Spanish Succes Story

I think everybody knows the fashion store Zara, especially girls. Personally, it is one of my favorite shops although not in the weekend. Than it looks like there has been a war between all the customers with clothes as weapons. Okay, back to the subject: Zara is well-known. Last week I was wondering if I had ever seen an advertising campaign in magazines or television from Zara.. and I could not remember anything. I asked a bit around and most of my fellow Zara-fans could not remember a campaign either.

So I started 'googling' and found out that Zara does not advertise. Fashion retailers spend on average 3.5% of revenue on advertising their products, while Zara's parent company Inditex spends just 0.3%. This company believes advertising is pointless distraction. They believe that you can build a brand just by meeting the marked need.

The company's success lies in having total control over every part of the business. Zara designs, produces and distributes everything herself. Another strategy of Zara is they have every product in a limited amount and when you get the chance to buy it, you are lucky. If not, you can wait another week and a whole new collection has arrived. Zara's designers create approximately 40.000 new designs annually, from which 10.000 are selected for production. The clothes are inspired on the high-fashion labels, which are very expensive and exclusive. Zara makes it possible for everyone to own high-fashion designs, although with a less good quality, but for a really appropriate price.

This is the prove that when you really feel the market need, you do not need advertising to build a massive brand!