Zara is one of the most successful and fastest growing retail apparel company in the world. This retail chain is regarded as a pioneer of fast fashion companies whose main feature is quick response to new fashion trends, launching several collections a year and continuous assortment refreshing. Zara has entered the Czech Republic in 2001. On the local market the company presents itself as a premium brand whereas in Western Europe Zara is seen as a middle class brand. The company Zara Česká republika operates only six stores and its sales, compared with the largest clothing chains operating on the Czech market, are rather low. The diploma thesis has two main objectives. One goal is to describe and analyse the business model of the retail chain Zara as many experts believe that the company's business model is the reason of its tremendous success. The second major goal of this thesis is to determine how Czech women perceive the retail chain Zara in comparison with other apparel chains operating on the Czech market and to verify the hypothesis that the Czech female consumers are not satisfied with quality-price ratio of goods offered by chain Zara. The secondary objective of the thesis is to characterize the apparel business and to explain the concept of fast fashion.

<p dir="ltr">Studying ZARA provides valuable insights into the marketing communication strategies employed by a highly successful fashion brand. ZARA's innovative business model, which prioritizes speed, affordability, and fast fashion line turnaround, has disrupted the traditional fashion industry and created a new paradigm for fast fashion. The company's ability to rapidly create and distribute affordable, trendy clothing has made it one of the most popular fashion brands globally.</p><p dir="ltr">Analyzing ZARA's success in marketing and communicating with customers, as well as its ability to stay ahead of fashion trends, can inform and inspire other fashion brands seeking to improve their market position. I collect and analyze data from a variety of sources, including applying the marketing mix 4Ps and 4Cs and using ZARA's FB posts as a sample to understand its social media communication strategies. The study aims to identify how these key factors contribute to ZARA's success in marketing and customer communication.</p><p dir="ltr">ZARA's marketing communication strategies emphasize customer-centricity and responsiveness to changing fashion trends, and the effective use of social media marketing. By staying closely connected to its customers' needs and desires, ZARA can rapidly create new products and styles that resonate with its target market. Furthermore, the company's effective use of social media platforms, such as Facebook, has helped to create a strong brand identity and a loyal customer base.</p><p dir="ltr">Overall, the study of ZARA's marketing communication strategies provides useful insights into marketing performance and what works in the fast-paced world of fast fashion. By emphasizing customer-centricity, responsiveness to changing fashion trends, and the effective use of social media marketing, fashion brands can create strong brand identities and connect with customers in meaningful ways.</p>

Fashion creates reactions. It is a type of art form that constantly needs to be updated. This is the thrilling part about fashion, but it is also the part that can create unintentional reactions. In this essay I will examine two garments that have achieved a great amount of media coverage, both in Sweden and abroad. One of them is a jumpsuit from H&amp;M that was criticized because of the resemblance to the uniform worn by the Peshmerga-soldiers in Kurdistan. The other garment is a children’s sweater launched by Zara. This one was criticized because of its connotation to what the Jewish people were forced to wear during World War Two. By doing an analysis of the two garments and then a critical discourse analysis I intend to find out if there is a difference in the way media treated the two garments. Another question that my essay will try to answer is who reacted to the two cases? Theoretical premises have been Edward Said’s Orientalism, Pierre Bourdieu’s Habitus and Roland Barthes contribution about Semiology. My main focus was to decide whether the human prejudice was the basis for their reaction on the examined clothes. The result shows that there are distinct differences in the media discourse about the two garments. It also proved that Said’s thoughts about a great diversion between east and west is still applicable and our earlier experiences are of great importance while facing new ones.

Purpose:The purpose of this thesis has been to study, describe and analyze how luxury fashion brands have responded to fast fashion. Background:It has been stated that the life of luxury fashion brands has become more difficult since the proliferation of fast fashion brands. The Italian luxury fashion designer Giorgio Armani has said that &quot;Fast fashion is a growing reality in our sector&quot;. Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of American Vogue has credited Zara for creating a ‘seasonless cycle for fashion’. Fast fashion brands such as H&amp;M, Zara, Mango and Topshop have through interpreting catwalk trends with a speedy time-to-market been extremely successful at attracting the fashion conscious consumer. Even loyal high-end customers have started to mix their luxury fashion with fast fashion. Luxury fashion brands once dismissed the fast fashion brands as irrelevant to their high-end business, which however have started to drain away sales from the luxury fashion brands.Method:A qualitative research approach was taken to meet the purpose of collecting the relevant data. An interview was made with PR and Marketing Manager at Group 88, Robert Meeder who manages brands such as Gucci, Burberry and Bottega Veneta in Copenhagen. We also did a content analysis on articles collected that address the issue of how different luxury fashion brands have responded to fast fashion for the empirical study.Conclusion:Luxury fashion brands have responded to fast fashion by inclining towards the fast fashion model or reacting against it. Some of the reactions have been to offer lower priced lines under their own sub-brands. They have also allowed their customers to buy products during online webcasts in order to ensure early deliveries. Improvements have been made within logistics in order to speed up the time-to-market. The luxury fashion brands are also working more ‘seasonless’ than before and focusing on their heritage to portray a slower and more indulgent image to the consumer. / Program: Magisterutbildning i Fashion Management

Problem – The essential problem being analyzed in the research paper is the methods of improving supply chain flexibility under certain circumstances and constrains that are imposed on the company. Purpose - The paper aims at providing suggestions on improvement of supply chain flexibility for ICA AB (Clothing) based on comparative analysis on sub-case study of ZARA. The major part of analysis is based on investigation of the relationship between supply chain characteristics and firm performance of both companies that is crucial for finding out areas for improvements for ICA supply chain. Design, Methodology and Approach – The research is based on qualitative analytical approach using two basic case studies on Northern Europe’s leading retailer ICA AB and the largest international fashion retailers ZARA. The main idea of comparing these two retailers is that they have different supply chains in terms of its set up, responsiveness, postponement and level of flexibility. The main method of the research is comparative analysis of two supply chains based on literature review, personal interviews with companies’ representatives (Director of Logistics and Supply Chain Department, Supply Chain Manager – Operating and Category Manager Non-Food) and provided internal materials of the company. Frame of references – Based on various sources of literature concerning supply chain flexibility, enablers for flexibility management in global supply chain, value chain flexibility, manufacturing flexibility, comparison between flexibility and adaptability in supply chain and flexibility as a determinant of supplier selection. We, as researches, also included in the analysis how flexibility relates to company’s performance in the supply chain context. Research questions and Limitations – In order to solve the problem in the research there are certain questions to be answered and supported in empirical study. The first question is how the supply chain looks like for the same products (textile products) in two different companies in terms of its flexibility. The second question is connected to enablers of the supply chain flexibility improvement in specific business environment, namely retailing, after comparative analysis of the aforementioned supply chains. The research provides limited number of suggestions in certain supply chain aspects for ICA AB. As concrete case studies were analyzed, wider and broader range of solutions of increasing supply chain flexibility could not be provided. It is necessary to take into account the fact that the focus company has its own position in the market, strategy, mission, financial strength and available resources. Conclusion - The research paper includes the analytical review of theoretical base on supply chain flexibility and focuses on further understanding of it in textile industry. The paper provides suggestions on improvement of supply chain flexibility for fundamental case study of ICA AB (Clothing). These suggestions are given for improving the flexibility of supply chain in four areas after conducting the comparative analysis based on Model of Supply Chain characteristics and Firm Performance. The analysis was grounded on model modified by authors. While conducting the analysis the authors realized the necessity of dividing Firm Performance into two main types, such as Financial Performance and Non-Financial Performance. This can be considered as authors’ academic contribution and also has its practical implications. The comparative analysis was grounded on the main case of ICA AB and sub-case study of ZARA.

The term ¡§Fast Fashion¡¨ has been under the spotlight since the Zara Empire emerged. Zara is one of the clothing retailers under a Spanish textile design, manufacturing and distribution group, the Inditex Group. Zara accounts for 70 to 80 percent of Inditex¡¦s retail sales on average. The founder, Amancio Ortega, has become the richest man in Spain and also one of the world¡¦s richest people. Inditex has 3207 stores located in 63 countries all over the world up to the fiscal year 2005. Zara has made elite fashion accessible to the mass market and has decreased the lifetime of clothing by providing customers new clothes to pick out every five to six weeks. In other words, Zara has made trendy clothing become disposable stuff. Studies and the garment industry call this phenomenon-- ¡§Fast Fashion¡¨. This study aims at clearly defining ¡§Fast Fashion¡¨, and analyzing Zara¡¦s positioning strategy and business model. By analyzing Zara¡¦s unusual structure, this study comes to a conclusion that clothing retailers would need some resources and core capabilities to implement fast fashion positioning strategy. However, fast fashion positioning strategy is not necessarily a competitive advantage for every clothing retailer.

Klädbranschen är präglad av långa, världsomspännande produktionsled vilket gör det intressant och viktigt att se hur stora, internationella företag arbetar med CSR. Kraven på att företag tar socialt ansvar ökar samtidigt som företag är påverkade av sin historia, kultur och specifika omständigheter som kan påverka vad som är viktigt för företaget. I denna studie undersöks vad fyra klädföretag, H&amp;M, Gap, Uniqlo och Zara, alla från fyra olika länder, väljer att betona i sitt CSR-arbete. Information publicerad på företagens hemsidor samt rapporter har legat till grund för empiri som analyserats utifrån ett teoretiskt ramverk. Den insamlade informationen har ställts mot EU-kommissionens definition av CSR och analyserats utifrån teorierna. Resultatet visade att likheterna gällande företagens valda CSR-betoning var fler än skillnaderna och att imitation kan vara en anledning till att företag väljer att fokusera på liknande saker i sina redovisningar, samt en vilja att ta hänsyn till och verka legitima i alla intressenters ögon.

The Master's Thesis deals with the marketing communication of fashion industry with the focus on two particular global fast fashion brands. The main goal is to identify the specifics of marketing communication strategies of fashion industry, to analyze the approach difference of the two chosen fashion brands H&M and Zara and to define their influence on consumer's body image through qualitative and quantitative research. The thesis is divided into several parts. The first chapter follows up the peculiarities of fashion marketing communication including the use of particular communication instruments and new trends. The second part deals with the pivotal points of marketing communication of H&M and Zara and also analyzes the relations between the fashion industry and the currently much discussed issue of body image. The next section concentrates on the methodology of the research and describes the techniques of data collection and the surveyed group. The last practical part evaluates the results of the primary data obtained by the research with the purpose of defining the impact of fashion brands communication campaigns on the consumer.

The goal of this thesis is to define the fashion industry and identify the key developments that the segment has undertaken over the last two to three decades including the drivers behind these changes. Specifically, the thesis will provide insights into the financial indicators of the industry and review some of the most recent trends such as globalisation of supply chains and internationalisation of fashion retailers. The second section of the theoretical part will try to identify what are the characteristics of fast fashion customers and what influences motivate their shopping behaviour. Specifically, some of the academic concepts will be examined and put into the context of fast fashion -- these include fashion involvement and fashion consciousness, the influence of opinion leadership and the trend of social shopping. The latest part of the theoretical section will examine the contemporary marketing strategies in the fast fashion segment some of which has been spread over the whole fashion market. Amongst the most vital ones is the change in supply chain management strategies, the shortening of the fashion life cycle and its impact on the frequency of stock replenishment. In addition, the theoretical part will examine the rising power of the internet, its effect on online shopping and the overall transformation of media towards digital communication with the growing influence of fashion bloggers. The goal of the practical part of the thesis is to conduct extensive analysis of the fashion strategies of the two selected fast fashion retailers -- Zara and H&M. These were chosen on the basis of their global success and outstanding financial performance even in the period of economic downturn which makes their strategies unique and worth analysing. Each brand has a distinct approach to its marketing strategy and in many of the elements they are fundamentally different, yet both approaches has enabled the brands to achieve international success and build highly profitable businesses. To review the complexity of different aspects of their strategies, the 7p's framework will be used.

A través de los años, el rubro de la moda ha ido atravesando por diversos cambios, los cuales han impulsado a que las marcas se adapten a estos e implementen constantemente propuestas innovadoras que cumplan con las exigencias del público. Por ello, como parte del cambio, la moda se ha adaptado de manera rápida a las últimas tendencias a través de un movimiento acelerado llamado fast fashion. Un claro ejemplo de marca exitosa que opera con el fenómeno de moda rápida es la firma española Zara. Esta se caracteriza por su gran manejo de innovación, flexibilidad, rápida recepción de tendencias y producción acelerada para posicionarse exitosamente en el mercado y en la mente de los consumidores. Del mismo modo, Zara aplica diversas estrategias; entre ellas, las de diseño para influir en la decisión de compra de los consumidores y motivarlos a que adquieran artículos en algunos de sus establecimientos. La presente investigación con enfoque cualitativo busca conocer las estrategias de diseño de la marca Zara. Por ello, la pregunta de investigación es la siguiente: ¿De qué manera influyen las estrategias de diseño de la marca fast fashion Zara en la decisión de compra de indumentaria de las mujeres del sector A y B en Lima en los últimos 8 años? Por tal motivo, el trabajo describe las estrategias de diseño que usa Zara para atraer cada vez a más clientes e incentivarlos a comprar indumentaria en las tiendas y a la vez, para mantenerse un paso más adelante de la competencia. / Over the past years, the fashion business has gone through several changes, which have encouraged brands to adapt them and constantly implement innovative proposals that satisfy the demands of the public. That’s why, as part of this change, the fashion industry quickly adapted to the latest trends through an accelerated movement called “fast fashion”. A clear example of a successful brand that operates with this phenomenon, is the firm “Zara”, which is characterized by it’s great handling of innovation, flexibility, quick reception of trend and production to position itself successfully in the market and in the mind of the consumers. In the same way, Zara applies different strategies; between them, the design to influence the decision of buy items in some of their establishments. This investigation, with a qualitative approach, seeks to know the strategies of the Zara brand. Therefore, the research question is the next: How the design strategies of Zara influences in the decision to buy women’s clothing from sector A and B in Lima over the past 8 years? For this reason, this works describes the design strategies that Zara uses to attract more and more customers and motivate them to buy clothing in some of the stores and, at the same time, to stay one step ahead of the competition.