THE OVERSEAS MARKET TAKING AUSTRALIA BY STORM

ZARA – Europe’s fastest growing apparel retailer.

Zara is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer, one of the largest international fashion companies. It belongs to Intidex one of the world’s largest distribution groups. First store opened in 1975, Its first store featured low-priced lookalike products of popular, higher-end clothing fashions. The store proved to be a success, and Ortega began opening more Zara stores throughout Spain. During the 1980s, Ortega started changing the design, manufacturing, and distribution process to reduce lead times and react to new trends in a quicker way, in what he called "instant fashions". The company based its improvements in the use of information technologies and using groups of designers instead of individuals. In 1980 it began expansion to Portugal, increasing in the 1990s to Mexico, Belgium, Greece and to over 73 other countries. Today it has spread worldwide being a globally recognised brand.

Sample of Zara's many collections

Zara is a vertically integrated retailer. Unlike similar apparel retailers, Zara controls most of the steps on the supply-chain, designing, manufacturing, and distributing its products. Zara can offer considerably more products than similar companies. It produces about 11,000 distinct items annually compared with 2,000 to 4,000 items for its key competitors. The company can design a new product and have finished goods in its stores in four to five weeks; it can modify existing items in as little as two weeks. Shortening the product life cycle means greater success in meeting consumer preferences. On September 6, 2010,Financial Times Report, reported that Intidex launched the first online boutique for its best-selling brand Zara which began with just a few countries and quickly expanded. In 2011, Zara entered the Australian market with a three story, 1400sqm store in the Westfield Sydney complex opened on April 21, 2011 and a second three story 1800sqm store at Bourke st Mall Melbourne which opened on 15 June 2011 . This was a major step for Zara.

TOP SHOP

Sample of Top shops many collections

A larger British Multinational retailer which specialises in fashion clothing, shoes, make-up and accessories. It has around 440 shops across 33 countries and online operations in a number of its markets. The first stand-alone Topshop store was opened in 1974. In 1970, Topman was created as a spin-off brand to cater for male customers and is now run as a separate chain, Topshop's triumph has been all the more remarkable considering its humble beginnings. Topshop began in the basement of Peter Robinson department store in 1964 and less than a decade later became a stand-alone retailer.As an early pioneer of high street and designer collaborations, Topshop's partnerships with some of history's most iconic fashion names such as Celia Birtwell and Kate Moss, have further cemented the brand’s reputation as a fashion leader.