Zara began in 1975 when Amancio Ortega and Rosalia Mera opened their first store in Galicia, Spain. The original store sold low-priced lookalikes of high-end, popular fashion products.

Zara’s business model of imitating the latest fashion and providing their designs at low prices appealed to Spanish consumers. In the next eight years, Zara expanded to nine more stores in popular shopping centers in Spain. During this period, Ortega had created a design, manufacturing, and distribution process he called “instant fashion,” which could respond to fashion trends very quickly. Using this process, Zara spent the next decade expanding into the global market, which included the United States, France, Belgium, and Sweden. After achieving similar success with its expansions, Zara eventually became the world’s largest apparel retailer.......

Questions

1. Would Zara’s model work for other retailers? Why or why not?

2. What can Zara do to ensure successful growth around the world that maintains the same level of speed and instant fashion?

3. Who are Zara’s biggest competitors? What should Zara do to build, enhance, and sustain its competitive advantage?