What shop sold 80% of its stock in 3 minutes when it opened its first store in Australia this year?

Zara's Sydney store

It should come as no surprise to keen fashion followers that when Zara opened its first store in Australia in Sydney earlier this year, the fashion public could not wait to snap up its on-trend pieces. With the hype surrounding Zara Sydney showing no signs of showing down, you can bet that the Zara store at 284-292 Bourke Street Mall in Melbourne which opens today will be just as busy, with keen shoppers eager to check out what the Spanish giant will bring to the Melbourne fashion scene.


Launched in 1975, Zara has almost 2,000 stores in 75 different countries. Zara's designers produce 30,000 designs a year, inspired by the world's top designers. Garments hit shop floors in 3 weeks of design, significantly quicker than the industry average of 6 weeks. Zara's global distribution center in Spain moves 2.5 million items per week and nothing stays warehoused for longer than 72 hours.


Clothes are ironed in advance, with prices and security tags afixed before they are sent out to stores. This means garments can go straight out on to the shop floor as soon as they arrive in store, maxmising selling time.


With four stores joined together and reconstructed to created a multi-level fast-fashion paradise, Zara's Melbourne store is one of the few "eco stores" the company is creating around the world. In a time where climate change is becoming more important Zara is focusing on creating a range of stores which will aim to lower emissions by using renewable energy sources, enforcing recycling processes and sustainable instore practices. Despite having new stock dropping in their store twice a week, Zara claims that the majority of emissions come from their bricks and mortar store, so that is where they are chanelling their energy into changing.


Surprisingly, the Sydney and Melbourne stores are Zara's first expedition into the Australian market. One of the reasons Zara is so successful at what they do is that they carefully research each market before they decide to release stores. This enables them to customise their stock to suit different markets.  They also produce small batches of each item. If an item is very successful, the Zara design team will alter the product slightly before it is re-released.


While consumers might love Zara's for allowing them to gain access to high fashion through affordable "knock-offs", not everyone is happier. Designers have complained that they have spent time and money researching trends and creating pieces that Zara have then taken for nothing.


With Zara moving into some of Australia's prime fashion real estate, it will be interesting to see the impact Zara will have on the Australian fashion industry. 


Zara's smart business operations has seen it become one of the most formidable fashion forces in the world today, and it shows no sign of slowing down. 


To learn more about Zara read my past posts Zara's Here - Almost and Game Changer? - Zara's Coming.


What are your thoughts on Zara? Love it or hate it?


Check out some of Zara's Autumn Winter collection which will be available from the Melbourne store today:

Information sourced from http://thevine.com.au
Images courtesy of http://zimbio.com, http://thevine.com.au

Zara's Here - Almost

Update: Scheduled to open at the end of April, Zara management have announced that the opening of the Melbourne Zara store on Bourke Street Mall has been delayed. No revised date has been set however, management are anticipating by June this year the store will be ready. 


The Sydney store opened on 20 April without any problems. Although products were shipped from Spain, price points appear to be consistent with the Zara pricing overseas. Jeans were priced at $69.95, chinos at $79.95 and trench coats from $119.


Zara currently does not have an online retail facility which ships to Australia, and could not confirm if and when one would be established. Zara also have not determined whether there will be any stores outside of Melbourne and Sydney.

With Zara opening in Sydney today, we can expect big crowds flocking to the Spanish retail giant's first Australian store.

Here's a sneak peak of what we can expect in Australia:

Staying true to Zara's minimalistic approach to fashion, the collection looks true to the stock available overseas. Often when international companies open stores in Australia, the range they select to stock here does not translate well to the market. Companies such as Mango have had limited success in Australia due to poor range selection.  With Zara's aggressive approach to expansion and its global success in many countries, you can be sure they have adequately researched the tastes of the Australian market. Only time will tell whether they have got it right.

To learn more about Zara read Game Changer? Zara's Coming.

Images courtesy of http://womansday.ninemsn.com.au/style/stylewatch/160002/zara-sydney-sneak-peek.glance
Information from http://www.ragtrader.com.au/news/zara-sydney-readies-to-launch

Game Changer? – Zara’s Coming

Will the arrival of Zara on our shores herald the apocalypse for Australian retailers? Overdramatic? Maybe, but with Zara announcing the opening of their Sydney Store on 20 April 2011, with a Melbourne store soon to follow, Australian retailers will be paying close attention to how they perform. (Click here to get a sneak peak of what Australian shoppers can expect.)

With drops of new stock twice a week, current retailers in Australia will need to keep up in order to maintain foot traffic in their stores.

The secret to Zara’s success is that they have a pro-active approach to business.  Rather than wait three to five months to bring new season styles to shelves, each staff member is armed with a PDA which is used to record customer opinions on Zara products and what they want to see in the store.  This information is collated and fed back to head office in Spain on a daily basis. Fashion graduates will then design the desired styles, and with a vertical operating structure (i.e. Zara owns the manufacturing plants they use to produce their goods) there is no time wasted outsourcing production. Zara have one production site in Spain and are the only major retailer with this manufacturing structure. This means it has a strong advantage over its competitors when it comes to efficient production.

Zara are also ahead of the curve with monitoring stock. With their technologically advanced point of sale system, they effectively use sales data to determine what products sell best in a particular time of the year.  Their smart approach to business ensures they rarely have excess stock in store.

Zara also save money on advertising by being smart store locations. They will generally place stores in high traffic areas, letting the stores advertise the brand.

Even Gap, the leading clothing retailer in the world, is an amazing twelve times slower than Zara when it comes to producing stock. Although it costs 15% more for Zara to be efficient in their production, the percentage of stock write offs is significantly lower than their competitors.  This means the brand isn’t cheapened by regular sales.

While Zara’s business has a lot of advantages, it’s not without its weaknesses. If Zara’s manufacturing plant is damaged due to natural disaster or power fault, their stock will be seriously hampered as they have no other production sites.  Also, production in Europe is not cheap, especially with the savings that could come from manufacturing in Asia. This production cost is passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices.  This means they are restricted if they have to compete on price point.

With Zara dominating the European market, it remains to be seen how successful their foray into Australia is. There will be a lot of interested parties monitoring their progress. Watch this space.

Stayed tuned for a post on fast fashion…..

Images courtesy of www.zara.com

Information from http://www.knowtheco.com/feed.php?news=20&output_type=txt

 

Fashion Muse: Olivia Palermo

She's the girl we all love to hate on reality TV show The City, but Oliva Palermo cannot put a fashion foot wrong.

With the ability to mix prints and styles in a way that shouldn't work but somehow does, she has mastered the art of mixing high street fashion, with high end designers. This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in street fashion around the world.  With the GFC affecting economies globally, consumers couldn't always afford to dress head-to-toe in designer gear.  As a result, we have seen consumers mix Chanel, LV and Balenciaga, with Topshop, asos and Zara. With high street retailers turning over clothes on a weekly basis, this meant consumers could still afford to keep up with trends, without breaking the bank.

Palermo was recently the face of the asos.com magazine and is currently the face of Mango. Her love for high street fashion has meant that her style is not just accessable to those with a socialite budget.  Not only has she mastered the art of dressing up, her street style is the right mix of comfort and style. A regular feature at fashion week, Palermo has a new reality TV series in the works.  She might not be the nicest girl on TV, but she certainly great to watch!

Images courtsey of www.sunraince.com and asos.com


You can channel Olivia's style by mixing bold prints, wearing statement necklaces and detailed shoes and tailored man style pants and jackets.

I love the unique red jacket which brightens up a neutral outfit.

A fan of statement necklaces, Palermo knows how to balance them with simple outfits.

Not afraid to recycle clothes and accessories, this
vintage Hermes clutch is on regular rotation in Palermo's wardrobe.

Often seen wearing prints, Palermo isn't afraid of wearing bright colours.

Palermo rarely wears boring footwear
and often uses it to add a kick to a simple outfit.

Often seen in tailored man style outfits,
Palermos shows she can rock a pair of pants.

 Images courtesy of www.oliviapalermofashion.blogspot.com