Category: OpenLab

Technologia

On average, Zara Produces 12,000 styles per year (Harbott, 2011), therefore, the use of technology to expedite production and delivery is a major part of the company. ​

Zara has included a Radio Frequency Identification technology (RFID) (Inditex, 2019) which allows the instant tracking of garments within the stores to ensure faster and easier delivery to customers.​

In order to keep up with and attract millennials customers Zara has included reality experiences in stores. Now consumers can use their mobile phones to see models wearing the garments displayed in stores and order said garments. ​These implementations served as a way to attract millennials and further engage the customers with their retail experiences.

There are 300 people on the design team who look through forecasts and trends for the brands collections, they work in the headquarters. Over 5,000 employees work in the headquarters in different areas from the distribution center to the factories. All the clothing is distributed through four centers in Spain and there are ten different factories where the pieces are manufactured (Hanbury, 2018).

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Inditex insures their employees human rights along with fundamental work rights, for all employees that work in their supply chains.  They also enforce there to be no child labor, forced labor, no discrimination of any kind.  The minimum age for working is the age of 16, with parental or guardian consent and 18 without the guardian’s consent. Inditex does not do business with companies that work with anyone under the age of sixteen years old (Inditex, 2018). Health and safety conditions are regulated throughout the company, it is an important part to prevent any issues for the employees (2018).

Zara was founded by Amancio Ortega in La Coruña, a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It opened its first store in 1975 and has grown into a global success with over 2,238 stores in 96 countries (Hanbury, 2018).  This success impacted the retail industry because of Zara’s unique market format. The uniqueness of their brand make consumers feel like if they don’t buy a product right away, the chance of the item being there next week is slim to none. 

Zara’s parent company, Inditex, manufactures and headquarters in Arteixo (A Coruña) in Galicia, Spain. It is home to 5,000 employees that focus in design, photography, modeling, manufacturing and distribution (Hanbury, 2018). They successfully use vertical integration; in which the company has control in each step of the supply chain such as the planning, design, manufacturing, production and distribution as opposed to outsourcing, which is why they succeed as global retailers (Sternquist and Goldsmith, 2018).

We are working so that all of our products are sustainable from the raw materials stage through design and production.

https://www.zara.com/us/en/sustainability-products-l1455.html

Zara has introduced their Join Life collection which is said to be manufactured solely on sustainable raw materials, with technology that reduces water intake, and lastly, using renewable energy in at least one manufacturing process  (“Join Life”, 2018).

Zara has also made a promise that in the year 2025, 80% of energy consumed in their stores, factories and headquarters will be from renewable sources and will produce little to no landfill waste (Conlon, 2019). This statement shows that the company is taking initiative in satisfying customers needs by having ethical production practices and responsible retailing.