Zara: Fast Fashion from Savvy Systems
Introduction
Questions and Exercises
- Has anyone shopped at Zara? If so, be prepared to
share your experiences and observations with your class. What did you
like about the store? What didn't you like? How does Zara differ from
other clothing retailers in roughly the same price range? If you've
visited Zara locations in different countries, what differences did you
notice in terms of offerings, price, or other factors?
- What is the "conventional wisdom" of the fashion industry with respect to design, manufacturing, and advertising?
- What do you suppose are the factors that helped Gap to at one point rise to be first in sales in the fashion industry?
- Who ran Gap in the 1990s? How did the executive perform prior to leaving Gap? Describe what happened to sales. Why?
- Who was the Gap's second CEO of this decade? How did sales fare under him? Why?
- Where do Gap clothes come from? Who makes them? Why? Are there risks in this approach?
- Describe the Fair Factories Clearinghouse. Which
firm thought of this effort? Why did they give the effort away? What
happens as more firms join this effort and share their data?