Zara - Chasing Trends and Killing Wallets?
Your impulse buys might reach you through advertisements on, social media online sites or from famous fashion shows, but for Amancio Ortega, the 89 year-old owner of Zara, advertising is not his problem. Zara has approximately 3,000 stores worldwide as of 2025, operating in close to 96 different countries and bringing an approximate $42.70 billion in annual revenue, all from worldwide clothing sales. But how does Zara bring in this much with little to no advertising? The answer: Zara's fast fashion model, using a short supply chain, cheap products with no longevity, and rapid turnover rates - all to keep us buying new clothes.
Zara designers stay aware and ready at all times in order to perfectly market their designs towards us as consumers. Manufacturing turns around new clothing based on new trends, releasing designs with a one-month average turnover - from adopting ruffles, to changing for a collaboration with Kate Moss, to coming out with dark clothing after 9/11 attacks, Zara changes, and changes fast. This rapid turnaround time helps Zara to gain and keep business as the brand is quickly able to respond to current trends. Zara also uses a mix of manufacturing locations to keep the production more cost-sensitive. Zara’s tactics maximize profit, intelligent from a business perspective, but for consumers, they encourage overconsumption and lower-quality products
Zara prioritizes designing clothing for quick stock on the shelf, rather than durable clothing that could last years. This ultimately produces more waste, evoking disposable fashion habits. As Zara clothing loses quality, so does our ability to keep wearing clothes for a long time. While cheap, Zara buys often build up as we push for the latest trends - Zara's parent company, Inditex produced 20,400 tonnes of fabric waste just last year. With increasing credit-debt from the trend pursuit of fast fashion, being mindful of what we buy - and how often we buy - can be the difference between financial sustainability, and financial instability.
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