumer preferences in color, design, and differentiation from those of the competitors. This is a penetrative marketing strategy (Pride, 2011, p. 46). Design is a relative measure of price, and thus a judging stature to the effect of the product employs a continuous development strategy. Zara focuses on continuous improvements of the garments so that the customer perceives that every new offer is an improvement in lifestyle. Through producing quality products at moderate prices, the consumer depict that the company values their needs and that the programs target to deliver value. Therefore, the Zara Company produces to enhance the benefits of the young female consumer in the Asian, European, and American markets (Pahl and Mohring, 2008, p. 45). The implied factor that prior to every product release, consumer queue for the product is an exorbitant factor guaranteeing that they derive the benefits that they hope to derive from the wears. A prosperous product follows careful positioning approach, as it is the only aspect to win consumer loyalty to buying the product. Zara ensures a communicative linkage of all managerial units in the 1,500 stores found in over 70 countries through an online program. Through this prospect, the company produces and avails the required products at the places of concern, a factor that serves to motivate the consumer to rest assured of satisfaction through effective delivery. The approach integrates the market development to the diversification strategies (Hill and Jones, 2010, p. 68). Zara is turning into a global brand, and the aspect fuelled the dubbing of ‘Zaramania,’ as the Spanish media tried to describe the strength that the cloth line derives as every offer creates equal anxiety in the customer with the psychological feeling that the customer must make a purchase. Advantages of Zara’s product strategies Through the continuous innovation and product development, the company perceives an inclination of the market share growth as the customers shift from the competitors’ products in respect to Zara’s stylish and most current products. The likeliness is implicit to increased profits and competence in global markets (Rosenbloom, 2009, p. 85). The strategic product approaches that Zara ensures in the global arena are a reflection of the eventual growth up to the current 1500 units in over 70 countries, and the profitable revenues exceed of 30% despite the similar price approach throughout the global market markets (Hill and Jones, 2007:55). Disadvantages of Zara’s product strategies The continuous innovation may ruin the brand image since consumer may perceive the product tastes as fast phasing out, with short-lived effects. The fact that consumers seek to derive value and satisfaction from every purchase made, but the company fails to uphold such value by moderating the products’ prices. This entails cheap quality; thus, although the company makes sales, the unexploited market may be relatively high but unachievable because of the negative attributes that the segments perceive as borne by Zara’s products. The vertical integration approach of Zara that presupposes the sole production with less relevance of suppliers shall eventually manipulate the target profits since the production factors shall entail increased unnecessary marginal costs, which would fall onto the supplier when outsourced (Evans, et al., 2004, p. 38). Conclusions Approaches to the fashion business industry should target to implement global marketing strategies that drive out all negative variables and draw the business close to attaining the set plans and objectives. In the case of the Zara Company, continuous innovations to integrate the changing consumer needs are necessary for growth and profitability. However, the aspect of implementing the marketing variables dictates the achievement of objectives. Bibliography Easey, M., 2009. Fashion Marketing. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. Evans, M., Patterson, M., and O'malley, L., 2004. Exploring direct and relationship marketing. London: Thomson. Hill, C. W. L. and Jones, G. R., 2007. Strategic management: an integrated approach. Boston: Mass, Houghton Mifflin. Hill, C. W. L., and Jones, G. R., 2010. Strategic management theory: an integrated approach. Boston: MA, Houghton Mifflin. Pahl, N, and Mohring, W., 2008. Successful business models in the fashion retail industry: strategic audit of H&M compared to ZARA. Norderstedt: Germany, GRIN Verlag. Pride, W. M., 2011. Marketing principles. South Melbourne: Vic, Cengage Learning. Rosenbloom, B., 2009. Marketing channels. South-Western. Toru, F., 2007. ZARA - A European fashion brand. Mu?nchen: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Tungate, M., 2008. Fashion brands: branding style from Armani to Zara. London: Kogan Page. Tungate, M., 2012. Fashion brands: branding style from Armani to Zara. London: Kogan Page. Read More