When discussing my dissertation with Danielle Harrison after a cop crit i mentioned how i am writing about the brand Zara. She told me how a family friend used to work in Alicante designing shoes for Zara. She gave me his email address and i wrote a list of questions i wanted to ask him.
How does Zara work out there market?
How does you understand the consumer and who you are designing for?
Who and what inspires Zara’s brand as a whole?
Does the consumer inspire you to design the things you do?
Do you think that the style of clothing reflects the brand?
What influence does a Zara designer have on how the brand develops and changes?
How does Zara differ from other high street brands?
Do you personally think that the branding for Zara as a whole makes the brand more successful?
How does Zara work out there market?
Zara has established itself as a fashion fashion high street brand that can get clothing from design to store in as little as 6 weeks. Quicker than most retailers. So I suppose their business is directed at a fashion conscious customer primarily. They don't really do market research as such and they don't do printed advertising. I guess people just know what Zara is and the customer comes to them. They're confident they provide a range of clothing from basics at cheap price points to more extreme fashion styles that attract a broad customer base. Price is key to their success. Generally people will buy if it's cheap, the customer is very price aware.
How do you understand the consumer and who you are designing for ?
Zara retails in the majority of the countries worldwide and each country will get the majority of the range. Zara has a team of commercial managers responsible for each of the countries they sell to. They will produce styles that are country specific ie fur boots for Russia as it's colder. We didn't design with a customer in mind generally. It's all about getting the trends from the catwalk into store quick and at a good price.
Who and what inspires Zara's brand as a whole?
The catwalk. It's all about the designer trends from Burberry to Prada. They do a lot of blog research and research trips to different countries.
Does the consumer inspire you to design the things you do?
Yes in some ways as we get figures every week saying which styles are selling well. Generally though it's about what's new, the stock turnaround is fast.
Do you think that the style of clothing reflects the brand?
I think Zara has created its own brand identity over the years as it has evolved. The style of clothing is very european, and it doesn't always appeal to the UK customer. People know Zara as a Spanish brand, so I think the clothing reflects the brand well.
What influence does a Zara designer have on how the brand develops and changes?
The designers create the ranges so in terms of developing, it doesn't happen without the designer. It's the start of the cycle. We change the development of the brand by being aware of trends and customer buying attitudes. A top selling style can sell over 100,000 pairs a season, so there is big money to be made from good designs.
How does Zara differ from other high street brands?
It's fast. Very fast. They react to trend very quickly. They get it in store as soon as possible. They have more seasonal drops into store than the other retailers. They have a very strong supply chain and make garments up in house. The shoes are made in Spain mainly before they are copied in factories such as China and India so the speed of development is quick.
Do you personally think that the branding for Zara as a whole makes the brand more successful?
I think the stores and the website look strong, which are the two main sources where the company brands itself to the customer. The website is sleek and the products looks very high end. The stores replicate high end designer stores with the finishings. The product looks expensive, but of course it is relatively cheap.
I have been so lucky to have got the opportunity to speak first hand to someone who actually worked for Zara. Gaining more primary research for brands I'm focussing my writing around makes me more excited to write about them. Zara is one of the most fast fashion brands on the high street and all this information helps me back up my points through out my writing.
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