ZARA History
Inditex is a global
specialty retailer that designs, manufactures, and sells apparel, footwear, and
accessories for women, men and children through its chains around the
world. Zara is the largest and most internationalized of the six
retailers that Inditex owns: (Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear,
Bershka, Stradivarius, and Oysho). By the end of 2001, Zara operated 507
stores around the world, including Spain.
Of Inditex’s
total employees, over 80% of them are part of the retail sales force and 9.5%
are in manufacturing, design, logistics, and distribution. The remaining 11.5%
are part of the corporate headquarters of Inditex, which is located in the
region of Spain called Galicia.
The role of
the corporate center at Inditex’s headquarters is that of a “strategic
controller” only, and is involved in setting the corporate strategy, approving
the business strategies of the individual chains, and controlling their overall
performance rather than as an “operator” functionally involved in running the
chains. This gives Zara autonomy to operate independently and be
responsible for its own strategy, product design, sourcing & manufacturing,
distribution, image, personnel and financial results.
With this
freedom, Zara was able to make major investments in manufacturing, logistics,
and IT, including establishment of a just-in-time manufacturing system and a
130,000 square meter warehouse close to its corporate headquarters. Zara
manufactured its most fashion-sensitive products internally and its designers
continuously tracked customer preferences and placed orders with internal and
external suppliers based on this information. Due to its unique needs,
Zara chose to internally develop its business systems. Zara is now able
to originate a design and have finished goods in stores within weeks for
entirely new designs and take even less time for modifications of existing
products.