This year, all continents experienced an unusually warm autumn, which everyone was happy about, except clothing stores, where the autumn collection remained untouched by customers. Most retail chains in the fashion world suffered losses, but not Zara - this company was rescued by the “instant fashion” system.
Probably everyone knows the Zara brand. The chain's stores, like McDonald's, have spread throughout the world and are located on the central streets of the largest cities in all corners of the planet. With more than 2,000 stores on every continent, Zara is one of the largest clothing retailers in the world.
Over the course of several years of stunning success, Zara has grown into the largest textile concern Inditex, which includes the brands Zara, Pull and Bear, Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home, Uterqüe and the footwear division Tempe.
In total, the Inditex concern has 6460 retail outlets worldwide, employing more than 120,000 people.
"Instant Fashion"
Zara revolutionized the fashion world and the textile industry, giving birth to the very concept of “instant fashion.” What is it and what is unique about such a business scheme?
In most textile companies, the clothing production cycle takes approximately 8 months - this period includes design development, fabric search, fabric dyeing, model sewing, and collection arrival in the store. And at Zara this process takes place in just 2 weeks. Inditex has its own design team of about 400 professionals. They create inexpensive clothing designs in a very short time based on the latest high fashion trends. Such a system allows you to quickly update the entire assortment of stores, quickly remove unpopular models from production and refine the design of existing ones at the request of consumers.
Thus, Zara always has its finger on the pulse of fashion, being one of the first to respond to new trends and customer wishes. Customers are looking forward to the days of new deliveries to stores - “Z-Day”. It happens that clothes are swept off the shelves in a few hours, and the updated collection is completely sold out. No wonder Louis Vuitton fashion director Daniel Piette described Zara as “perhaps the most innovative and disruptive retail chain in the world.”
All retailers in the world dream of annual traffic like Zara's. For example, on average, an average store in Spain, located on one of the central streets of the city, expects to see one customer 3 times a year, and for Zara this figure is 17 times a year!
Inditex is one of the few companies that has resisted the temptation to move all clothing production to countries with cheap prices. labor force. Less than a quarter - 24% of production - is produced in China, Morocco, Bangladesh and Turkey. The rest of the products are produced in the north of Spain and Portugal.
But, no matter where the item is made, every item in the Inditex product range passes through Spain. Designers and experts in the company's main studio in Arteixo (Galicia) first check the quality of products, and only then ship the goods throughout retail network, including to China.
A similar system applies to the installation of stores and brand displays. All materials go through the main office.
Of course, this requires a large staff - 6,000 people from 30 countries work in the studio, factory and warehouses in Arteixo.
Business development
The secret of Inditex's success is quick response and smooth communication between designers, factories and store managers.
In fact, the store manager, who sends reports to Inditex headquarters twice a week based on sales data and customer surveys, is a key figure in a successful business scheme. This is why Inditex managers receive much higher salaries than their competitors, as well as large bonuses at the end of the month.
Zara stores have not needed advertising for a long time, so the money saved on promotion is invested in opening new stores and in the development of projects and brands such as Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Stradivarius and Bershka.
While the main competitor - H&M - is carrying out expensive advertising campaigns, Zara prefers to invest in high-quality and expensive store displays that can even rival those of luxury brands such as Dior and Prada.
However, Zara has a somewhat dismissive attitude not only towards advertising, but also towards journalists. It was not the first attempt to get comments from Zara representatives - several times, in response to requests and calls from the editors to the company's main office, public relations representatives responded that corporate policy Inditex does not allow comments. However, Zara experts still reported several important facts specifically for New Retail.
According to Inditex representatives, for the nine months of 2014 (from February to October) retail sales, including the turnover of the Zara online store, increased by 10.5%. And in the period from November 1 to December 8, sales growth was 14%.
As for business in Russia, according to Inditex CEO Pablo Isla, it is developing properly, and the company does not plan significant changes in the market development strategy.
Regarding the recent closure of the Zara flagship store on Tverskaya, representatives fashion brand note that “his commercial activity was absorbed by the activity of other nearby Zara stores.” However, as previously reported by the media, Zara representatives did not come to an agreement with the tenants on a new amount for rent on Tverskaya Street.
At the origins of the brand
The history of the global brand began, as often happens, from the desire of one simple, poor person, gifted with willpower, patience, and organizational skills, to get ahead and offer the world something new.
Today the founder of the network, Amancio Ortega Gaona, is the wealthiest man in Spain, in fourth place on the list richest people planets with a capital of 64 billion dollars.
Gaona was born in a small town in the Spanish province of Lyon in the family of a railway worker and a maid. Due to poverty, Amancio could not even finish high school and from the age of 13 he worked as a courier in a shirt store. Then, in 1950, he was hired at the La Maja haberdashery store, where his brother Antonio, sister Pepita and Rosalia Mera, who would later become his first wife, already worked.
At the age of fourteen, Amancio followed his family to La Coruña in the province of Galicia, where he became an apprentice to an Italian fashion designer. The owner of the atelier once told the father of the future fashion industry magnate: “You know, he won’t make a tailor, a tailor must be easy-going and sociable.” The owner of the studio was right, and therefore in the 1960s Amancio became a manager in one of the stores.
In 1972, at the age of 37, Amancio opened his knitting factory. At first, he and his first wife, Rosalia Mera, sewed robes, nightgowns and lingerie right in the living room of their own home.
Rosalia Mera, first wife of Amancio Ortega Gaona
In 1975, the couple opened their own shop on one of the central streets of A Coruña to save their business after a German customer canceled an order for a large batch of linen, in which Amansi invested all his free capital. The store was originally named Zorba after their favorite character Anthony Quinn from the movie Zorba the Greek, however, due to registration issues, the store had to be renamed Zara.
Amancio Ortega realized before the Chinese that it was possible to make copies best models clothes from famous couturiers, and sell them several times cheaper. The idea proved successful, and Zara stores opened at an incredible rate throughout Spain.
In the 80s, José Maria Castellano joined the Ortega team, with whom Gaona came up with an innovative “instant fashion” business system, an obligatory component of which was his own design studio. The studio was named Industria de Diseño Textil S.A., or Inditex.
Inditex head office in Galicia (Spain)
In 1988, the first Zara store was opened abroad - it was a store in Porto (Portugal). And then the conquest of the USA, France and - gradually - the whole world began.
If the business was booming and Inditex short term caught up and overtook its main competitors, including H&M, in terms of production volumes and income, then the family affairs of the creator of Zara did not go well.
In 1985, Amancio Ortega divorced his first wife, Rosalia Mera, who went through the first and most difficult years of the business with him. From this marriage there were two children - Sandra and Marcos. The latter, unfortunately, was born with a severe form of disability.
Marta Ortega Perez, youngest daughter of Amancio Ortega Gaona
After the divorce, Rosalia remained with 7% of Inditex shares. She died in mid-August 2013 at the age of 69 from a stroke, her fortune passed to her daughter, Sandra Ortega Mera, who is now considered one of the richest women in Spain.
After the divorce, the founder of Zara brought fate to his assistant Flores Perez Marcote, with whom they still live in perfect harmony. The couple has a daughter, Marta Ortega Perez, who works in her father's company. She is involved in the youth brand Bershka, part of Inditex.
A few years ago, 78-year-old Amancio Ortega left the chairmanship of Inditex, handing over the reins to the younger generation.
Amancio Ortega lives in a fairly modest mansion for one of the world's richest men in A Coruña in northern Spain, where he opened the first Zara store many years ago. The billionaire leads an extremely secluded lifestyle, not wanting to communicate not only with journalists, but even with King Philip of Spain himself, who has repeatedly invited him to royal receptions.
They say that the creator of “instant fashion” still likes to come to lunch at the Inditex headquarters, apparently in order to once again be amazed at the size to which his brainchild has grown and continues to grow.
Daria Tkacheva was interested in the history of the brand
Spanish entrepreneur Amancio Ortega is the richest man in the world. The fortune of the owner of Inditex, which unites the brands Zara, Pull & Bear, Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Oysho and others, is today approximately $72 billion. The Secret found out what rules Ortega followed to accumulate such a fortune.
Money shouldn't be the goal
Ortega is from a poor family: his father is a railway worker, and his mother is a maid; there was barely enough money for the basic necessities. One day, when he was 12 years old, he and his mother went to the grocery store, but had to leave empty-handed. He heard the seller say: “Josefa, I’m very sorry, but I can no longer sell you goods on credit.” This angered Ortega, and he decided that he didn’t want his mother to ever hear anything like that again. Soon he dropped out of school and got a job as an assistant in a sewing workshop.
And yet, according to the founder of Zara, money is not the most important thing for him; it is more important to be able to set goals and do everything to achieve them. “Running a business just for the sake of money is a waste of time. When you earn as much as we do, it’s obvious that we’re unlikely to need more. For me, money has only one meaning. They are needed to achieve goals. And if you are successful, then it is useful to help those who depend on us so that their lives become better,” Ortega assures.
Photo: Jim Hollander/EPA
Find your niche
“From the time I started working, I was obsessed with one idea: why don’t I invent something different from everything else on the market? I saw clearly that it was necessary to occupy the free space that remained in the world of the textile industry,” said Amancio Ortega in an interview with the former editor-in-chief of the Spanish magazine Telva Covadonga O’Shea.
In 1963, Ortega went into business for the first time, his wife joined him, and then his brother and his wife. They organized the production of cotton robes and nighties: they sewed them by hand, creating models similar to designer ones. “The fact that only rich ladies could dress well always seemed unfair to me,” Ortega said in 2003.
Later, Zara representatives began traveling to fashion shows around the world and sketching clothing models. Ortega’s company has been accused of plagiarism more than once, but Zara is confident that it is not copying, but catching fashion trends and using general ideas. Thus, in 2008, Zara unsuccessfully tried to sue the French shoe manufacturer Christian Louboutin - the luxury brand claimed that the retailer violated its trademark by using very high heels and red soles. The cost of Zara shoes back then did not exceed $100, and a pair of Christian Louboutin often cost more than $1000.
Do everything quickly
For Amancio Ortega, speed has always been important: speed of production, speed of delivery and speed of updating models. Ortega set a rule at Zara: the model range in stores should be updated every two weeks, and delivery to warehouses should be carried out within 48 hours.
By offering customers variety and small quantities, Zara can always count on selling out. If some things are not in demand, they are quickly replaced with more popular ones. While other clothing stores are visited by customers on average four times a year, Inditex stores are visited almost 17 times a year.
Ortega allowed his clients to regularly update their wardrobes. Back in the 90s, journalists wrote that Ortega changed people’s consumer habits: “We are already beginning to define Zara-mania in consumer habits: purchasing the most fashionable things in order to get rid of them next year with a pure heart.”
Don't delegate
“If I want everything to continue to work, I must remain in my post,” says Amancio Ortega. Friends describe him as a passionate worker, ready to spend even birthdays at the factory. A businessman likes to control everything in his company - from the search for ideas for new models to how sales assistants behave in his stores.
Ortega retired as president of Inditex in 2011 at the age of 75, but continues to regularly visit Inditex headquarters in the billionaire's home province of A Coruña. There, he most often sits at a table with designers, fabric experts and buyers for the Zara women's clothing line. Ten years ago, the businessman admitted that although he is fascinated by the entire production process, what he likes most is watching the work of his artists.
Photo: Konstantinos Tsakalidis/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Continue to grow
The first Zara opened in 1975 in La Coruña, and in the 1980s there were chain locations throughout Spain. However, this was not enough for Ortega - he wanted to conquer all the fashionable capitals. In 1988, he opened the first Zara store in Portugal, in 1989 in New York, and in 1990 in Paris. The first Zara appeared in Russia in 2003. “Even when I was a nobody and had practically nothing, I dreamed of development and growth. We have never rested on our laurels or taken the easy way out. Optimism can be a very negative emotion. You have to take risks! Every day new ideas appear and we do not have any preset plans. Growth is a survival mechanism. Without growth, a company dies,” Ortega is sure.
By the mid-1980s, Ortega realized that one brand was not enough to satisfy all categories of the population - Zara was mainly dressed by middle-class women. In 1991, he created the youth brand of inexpensive casual clothing Pull & Bear. Then he bought a stake in Massimo Dutti, which dresses clients with above-average incomes (the brand now belongs entirely to him). In 1998, Bershka appeared, offering clothes to young party girls, and in 1999, Ortega bought his main competitor in the teenage clothing market - the Stradivarius chain. Today Inditex is the largest group of companies in the clothing market, which includes more than 6,777 stores in 88 countries.
Sources: book “The Zara Phenomenon” by Covadonga O'Shea, Bloomberg, Forbes Cover photo: Efa via EPA
Zara, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Bershka, Pull&Bear, Uterqüe. Stradivarius – these fashionable clothing stores are known to everyone modern woman. Did you know that all these brands belong to one production holding - Industria de Diseno Textil Sociedad Anonima (Inditex)? The owner of the holding, Spanish businessman Amancio Ortega, has been leading the ranking of the richest people on the planet for several years in a row. In 2012, he was ranked the richest person in Europe by Bloomberg, with a net worth of $39.5 billion. In 2013, his fortune was estimated by Forbes magazine at 57 billion, which put him in third place among the world's billionaires, moving ahead of the legendary Warren Buffett in the ranking. And in 2015 and 2016, according to Forbes, he became the richest person on the planet with a fortune of about $80 billion, overtaking Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the Sultan of Brunei and other world rich people.
How did it happen that the richest man in the world is also the most unknown? We are sure that a little more than everyone has heard the name of Bill Gates, but you are most likely seeing the name Amancio Ortega for the first time. This man does not pose for cameras and never gives interviews. Almost nothing is known about his life; journalists even called him a “paparazzi nightmare.” The only time and for just 15 minutes he allowed journalists to photograph him was in 2001 at a public report of the company. Then he answered only one question - about why he leads such a reclusive lifestyle. The tycoon said that he does not want to be recognized on the street by anyone other than his family and friends. He also asked all his acquaintances not to talk about the details of his life, and no one violated his request.
The more valuable are the crumbs of information that are known about him. And this is what is known about him.
Amancio Ortega Gaona was born on March 28, 1936 in the Spanish provincial town of Busdongo near Leon. The childhood of the richest man on the planet was very ordinary. His parents were not millionaires who gave their offspring good start in life. Unlike other European billionaires, such as Georg Scheffler, Lilian Bettencourt or Gerald Grosvenor (otherwise known as the Duke of Westminster), he did not inherit his wealth. His parents did not even belong to the middle class. Amancio Ortega's father worked as a railway worker, his mother as a maid. Even during the economic crisis of post-war Spain, Father Ortega's salary was considered very modest - he received only 300 pesetas a month. To understand the size of this amount, imagine that ten chicken eggs cost about 30 pesetas - a tenth of this salary. In addition to Amancio, the family had two more children - older brother Antonio and sister Josepha.
The family lived so poorly that Amancio had to quit school and go to work. He was only 13 years old. One day he went grocery shopping with his mother and witnessed a humiliating scene when, despite his mother’s pleas, the seller refused to provide her with further credit for food, because they already owed him a large amount. All the greengrocers, butchers and bakers from the surrounding shops refused to sell on credit, and at some point the family had nothing to eat. This was a turning point in Amancio’s life - his biographer Covadonga O’Shea writes about it: “In these terrible days, he first realized the full drama and all the hopelessness of poverty, which should never be repeated either in his life or in his future family ".
The first job of the future textile magnate was working as a courier in a haberdashery store. When Amancio was 14 years old, the family moved to the city of La Coruña, where Amancio’s father was offered a job. There, Amancio got a position in the clothing store "Gala Notariado" on the corner of Federico Tapia and Plaza de Galizia streets. This store still exists. True, according to the owner, the store’s visitors are not so much buying his products - shirts, cardigans and hats - as they are trying to find out details about the youth of the multi-billionaire who once worked here as an errand boy.
Later, Amancio Ortega received a position in one of the Spanish studios. There he learned how to sew clothes, crimp and drape fabrics. Soon he became an apprentice to a fashionable Spanish designer, who once said about him: “Amancio is a hard-working guy, of course, but he won’t become a good tailor. He doesn't know how to communicate with people. The tailor does half the work with his tongue, but he is silent all the time, shy. Let him do something else better; sewing is not his destiny.” Ortega has always been modest, bordering on shyness. The only time journalists were allowed to photograph him, everyone could see how hard it was for him to do so.
While working as an apprentice, Ortega not only learned to sew, studied fashion and developed a sense of beauty. He studied customer needs and thought about how to meet demand. While studying pricing, he saw that the cost of clothing increased as it moved from the sewing room to the warehouse - from the warehouse to the wholesale dealer - from the dealer to the retail store. He realized that if he shortened this path, the price of things would become much more attractive.
But for Ortega, the improvement in logistics was not the only way win the buyer. He was always attracted by the idea of making luxury goods accessible to everyone. The idea was not new - many entrepreneurs of that time made their fortune following this path. For example, the founder of Ikea, who made designer furniture accessible to all segments of the population. In the 1960s, Ortega got a job as a sales manager in a clothing store. In addition to working in the store, he began purchasing inexpensive fabrics in Barcelona and sewing clothes from them. For some models, he himself came up with patterns, but mostly he copied clothes from famous fashion designers, adapting them for the mass buyer. His clothes were in great demand; Spanish boutiques began to purchase them. Within 3 years, Amancio had saved enough money to open his own sewing business called Confecciones GOA (the abbreviation GOA is the initials of Amancio Ortega Gaon read backwards). It was family company, where Amancio himself was responsible for developing models, his brother Antonio was in charge of commercial issues, his sister was in charge of accounting, and his wife Rosalia Mera acted as a business partner. The future billionaire began by sewing underwear, bathrobes and nightgowns.
Amancio Ortega opened his first clothing store shortly before his 40th birthday. It's interesting that this happened unplanned. The GOA garment manufacturing company received a large order for bathrobes from a German client, and Ortega had already invested all his available money in tailoring when the client last moment canceled the order. To save the company from bankruptcy, Ortega and his wife decided to open their own store and sell their products there. This is how the Zara store was born. They initially wanted to name the store Zorba after Anthony Quinn's character from the movie Zorba the Greek. But the name Zorba was already registered to another company, and after some deliberation the store received the name Zara - this name sounded feminine and exotic (in Spanish it is pronounced “Thara”).
10 years after the opening of the first Zara, the mother company was created Inditex company to cope with rapid expansion. In 1989, Zara's first overseas store was opened in Porto, Portugal. Now, after 40 years of dynamic development, the Zara network includes 2,000 stores in 88 countries. In addition to Zara, Amancio Ortega's company owns the brands Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Oysho, Bershka, Zara Home, Uterqüe and Lefties.
The richest representative of the fashion world never attends shows, fashion weeks and other public or private industry events. But soon after each fashion week, models appear in Zara stores that are very similar to the prêt-a-porte clothes presented by expensive designers just a few days ago. This situation infuriates fashion designers and delights Zara's clients, who cannot afford an expensive original, and do not see much point in it.
Zara's main feature, which allowed it to get ahead, is its immediate response to customer demand. Firstly, the company was able to reduce the time it takes for new models to go on sale to a ridiculous 10-15 days! Yes, yes, design, pattern development, sewing, delivery to a retail store - all within two weeks! The company's team employs more than 200 designers who respond to the slightest fluctuations in demand. Secondly, in order to better understand the needs of customers, the Zara team analyzes not only actual sales, but also products that customers tried on but for some reason did not buy. This analysis provides an understanding of what needs to be improved and helps identify customer expectations. Thirdly, the company managed to avoid the trend towards placement sewing production in the countries of Southeast Asia to reduce the cost of production. 50% of Zara's clothing is produced in Spain, 26% in other parts of Europe and only 24% in Asia, Africa and other countries. Instead of saving on the quality of tailoring, Zara saves on advertising. According to High Point University economics professor Stephanie Crofton, Inditex spends just 0.3% of its revenue on advertising, versus 3.5-5%, which is roughly what other major clothing brands spend on advertising. Fourthly, Zara produces clothes in super-small batches and never sews even the most successful models a second time. This way they reduce the risks of increasing stocks, and provide clients with some kind of exclusivity.
In 2011, when the founder of Zara turned 75, he announced his resignation. The post of president of the holding was taken by former vice president and assistant Pablo Isla. There are rumors that Amancio Ortega plans to make his youngest daughter from his second marriage, Martha, his successor.
In total, Amancio Ortega has three children: daughter Sandra and son Marcos from his first wife Rosalia Mera, and daughter Marta from his second wife Flora Perez Marcote. They say that eldest daughter The billionaire flatly refused to do business. She inherited more than 4.7 billion euros from her mother, who died in 2012, owns 7% of Inditex shares and, according to Forbes, is one of the richest and influential women in Europe. Son Marcos is not able to manage the company, since he has been disabled since birth - the boy was born with cerebral palsy. Shortly after his birth, his parents opened charitable foundation support for children with such disabilities.
The billionaire divorced his first wife in 1986, but there were rumors that the couple had not been a family for a long time by that time, keeping the relationship only for the sake of business. The billionaire married his second wife in 2001, they are together to this day.
Ortega spends millions of dollars every year protecting his anonymity. Perhaps there will be no more than 200 pictures in which you can see him and his family members. Bits of information about his life can be seen either in the official Zara news or in his biographies written by the official biographer Covadonga O'Shea (family friend, teacher at the fashion school at the University of Navarra) or Xabier Blanco (Spanish journalist, carefully tracks the career of the founder of Zara ).
He never gives parties, doesn’t go to public events, and what’s more - he refused an invitation to dinner from the Queen of Spain herself! His modesty is also evidenced by the fact that for many years he lived in a five-story building in La Coruña, and when he worked at the company, he dined in a common dining room with his employees. His daughter Marta, who will inherit her father's fashion empire, worked in the holding, starting from the lowest positions.
The Spanish billionaire knows how to not only make money, but also spend. For example, in 2011, Ortega bought the 43-story Picasso skyscraper in central Madrid for $536 million. He also owns a private Falcon 900 jet, a hotel on the Miami coast, various houses and apartments around the world and his own racetrack. The billionaire bought real estate as an investment; he rents out his houses and does not leave La Coruña. But the hippodrome was bought for the soul. Ortega has a real passion for horses and racing, as does his daughter Marta, who even married equestrian star Sergio Alvarez Moya.
The great merit of this man is that he made fashionable designer clothes accessible to everyone, and not just to the elite segments of society. Many have tried to replicate his business model, but so far no one has succeeded. The speed with which he captures fashion trends and translates them into his brand's clothing is truly breathtaking. A lot of things played a role in his success - his own talent, the right people who helped him, his faith in success, and, of course, a happy coincidence of circumstances. But the beginning was made when Ortega saw poverty in all its ugliness, on that memorable day when his mother refused to sell food on credit. That day, the future billionaire promised himself never to humiliate himself or go hungry again. He kept his word.
Specializes in the production of inexpensive wardrobe items, created, however, taking into account the latest trends in the fashion world. Both natural and synthetic materials are used. Quality ranges from mediocre to good. Prices in Russia are average, in Europe they are rather low. The assortment is wide.
Story
Inditex was founded by Spanish entrepreneur Amancio Ortega and his wife Rosalia Mera in 1975. ZARA became the company's first brand; the first company store was opened the same year in the Spanish city of La Coruña. It is there that the headquarters of Inditex is located to this day.
At first, the company was actually engaged in copying clothes from high fashion houses. Copies were sold at low prices, which made ZARA popular among low-income people who dreamed of wearing fashionable clothes. Currently, ZARA is no longer engaged in simple copying, but creates new models on its own, but taking into account the latest fashion trends.
The uniqueness of the company lies in the extremely high degree of elaboration production chain: clothes are created (designed) very quickly, put into production very quickly and get into Retail Stores. The whole process takes about two weeks, which is an extremely short period of time. This “speedy” model was developed by Amancio Ortega and Jose Maria Castejano in the 1980s and provided ZARA with enormous success, because it became possible to respond very quickly to changes in demand, to new collections of leading designers, and so on.
By the end of the 80s, ZARA stores operated in 80 Spanish cities, in 1988 international expansion began - a store opened in Porto (Portugal), in 1989 the first store opened in the USA, in 1990 - in France. Inditex and its main brand have grown rapidly.
In 2000, ZARA entered the Ukrainian market, and in 2003 - into the Russian market. Currently, there are 1,671 brand stores in 76 countries around the world. There are 9 stores in Ukraine, 58 in Russia.
Range
ZARA's assortment includes men's, women's and children's clothing in a wide variety of styles, styles, and colors. In addition, at ZARA you can also find shoes (both formal and casual, and even sports) and accessories. ZARA Home stores sell bed linen and other home textiles.
Clothes are made from both inexpensive natural materials (cotton, wool, leather) and artificial ones (viscose, leatherette, polyester). Mostly budget materials are used (leather is mainly the cheapest - pork and bovine), which allows you to keep prices at a relatively low level. At the same time, it must be added that in Russia prices at ZARA are greatly inflated, while in Spain they are noticeably lower; in general, in Europe it is clothing rather for the poor. Therefore, I do not advise you to be proud of ZARA clothes in front of Europeans or in general in front of anyone.
One of the main advantages of ZARA is diversity. In the stores of this brand you will find a wide variety of clothes in a variety of styles, colors and sizes. Moreover, the collections are regularly updated - something new appears approximately every two weeks.
The quality of clothing varies quite a lot: you can buy very good things and very mediocre ones. In most cases, you can understand by the appearance of a thing whether it will serve for a long time, whether it will soon lose its appearance. Carefully inspect the products before purchasing, choose the best copy available.
Relatively menswear I can say the following: ZARA has very mediocre suits (and mostly made of synthetics), good, sometimes very good shirts and shirts, good jeans with a good price-quality ratio.
I would call the quality of the shoes very mediocre; for cheap shoes, mainly synthetic materials are used, as well as short-lived polished leather and velor (read more about the types of leather). For more expensive models, although smooth leather is used, it is usually cow leather - it is tough, and creases and folds may appear on it.
Well, in any case, remember that ZARA specializes in “fast fashion”, that is, it is expected that customers will constantly update their wardrobe, trying to follow the latest fashion trends, and will not wear the same thing for years. Accordingly, ZARA clothes are simply not designed for long-term wear.
Personal impressions. Reviews
In my opinion, you can find some pretty good things at ZARA - if you look for them. It is best to come during sales, then you can buy, for example, a good 100% cotton shirt for 600-700 rubles - this is a very attractive option. I have no complaints about ZARA shirts; their quality is quite consistent with the price (however, there are also some pretty ugly ones, you have to look carefully).
But suits are a different matter; I have seen ZARA suits that lost their appearance within six months after purchase. Moreover, they are mostly synthetic, and this is immediately obvious. Their prices are not so low; This, by the way, also applies to business trousers.
Reviews on the Internet vary. Many people like the opportunity to buy really bright and fashionable clothes for relatively little money. Others are outraged by the quality. On my own behalf, I can add that, for example, in Moscow, ZARA clothing is already perceived as consumer goods and with its help you are unlikely to stand out, especially in the eyes of those who wear more expensive things. If you are not interested in fashion, but just want good, modest clothes, then it’s better to go to GAP - there, of course, the design is boring, but the clothes are high quality and durable, very wear-resistant.
Brief summary:
- Clothing styles : classic, strict casual, club casual.
- Range : almost all items of clothing (from underwear to jackets and coats; from jeans to suits), shoes (sneakers, shoes, boots), various accessories (belts, bags, etc.).
- Clothfor men, women, children . Textiles for home.
- Dimensions : women's - from XS to XXL, men's - from S to XXL.
- Materials : natural - cotton, wool, leather, artificial - polyester, elastane, viscose, etc.
- Price category : average, sometimes above average (in Europe - rather lower).
- Discount program : absent.
Approximate prices (as of October 2012) for women's clothing:
- T-shirts, T-shirts - 500-2000 rubles (on average - 800).
- Shirts, blouses - 1500-4600 rubles (on average - 2000-3000).
- Dress - 2000-6000 rubles.
- Skirt - 1500-5000 rubles.
- Jeans - 1900-3000 rubles.
- Trousers - 1900-3000 rubles.
- Jackets - 2000-7600 rubles.
- Pullovers, cardigans, sweatshirts - from 800 (cotton) to 4600 (woolen) rubles.
- Jackets - 2000-16000 rubles.
- Raincoats - 5000-7600 rubles.
- Boots - 3800-9000 rubles.
- Low shoes, ankle boots - 3800-7600 rubles.
- Sneakers - 1400-2000 rubles.
- Shoes - 2000-4400 rubles.
- Belts, belts - 900-2600 rubles.
- Umbrella - 800-900 rubles.
- Bags - 1500-8000 rubles (average 3000-3800).
- Caps, hats - 500-1700 rubles.
- Scarves and shawls - 1000-3000 rubles.
- Gloves - from 1000 (knitwear) to 1700-2000 (leather) rubles.
- Socks - 400 rubles per pair, stockings - 600-900 rubles.
Approximate prices (as of October 2012) for men's clothing:
No matter how women feel about fashion and style, they will always be interested in new products in the fashion industry. Any representative of the fair sex would like to become the owner of at least a few items from the latest collections of the world's leading designers, without spending exorbitant sums of money. A real find in this difficult matter was the unique Spanish brand ZARA, which became famous for its quick adaptation of trends (development, production and delivery of clothes takes only 2-4 weeks). In addition, the brand’s specialists take a special approach to the formation of collections: if they see that an item is not in demand and few people buy it, it is removed from sale and sent for revision.
Brief history of the brand
The founder of one of the largest retail chains in the world is the Spanish entrepreneur Amancio Ortega, and his wife Rosalia Mera acted as a co-founder of the company. At first, the couple themselves did all the work associated with creating clothes. So, they independently compiled initial sketches and sewed things, but after one unpleasant incident, when the couple completed a large order and the client refused it, Rosalia came up with the idea of opening own store for the sale of unsold goods. That's how, in 1975, businessmen opened their first point of sale in the Spanish town of La Coruña. The original name was supposed to sound like Zorba, but during the registration process certain difficulties arose, due to which the brand had to be named differently. This is how one of the most successful brands in the history of the fashion industry appeared.
In 1985, based on the ZARA chain of boutiques, a holding company called Inditex was created, which included 6,750 stores located in 88 countries. ZARA's global expansion began in 1988, when the first foreign store was opened in Portugal. In 1989, the Spanish brand's signature boutique opened in the USA, then in France, Sweden, Turkey, etc. Today, all over the world there are more than a thousand stores of the popular brand, which delight fashionistas and fashionistas from more than 60 countries with beautiful and stylish clothes at affordable prices. According to experts, the Spanish company was able to achieve such success thanks to a serious and creative approach to both clothing development and pricing policy, as well as marketing technologies. The attractiveness of ZARA is due to the fact that the prices of goods are relatively low, but this does not in any way affect their quality - when you see things from the Spanish brand, you do not feel cheap.
ZARA brand concept
As many as 200 talented designers are responsible for the development and release of new collections of the brand. The process of creating clothes is based on popular models and new items from world famous fashion houses. A large staff helps ensure rapid response to the slightest changes trends and customer preferences. Thanks to the prompt work of young fashion designers, it is possible to refine ready-made clothing models, complement the color palette and materials from which items are made. It was the rapid process of production and modernization of clothing that formed the basis of the fast fashion concept.
Fresh ideas and a sense of clothing creators for current trends ensure that ZARA stores are filled with a huge variety of items with original design. One of the features of the brand is that it does not hesitate to copy “runway” ideas belonging to other designers and begins to implement them long before the author sews his collection. Annually professional designers ZARA develops and launches thousands of clothing models. They constantly delight and surprise fans with interesting new products, for which they attract an army of millions of fans around the world.
The distinctive features of the brand are:
1. Reasonable prices.
2. Production and sales schemes. When the company designs and releases a new collection, it gives fans access to 60% of all products, with the remaining items going on sale throughout the season.
3. Quick adaptation of trends.
4. The widest range. ZARA offers its customers more than 11 thousand types of products.
The company strives to attract customers and do everything to ensure that they visit stores as often as possible. This is facilitated by the constant updating of collections, which allows you to achieve the desired result. According to statistics, every year customers visit ZARA boutiques located on the central streets of Spanish cities approximately 17 times. This figure is impressive, isn’t it?!
Features of the collections and range of the brand
The brand's collections are updated weekly (mainly on Thursday and Saturday). Things are sold out at an incredible speed - we can talk about 2-3 days or several hours. The brand’s specialists have a very keen sense of the economic situation that is developing in the market. Due to this, the items created by the brand are worn by absolutely everyone. ZARA attracts the attention of customers with products “with character” that allow them to create unique images. It's about about clothes, shoes, accessories, bags and jewelry. This is why ZARA is loved all over the world, because the brand gives even the average fashionista the opportunity to be at the forefront of fashion.
ZARA assortment
ZARA stores offer a huge range of women's, men's and children's clothing, as well as accessories for every taste. The company is trying to attract the attention of buyers through inexpensive materials, affordable prices and simplified production technologies. Collections influence the cost of things. Today ZARA produces 3 main lines of clothing:
1. Woman. The collection features classic and elegant items for beautiful ladies.
2. Trafaluc. A line of youth clothing, the basis of which is playful cotton T-shirts with various inscriptions, “torn” jeans, knitwear dresses, colorful and bright accessories.
3.Basic. Men's collection presented underwear with drawings, plain T-shirts, business shirts, chinos, bags, etc.
Special attention should be paid to ZARA tops and T-shirts, which are distinguished by their excellent cut and decent quality. It is recommended to purchase items made from linen and cotton. You will also not regret if you buy a shirt that contains cotton and polyester - you will look very stylish in it, and the feeling of comfort will not leave you throughout the day.
The exclusivity of the ZARA brand lies in seducing customers with products that they cannot resist. But the Spanish brand is more than just beautiful clothes. Now we will tell you some Interesting Facts, after which you will begin to admire her even more.
1. The Spanish company Inditex, which includes ZARA, is one of the largest distribution groups that produces and sells clothing. The concern owns the following clothing brands: ZARA, Bershka, Oysho, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius and Massimo Dutti.
2. The original name of the boutique (Zorba) was invented in honor of the hero of one of Amancio Ortega’s favorite films. This is also the name of one of the local bars in A Coruña.
3. Half of ZARA's products are produced in factories located in Spain. Products requiring longer production time, are manufactured in Turkey and Asian countries.
4. It takes no more than 30 days to sell any clothing models.
5. To popularize the brand, ZARA invests in opening boutiques in areas located close to leading brands.
6. In 2003, the ZARA Home project was launched, which is designed to make the home interior as stylish as the brand’s clothing.
7. Not long ago, a Greenpeace agreement was signed, according to which the company plans to stop using harmful chemicals in its products by 2020.
8. ZARA is one of Duchess Kate Middleton's favorite fashion brands.
ZARA: collections 2017
Let's see what clothes ZARA has prepared for the fair sex this season. The 2017 women's clothing collection is presented mainly basic elements wardrobe, designed to revive it and bring a touch of style and sophistication to your everyday look. The brand's designers have developed many different models:
Stylish blazers;
Cute and extravagant dresses and skirts;
Youth T-shirts;
Light knitted sweaters;
Fashionable overalls and jeans.
The key feature of all the items presented is the rich and cheerful colors, as well as stylish and unusual prints. New ZARA collection amazes with its variety of styles: elegant outfits with chic clothes for everyday wear will not leave any fashionista indifferent. The Spanish brand captivates with its simplicity and practicality, which are organically combined with fashionable sophistication. Among the main new products of the brand it is worth highlighting:
Oversized trench coats with defined shoulders;
Bulky sweaters and parkas;
Crop Tops;
Flared skirts;
Leather biker jackets;
Leggings;
Dresses made of silk and chiffon.
Outerwear
If you weren't able to buy stylish ZARA outerwear in the spring, you can fix this situation in the fall. For the spring-autumn period, designers have prepared for girls a wide selection of classic coats of different cuts made of wool and mohair, attractive models of “biker” leather jackets, light windbreakers with a hood and everyone’s favorite parkas. A businesswoman will surely love a gray cropped blazer in a classic style, which will make a wonderful ensemble with muted T-shirts and trousers with vertical stripes. By the way, the stylish jackets are made of lamb leather, they are decorated with silver zippers and a universal removable strap.
Knitwear ZARA
In the latest collection, the Spanish brand decided to focus on knitted items, which are designed not only to warm their owners during the cold season, but also to make the image stylish and unusual. A spectacular chunky knit cardigan with a hood, presented in 2 colors – rich gray and beige, deserves special attention. The product is decorated with a very beautiful and elegant pattern, thanks to which a rather simple cut takes on an incredibly luxurious look. It is best to combine such a cardigan with straight trousers that have a straight fit. It should also be said about the cozy and soft dark gray jacket, the sleeves of which are decorated with knitted elastic. It is recommended to combine it with a feminine blouse and a straight black miniskirt.
Stylish shoes
In addition to the huge variety of clothing models, the new ZARA collection is presented designer shoes. The pumps, which remain relevant to this day, were decorated with a snake print, a pointed toe and a 12 cm heel. Genuine leather was used to make this model. Goat leather shoes look no less attractive, the highlight of which is a metallic soft pink shade. Thanks to their extravagant silhouette, they will perfectly complement both business image, and evening. For lovers of glamorous rock, ZARA designers offered stylish boots made of genuine leather, decorated with studs, buckles and other metal elements. These shoes will create a very daring and fashionable look in an ensemble with skinny trousers and a biker jacket.
The fashion brand ZARA attracts fashionistas with its extraordinary approach to the design of elegantly cut items in a sophisticated business style. The secret of the incredible popularity and uniqueness of the brand lies in the huge selection of models and styles of clothing, affordable prices, seasonal sales, stylish outfits according to the latest fashion trends and bright colors. All these nuances make the clothing of the Spanish brand one of the best-selling and most sought after.
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