Consumer Behaviour Assignment: Zara Brand Consensus Map

Rotterdam School of Management, EUR,

Consumer Behaviour Assignment

 [pic 1]

Awesome Group name:        Fantastic Four

Group Members:        Alice Wang (439394)

[pic 2]Xiaolan Li (437239)

Dian Pertiwi Sulistianingtyas (439376)

Janosch Kluen (358959)

Brand:                        ZARA

Date:                        29/09/2015

Table of Contents

1.        Introduction        

2.        An ideal Brand Concept Map        

3.        Methodology        

3.1       Consistency of interview and Sample analysis        

3.2        Procedure        

4.        Brand Management Plan        

4.1        Actual versus Ideal Brand Map        

4.2        Concluding recommendations        

References        

Appendices        

Appendix A        

Appendix B        

Appendix C        

Appendix D        

1.        Introduction

As one of the largest clothing retailers in the world, Zara underwent immense growth over the past decades. It was founded in 1975 in Arteixo, Spain, by Amancio Ortega and Rosalia Mera. After a humble yet successful start, the founders soon found potential to optimise operations and decrease lead-times for their collections. The vertical integration of the supply chain gave Zara the opportunity to have new pieces in store in a matter of two weeks. This model is what made Zara grow over the years and what has made it a serious competitor in the current fashion retailing industry. Currently, Zara is part of the Inditex group and operates more than 2.000 stores all over the world. It has subsequent online outlets in most countries it operates in. In terms of sales, Zara managed to grow 8% to $19,7 billion. $0,5 billion shy of their closest competitor, and industry leader, H&M. Yet, an impressive $3 billion more than the next most successful fashion retailer Uniqlo ($16,6 billion) (Loeb, 2015).

Zara’s current marketing activities are fundamentally different from its closest rivals. Interestingly, it does not engage in traditional advertising like, for example, H&M. Rather, it reinvests earnings into the opening of new Zara outlets (Neele, 2014). For example, it recently opened a flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York. The property cost Zara over $300 million, yet it will function as a billboard to the 50 million people that visit New York every year. Additionally, Zara stores are designed to have an air of luxury. When combined with its ability to have lookalikes of catwalk pieces in the store in under three weeks, it enhances Zara’s image of an affordable luxury retailer. The combination of this advertising strategy (or lack thereof) and its positioning as a retailer of affordable-luxury clothing, makes for a very successful marketing proposition or brand strategy (Neele, 2014).

According to the Inditex annual report, many of the group’s (and consequently, Zara’s) priorities are related to a further improvement of sustainability in its supply chain and operations. However, one marketing-related objective is to further grow its presence throughout the world through improving customer service (Inditex, 2014). For example, investments in RFID technology has improved stock availability in the past year. Additionally, focussing on the needs and wants of its customers, both from a fashion perspective as well as from a transparency and traceability perspective, are key priorities for Zara.