Zara's Strategies and Tactics: UK Fashion Clothing Market Adaptation

This report identifies key changes in the UK fashion clothing market impacting Zara, including economic shifts like recession and inflation, political changes from Brexit, technological advancements driving e-commerce, legal regulations such as GDPR, and social trends affecting design preferences. It explores Zara's strategies to address these challenges, focusing on quick response to demand through a pull approach, production strategies involving small quantities and rapid turnover, and investments in training and development. The report highlights Zara's commitment to fast fashion, adapting to customer preferences, and maintaining a competitive edge through its unique supply chain techniques. Desklib provides access to similar reports and study tools for students.

Theory and Practices

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................2
Identify important changes in UK fashion clothing market........................................................2
Several strategies and Tactics that can be used by ZARA to respond on the major changes
occurring in the Fashion clothing market....................................................................................5
Strategies adopted by Zara...............................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
Books and Journal........................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Theory and practices are two different concepts in which practice includes actual
observation experiments and operations whereas theory provide a proposed explanation
regarding two or more concepts to provide an effective information about how and why that
phenomenon occurs (Anderman, 2020). Every organization follows several theories and
practices which helps them to run their business in effective manner. In order to formulate some
strategies for business organizations are required to take several theories into practices. This
story is also helps the organization to analyze market situations which results in formulation of
effective strategies. Zara is a Spanish brand which deals in apparel and specialize in fast fashion.
The company was founded in 1974 having their headquarters in Spain. This report contains key
changes that are faced by Zara in UK market in the fashion clothing industry. After analyzing or
identifying these changes the organization is required to formulate various strategies and tactics
that can be used by them in order to respond to changes in the industry.
MAIN BODY
Identify important changes in UK fashion clothing market
Fashion clothing market is uncertain in nature and it is very difficult for an organization
to anticipates and forecast the demands of the customers. Zara is a large organization which is
known for its fast adaptability of fashion and requires overview these changes in order to
effectively formulate strategies for the changes in the market. There are so many changes which
are observes in the fashion industry in UK which has a great impact on the business of Zara. In
order to formulate effective strategies for these changes ZARA is required to first identify these
changes in the market. The major changes in the industry are given below:
Economic changes: According to a report which has been produced by World Bank UK is
considered as fifth largest economy with high population and enabling infrastructure. This is the
reason that the country has a great impact of recession on the economy. With the effect of covid-
19 there are various industries which place great recession in the economy and many businesses
went in a condition to close their stools. In case of fashion industry there is a large decline of
demands in the industry due to recession where people has high cost of living to which makes it
difficult for them to buy clothes every time (Boulouque, 2020). Zara is a large company who

offers their products online as well as at their offline stores in which the changes their stock in
their shops twice a week. The situation has increased the inflation rate in United Kingdom which
has also impact on the fashion industry and makes difficult for Zara as it increases the cost of
importation for them. Zara has a manufacturing unit in Spain from which they deliver their stock
to their stores all over the world. But high inflation rate and recession in the market has increased
the cost of importation of the company which ultimately increase their cost of products and
higher prices of their clothes will decrease their sales.
Political changes: In the year 2020 UK has decided to exit from European union which has
create several uncertainty for various organizations operating in United Kingdom. Zara also
faces seven uncertainty is in UK market as the company deals in those clothes which are
manufactured in Spain. UK and Spain both are member states of European Union due to which
the company has enjoyed free trade in the market. This policy of free trade enjoyed by Zara
requires the company to pay no cost for importation to import their goods in their UK stores. The
exit from United Kingdom from European Union through Brexit has a great impact on the trade
terms between both the countries which will enhance and increase the cost of the products of
Zara. In order to sustain in the market and lower their prices the company has decided to
manufacture their clothes in United Kingdom but the clothes which are made in United Kingdom
will have negative impact on their business (Carolan, 2021).
Technological changes: With growing dependence on technology fashion clothing industry has
also impacted with this dependence. UK is a country which uses high technology and large
penetration of smartphones all over the country. This creates challenge for the organizations who
are operating in fashion retail industry as they are required to invest in e-commerce activities and
launched their shopping websites. After speed of covid-19 when people are scared to go out for
shopping the dependence on technology for their clothing shopping has also increased. There is
already present online as the launch of their online boutique in United Kingdom in the year 2014.
But still they are greatly depend on physical stores for their sales in United Kingdom and the
great dependence of customers on online shopping has impact on Zara (Sørensen, Bærenholdt,
and Greve, 2020).
Legal changes: With the increase cybercrime cases there is a regulation which has been
formulated with the name general data protection regulation tree in the year 2018. This

regulation is required that every organization who are operating with the help of social media
and e-commerce sites are required to have their transparent operations regarding how the use the
rate of their consumers. As Zara has increased their online presence from 2014 this regulation
has also its impact on the company. In order to avoid any kind of litigations in the market of
United Kingdom the company is required to follow the regulations provided by general data
protection regulatory (Echeverri, 2021). Another bill has also been passed in the parliament of
United Kingdom in which the companies who have employed more than 250 employees are
required to publish their details regarding the gender and salaries of their employees which has
its impact on the business of Zara as they are dealing with more than 250 employees in United
Kingdom. In this manner, the legal changes in the United Kingdom market has the impact on
other organizations also in fashion clothing market.
Social Changes: Fashion market has a great impact of the societal trends as fashion changes
with the trend of the society. This is the reason that any slight change in the society has impact
on fashion clothing market (Shi, and Mohamed Zainal, 2021). Apart from this UK has follows
multi ethnic cultures which also has its impact on fashion clothing industry. This multi ethnic
culture of United Kingdom requires several types of designs in order to fulfill the needs and
preferences of the customers. The people who are living in United Kingdom has different design
preferences which are required to be fulfilled by Zara in order to sustain in the UK market. Zara
is required to change their stock in accordance with the fashion and demand of their consumers
in United Kingdom which also has its impact on their profitability and business. Zara follows a
policy to change their stock twice a week which helps them to fulfill the demand of their
consumers in the market like UK with multi-ethnic culture.
Apart from this changes the designs in the fashion clothing market is also a great change
in the industry (Gómez Etxegoien, 2021). Fashion market has changed their preference for
designs in a very short period of time in which it is not possible for organizations in the industry
to sell their stock. Please changes can provide great losses to the company if their stock remains
unsold due to change in fashion. Designers in their organization to design each cloth which
requires a great cost to the company. The organization already has a policy to change their stock
within a week and fulfill the demands of customers and fashion needs in the market. All the Zara
is known an organization for their fast copying of the fashion but requires more strategies and

tactics to sustain as a profitable organization in the market. District changes in the external
environment of the market in fashion clothing industry the organization is required to formulate
effective strategies and tactics which will help them to achieve growth and success in the market.
Analyzing and identifying these changes will help the organization to gain competitive
advantage in the market as increasing competition in the global world is also a major change in
the clothing fashion market which has impacted the sale of Zara (Reijven, and Townsend, 2021).
Several strategies and Tactics that can be used by ZARA to respond on the major changes
occurring in the Fashion clothing market
Strategies adopted by Zara
Zara is among the most successful, if not the most successful, trend retail companies
worldwide. Zara is aiming to generate responsible fashion love across a wider range of
consumers, ranging across diverse cultures and ages with its spectacular introductions to the
notion of "quick fashion" since it was formed in Spain in 1975. There are a lot of things which
contribute to Zara's success, but the ability to make its customers the first place is one of its
major assets which has played a decisive part in becoming an international fashion giant. The
key to Zara's success was primarily driven by its ability to maintain fast shifting trends in fashion
and to display her very quickly in her collections. Zara has discovered a major market gap from
the very beginning that few clothes manufacturers have addressed well. This has been to keep
pace with the current fashion trends, yet it offers high-quality and still inexpensive apparel lines.
The brand monitors carefully how mode changes and develops throughout the world every day.
It produces fresh designs and puts them in stores in a week or two based on the newest fashions
and trends.
It is recognised that the fashion business is very uncertain. It is more difficult to
anticipate the market and hence forecast the necessary commodities and supply amid
continuously shifting patterns (Hydle, and Billington, 2020). In the past, the clothing business
has been classified as more like a push model, where retail trends and new products are placed
on the market. However, the same technique has failed as it has been today: businesses are
obliged to listen to their clients with fresh entries and rivals at all corners. It is vital to know what
the consumer feels like and respond swiftly to this demand. Moreover, the different purchasing
habits, style, per capita income etc. change in every geographic area, and all clothing lines must

properly assess demand in each market. Zara retained its position as a leader in the clothing
business and its unique supply chain techniques made it so successful. In order to improve its net
revenue and to remain a brand that is both innovative and cheap, Zara employs these concepts.
Quick response to Demand: In its inventory and supply chain management, Zara employs
a pull approach. Every month they produce up to 1000 patterns depending on shopping and
trends. They monitor the customer's expenditure in the store to assess and learn which designs
are consumed and then iterate their future designs accordingly. By initiating this technique
owners at Zara can develop effective goodwill of the business firm and counter several market
changes.
Production strategy: Zara has rapid turnover, small amounts are produced for each
product. This offers them a chance to discover immediately what designs succeed. It is also an
excellent approach to explore new designs and assess their market acceptability. This decreases
the chance that a huge volume of something will not be produced by the client significantly.
Although investing in various designs seems like a poor idea, Zara just optimises in various ways
by utilising the same material (Khandakar, and Pangil, 2020).
Training and development: The business also teaches its staff and managers and makes
them particularly sensitive to the client's requirements, as well as how the customer acts on shop
floors, are another key for Zara's success. Zara enables its consumer research colleagues and
shop managers to take the lead. Through providing proper training and development programs
managers at Zara can improve their functional working. In addition to this, wastages of resources
being used in production process of the business firm can be reduced.
Managed authority: Zara has high-performance IT systems to support distribution at the
Central Distribution Centre. All garments are returned to the centre region of Spain. It is supplied
from here to other nations and stores is based on specific demands and requirements of the
particular location (Knickmeyer, 2020).
Customer centric approach: The contemporary business operations are customer insights,
and the better firms are able to innovate and compete regarding their consumers. But it might be
difficult to have the correct insights at the right moment and have continuous access to them over
time. One of the keys of Zara's success is in the use of RFID technology in its stores. RFID

technology. The company employs state-of-the-art technology to immediately monitor the
whereabouts of apparel, making them available to clients quickly and on request.
The key to Zara's success was primarily driven by her ability to maintain fast shifting
trends in fashion and to display her very quickly in her collections. Zara has discovered a major
market gap from the very beginning that few clothes manufacturers have addressed well (Kumar,
2021). This has been to keep pace with the current fashion trends, yet it offers high-quality and
still inexpensive apparel lines. The brand monitors carefully how mode changes and develops
throughout the world every day. It produces fresh designs and puts them in stores in a week or
two based on the newest fashions and trends. Compared with others, it would take about six
months for most fashion businesses to bring new designs and collections. It was with this
strategic capacity to quickly introduce new collections that Zara was able to outperform other
competition based on the newest trends. It was soon the favourite brand of the public, especially
of the ones who wish to stay up with trends in fashion (Ranjbar, Naeimi, and Badsar, 2020).
CONCLUSION
The above discussion helps to conclude that it is very essential for a business to analyze the
changes of the industry so that it they can make proper strategies two face the market in case of
Zara the company has analyzed several essential changes which happened in the fashion clothing
industry of United Kingdom which helps them to formulate effective strategies. The company
has formulated several strategies and tactics in order to respond those changes so that they can
sustain in the market and also these strategies will also help the company to gain competitive
advantage.

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
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Feeding as Expressions of Competencies, Moralities, and Mobilities. The Sociological
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comparative anallysis of communitarian and decolonial feminism.
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Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior. Iranian Agricultural Extension and
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Shi, H. and Mohamed Zainal, S.R., 2021. Facilitating mindful safety practices among first-line
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