Zara's Marketing Plan

ZARA MARKETING PLAN
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Introduction
Company Overview
Zara is a Spanish multinational fashion brand that specialises in the retail of fast fashion. It is one of Inditex's brands, a global fashion retailer. Established in 1975 in Spain, Zara has gained global recognition over the years due to its widespread expansion and internationalisation. As of December 2022, Zara had 1939 stores worldwide, 1684 company owned and the rest franchised (Inditex 2022, p.125). Zara specialises in men, women, and children's wear. Its goal is to ensure that forward-thinking fashion is accessible to everyone, regardless of where they are. To this end, Zara operates both online and physical stores across the globe. In some countries, including the United Kingdom (UK), Zara has innovatively merged online and offline shopping by providing customers with an online functionality that allows them to check into physical stores virtually (Stevens, 2021). The incorporation of both online and physical stores has not only increased accessibility but has also enhanced the customers’ shopping experience. In addition to clothing, Zara also provides beauty products, perfumes, swimwear, and accessories.
Mission and Core Values
Zara's mission is to meet the fashion needs of everyone at the right moment and place. Zara has developed an intimate relationship with customers to achieve this mission, which allows it to understand and respond to their needs based on the latest fashion trends and consumer feedback (Inditex, n.d.). In addition, Zara has placed the customer at the heart of its business model. It considers the customer when making decisions about its products’ design, production, distribution, and sales (Zara, n.d.). In addition to the intimate relationship it has created with customers, Zara is also guided by core values to achieve its mission. These core values include functionality, sustainability, beauty, and clarity (Inditex, n.d.). They have allowed it to stay in touch with the needs of its customers and stay ahead of competitors.
Situational Analysis
A situational analysis provides insights into the internal and external factors that may hinder or promote a company's success. In the last two years, the fashion industry has experienced changes driven by technology, consumer behaviour, and environmental issues. Consequently, fashion brands such as Zara have had to adapt to the internal and external factors associated with the changes in the fashion industry. Below is a situational analysis of Zara.
PESTLE Analysis
The PESTLE is a tool utilised by businesses to analyse the external environment. It examines the political, economic, sociocultural, technological, legal, and environmental forces that affect a business.
Political
* One of the main political forces that affect the success of Zara and others in the fashion industry is the Russian-Ukrainian war. While the war involves the two countries, its effects have been felt globally. According to Fashinza (2022), fashion brands such as Zara have suspended operations in these two countries because of the ongoing war. The effects of the war spread across Europe and the rest of the world. Particularly, the war has caused geopolitical tension and conflict, driving logistical costs. The increase in oil prices and the disruption of trade routes due to the war have contributed to supply chain issues, especially because the import and export of textiles have been affected (Fashinza, 2022). The war has also affected the fashion retail industry in Europe as more international fashion brands withdraw their operation in the region.
* Another political force affecting the fashion industry is the introduction of new legislation by policymakers around the world. For instance, in the United States (US), The Fashion Workers Act has been introduced, and if passed, the act will change how contractors renew their contracts with fashion brands. Such policies are necessary because the fashion industry has a bad reputation for treating workers, contractors, and the environment poorly (Hardy, 2022). These policies would force fashion brands to look into their internal policies and adapt accordingly.
Economic
* Even though fashion brands such as Zara have significantly recovered from the pandemic, the post-pandemic era has caused other economic challenges. One of the economic forces affecting fashion brands is the 2022 economic recession. According to Amed et al. (2022), the economic recession arising from the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine has contributed to rising costs of living in the world. As a result, consumers’ shopping habits have changed as many consumers cut down their spending on certain items. Specifically, the demand for fashion items has decreased due to rising inflation and the high cost of goods, including fashion items. The cost of fashion raw materials, such as cotton, has increased by 45%, resulting in a rise in the cost of clothing (Amed et al., 2022). This cost is transferred to the end-user, and many consumers are foregoing fashion items because of inflated prices and rising household costs.
* However, the high cost of living also provides an opportunity for fashion brands to adapt. Consumers with low disposable income are looking for rentals, off-price, and resale fashion items, and the demand for these items has increased (Amed et al., 2022). Brands have an opportunity to meet this demand and ensure consumers still have access to fashion items during the economic recession.
Socio-cultural
* One of the sociocultural forces affecting fashion brands is influencers and bloggers. Influencers and bloggers create a strong online following. Because their followers trust them, they can influence consumers' opinions and beliefs about a fashion brand. According to Kaushal (2021), consumers will buy a brand recommended by their favourite influencers because they trust their reviews. Influencers influence not only people's beliefs about fashion but also their purchase decisions, contributing to the adoption of new fashion trends. Influencers and bloggers have become opinion leaders, and according to Anyanwu and Chiana (2022, p.63), opinion leadership significantly influences fashion consumption. Fashion brands have an opportunity to influence consumers using fashion influencers and bloggers. Zara has utilised influencers with over 2 million followers to create customer engagement and drive purchases (Cohen, 2018). As a fast fashion brand, using influencers is necessary to ensure it has a hold on consumers’ opinions and purchase decisions.
Technological
* The fashion industry, like many others, is highly influenced by technology. One of the critical technological forces that are currently influencing fashion is augmented/virtual reality. Augmented/virtual reality is used in the fashion industry to showcase fashion designs. For instance, designers in the 2021 London Fashion Week show used augmented reality to showcase their designs and give customers an immersive experience without their physical presence (Chitrakorn, 2021). Zara has also adopted this technology and is using it to display its fashion items. According to Sandler (2018), Zara uses augmented reality displays in some of its physical stores to attract millennials and Gen Z consumers. Technological forces such as augmented reality are disrupting fashion retail, and only businesses that adapt will survive.
Legal
* Some of the legal forces in Zara’s external environment include labour laws, environmental protection, and product standards. Many countries are enacting laws aimed at enhancing environmental responsibility among fashion firms. For instance, the US introduced the Fabric Act, whose aim is to hold fashion brands accountable for any malpractices (Hardy, 2022) involving labour practices and supply chain transparency. In addition, the law aims at providing tax incentives and grants to fashion brands that want to produce fashion items in the US. The UK government has the Modern Slavery Act, whose main aim is to regulate slave labour in the modern day (Abdulla, 2019). Such laws call for higher labour standards. Environmental protection laws also call for higher environmental standards, affecting the fashion industry and how firms operate. Zara has complied with environmental laws specific to its countries of operation (Inditex 2022, p.561). However, the laws are continuously being amended, and Zara must keep up with the legal changes and remain compliant.
Environmental
* One of the greatest environmental forces affecting fashion firms is pollution and excessive wastage. According to Abdulla (2019), fashion firms are responsible for generating excessive waste, which ends up in landfills. Fast fashion firms are especially notorious for increased wastage due to high unsold stock once their fashion items run out of trend. In response to this environmental impact, consumer behaviour is slowly changing as more consumers choose longevity over price (Abdulla, 2019). Consumers have become environmentally conscious, and their preferences are changing to support more environmentally-friendly brands and practices. This has contributed to a shift to slow fashion, although consumers are yet to embrace this trend entirely.
* Also, there are concerns that fashion companies are contributing to global warming through increased carbon footprint. The production of raw materials such as cotton and the dyeing and weaving of fabrics leave large carbon footprints that continue to deteriorate the environment and render the fashion industry unsustainable (European Parliamentary Research Service, 2019). Fashion firms have to create innovative ways of addressing these environmental issues. Zara’s efforts to this end include the elimination of single-use plastics in its store and the use of recycled polyester and organic cotton (Inditex 2022, p.820). However, it is yet to achieve sustainability fully.
Table 1: PESTLE Anlaysis
Macro-environmental Factors

Specific Forces

Political

Russian-Ukrainian War
Legislations

Economic

Economic Recession
High cost of living

Socio-cultural

Influencers and bloggers

Technological

Virtual/Augmented Reality

Legal

Labour laws
Environmental laws
Product Quality

Environmental

Pollution
Excessive waste
Global warming

SWOT Analysis
Strengths
* One of Zara’s key strengths is its sales model, which integrates both online and physical stores (Inditex 2022, p.178). These stores have increased Zara’s reach and sales revenues in the last decade. According to Peters (2022), Zara’s sales from e-commerce rose from less than $1,000 million in 2014 to over $6,000 million in 2022. The increase in sales is attributed to successful digital integration to create a hybrid sales model that builds on both physical and online store sales.
* Another key strength is Zara’s technological investments. Zars has invested in augmented reality technology to display its fashion items. This allows customers to browse online before visiting a physical store (Sandler, 2018). Technology has been instrumental in attracting millennials. In addition, Zara has invested in radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which allows it to detect an outfit and make suggestions for the customer (Street, 2018). Such technologies have made the shopping experience more exciting and convenient.
* Further, Zara has a strong distribution network thanks to its parent company Inditex. As one of the largest global retailers in the world, Inditex has secured a strong distribution for all its fashion brands, including Zara (Inditex, n.d.).
Weaknesses
* One of Zara's weaknesses is its over-reliance on physical stores. Although the company has made efforts to incorporate online stores, it still faces hindrances associated with physical stores, especially in the post-COVID era. The incorporation of online stores has increased the brand's online sales, but its overall sales have not improved significantly (Inditex 2022, p.487).
* Another weakness is its over-reliance on fast fashion. Zara is a well-known fast fashion brand, which has been a source of its strength. However, concerns over the sustainability of fast fashion have turned this trend into a weakness. Zara is now constantly looking for innovative ways to increase its sustainability while still offering fast fashion, yet, there is a shift towards slow fashion to encourage consumers to buy fewer but high-quality clothes that will last l...