Fast Fashion = Small Order + Single Store Order Management + Fast Logistics

While domestic clothing companies are still struggling to get rid of inventory problems, even the fast fashion giants represented by ZARA (INDITEX group's brand) continue to maintain a good momentum and speed up the layout of the Chinese market. Compared with the same industry, ZARA has a relatively conservative pace in setting up physical shops, but its layout in the electricity supplier sector is very fast. After the official website opened in China, ZARA officially entered Tmall this week.

What is the ZARA's consideration for the layout of physical shops and electricity suppliers? What is the secret of ZARA in inventory management? The reporter interviewed Jesus, executive director of global public relations, INDITEX group.

Online expansion will not affect the expansion of physical stores.

Reporter: this year, many fast fashion brands are optimistic about the Chinese market and accelerate the opening of stores. Can you disclose the ZARA's opening plan in China?

Jesus: for us, the location of the shop is very important. We set up shop on the premise of the location of the shop, instead of predicting the number of shops to be opened in a year, and then do the layout. Therefore, we usually listen to the needs of local consumers to decide the location of suitable shops. Generally we choose the shops or shopping malls on the street, find the right address and decide whether to open a shop or not. We've been searching for the right place to shop. In China, it's the best place to find out.

　　 Reporter In the business of e-commerce, we know that apart from ZARA's official website in China, Tmall has also settled in Tmall. Why do we choose Tmall in many electricity suppliers?

Jesus: about the part of the electricity supplier, in fact, we have been very satisfied with the launch of ZARA's official website since 2012. At the same time, we also see that consumers are very satisfied with our electricity supplier service. Tmall is not only from a commercial point of view, but a larger part of it is conceived from a consumer's perspective, and then extended to Tmall's e-commerce platform.

We believe that Tmall can provide a good platform for ZARA's e-commerce in China. We also believe that ZARA can deliver Tmall's brand image to more network audiences through the platform.

Reporter: will the expansion of ZARA's network platform affect the development plan of offline stores?

Jesus: as a global retailer with diversified business models, we can see that the expansion of ZARA online has played a good complementary role for offline stores, so we do not think that this will affect the expansion of offline stores.

　　 Single store The order management mode can effectively solve the inventory problem.

Reporter: a lot of traditional clothes are facing a big problem when they are high inventories. Therefore, we have to close the physical shops in large quantities. Can you share the experience of ZARA in store and inventory management?

Jesus: in the traditional business mode, the store will be a large number of goods, placed in the warehouse, and then slowly sell, which may lead to inventory problems because of poor sales. Compared with the traditional business mode, Inditex's business mode is highly vertical integration. ZARA adopts the management mode of single shop ordering, which reflects the great concern of customers in every link from design, production, logistics to distribution. It can be said that we do not have a unified inventory warehouse concept, the storage space of each store depends on the management ability of each store manager.

Specifically, every order we make is a small order, with 2 orders per week. A function of the store manager is to ensure the circulation and fluency of products. The role of inventory in store warehouses is to ensure that the front products in the store can be replenished quickly after being sold, and the stock in the store's warehouse is a small quantity of stock, playing the role of replenishment. A weekly order or replenishment process of 2 times, the circulation of the product is a very high flow volume. From the sales report analysis every day, we know that some of the products are selling well, which products are not selling well, and the good products will be replenished in time. After the first replenishment of some products, the sales data become slow and will not be replenished, which ensures that the flow of goods and the pressure on the stock will be reduced to a minimum.

We require the shop to order 2 times a week, which is very important, and the quantity of the two orders is small orders. The cycle of ordering two times a week allows store managers to find out whether the ordered products meet the needs of consumers. If the shop manager makes a mistake, it may be wrong to order a jacket or make a lot of orders. When the sales of the shop reflect that there is no way to consume the products, we have a transfer system inside the store. Maybe the product sold in this shop is not good. It doesn't mean that the product of another shop is not well sold. It can solve this problem through the turnover of store products.

　　 Reporter As a leader of "fast fashion" enterprise, how does ZARA achieve such a "fast"?

Jesus: compared with the definition of "fast fashion", we prefer to call ourselves "precision fashion". If we want to say "fast", in fact, it is more reflected in the rapid logistics. As mentioned just now, INDITEX group's eight product brands have a total of more than 6000 stores, with two new orders per week. The styles, sizes and quantities of the new clothes are individually ordered to the Spanish headquarters according to the actual sales situation. The product manager of the headquarters will deliver the new product and replenishment order to the logistics center within two hours after receiving the order, and the logistics center will complete the whole process of packaging from the product to the factory within 8 hours thereafter. If it is sent to stores in Europe, logistics centers will be transported by truck or truck to ensure that they are delivered within 36 hours. All countries and regions outside Europe are transported by air to ensure that they are delivered to stores within 48 hours.

Reporter: how fast is the speed of new products coming up? How does ZARA guarantee the quality of products?

Jesus: as a customer first, efficiency oriented enterprise, quality is the core of our ever-changing products. Our standards are clear to wear (healthy wear) and Safe to wear (safe wear). Both are based on the most stringent quality standards in the world, which regulate product components, which guarantee the safety of children's clothing or accessories, and limit the flammability of all garments and the existence of metallic objects.

In fact, Inditex's quality control system covers every process of design and production. Whether designers, business teams or group's production and purchase, every garment and ornament starts from the first drawing strictly following the standards of clear to wear (healthy wear) and Safe to wear (safety wear). At the same time, we also provide information and training for suppliers to ensure that the entire production line operates in accordance with the standards of CTW and STW. In addition, a number of accredited testing centers in the world and our group have established cooperative relationships to provide testing for our raw materials, models, components and finished products. Quality is our commitment to every customer.