Introduction
Technology is a dynamic phenomenon, shifting from one period to the other. Technological changes impact variously on the fashion industry. For example, manufacturing patterns in the fashion industry change in tandem with changes in technological innovations. Emerging manufacturing trajectories play a crucial role in the fashion industry. Innovation has turned manufacturing industries into large and well established entities in the twentieth century.
Companies can use technology to gain a competitive edge in the market. Business organisations can use technology to improve the quality of their goods and services, drawing clients away from their competitors. Zara Clothing Company is one such contemporary entity that has employed innovative techniques to gain a competitive edge in the global market. The current essay highlights the sustainability of the company’s innovative strategies. In addition, the author looks at the strategies that a small entity can borrow from Zara Company to emerge as a key player in the market. The paper also examines the possibility of applying a similar business model to successfully establish a business dealing with domestic goods.
Sustainability of Zara’s Business Model
As already indicated in this paper, Zara’s innovative model is used to gain a competitive edge over its rivals in the market. The model has proved to be sustainable in the long term. The model’s focus on design and diversification has emerged as one of its key success factors. The innovative model has helped the firm come up with new cloth designs. The firm has extended the model to include the presentation of its various designs in the different stores. Zara applies innovative technology in designing the catalogues used in marketing and in window displays. The model ensures that the products are easily accessible to as many customers as possible. It is one of the reasons why the firm’s customer base keeps growing over the years.
Internet marketing is another tool used by the company to gain an edge over others in the market. The technique has made the Zara model quite sustainable in the competitive global market. Internet has emerged as one of the most reliable approaches for businesses reaching out to online customers. As more people join the online community, businesses doing online marketing, such as Zara, are presented with the opportunity to expand their markets.
Zara’s flexibility is another factor that will make the company stay at the top of the ladder in the market. The company’s flexibility comes from its diverse manufacturing model, which is a promising venture. The distribution of its materials using a large network of small outlets is an outsourcing opportunity that helps the company in meeting the needs of the clients. As a result, the strategy increases the flexibility of the company. The company’s extensive use of swift and reliable information and communication technology applications has also made it one of the most promising firms in the global market.
To preserve and sustain the company’s competitive edge in the market, the management has to deal with the competitors. The competitors are engaged in efforts aimed at imitating and replicating what Zara is doing. Zara needs to size-up the firm’s target market and zero in on an exceptional strategy to address the needs, expectations, and values of their customers. By putting into consideration several aspects of the services and products availed to the clients, Zara will create a ‘fresh spin’, which will be complemented by a new strategy of incentives that competing firms are unable, or unwilling, to offer to their customers. Sustaining the competitive edge will require inputs from the employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders involved in the running of Zara fashion house. It is important for the management and other policy makers to re-evaluate the existing marketing strategies and predict the trends in the market. The source of the changes in the market should be identified and mapped out to sustain the competitive edge in the long term.
There is also the need to continuously evaluate the competitors and the strategies they are using to operate in the market. The future strategies proposed by Zara and the competitors must be evaluated to enhance the performance of the company in the global market. Furthermore, it is important to regularly analyse the future demands of customers. The demands may change with time as a result of conditions prevailing in the market. Therefore, the company must be more flexible and more willing to change in tandem with the market dynamics.
How Small Companies use Innovation to Gain a Competitive Edge
Over the last decade, analysts have recorded increased use of innovative systems by several business organisations. The innovative systems are necessitated by various factors in the market. The factors include, among others, the intensity of transformation in various business organisations. Increased competition has also forced existing firms to become more innovative to survive in the new market. The formulation of cost-reduction strategies, coupled with outsourcing, has helped many firms operate effectively in the global market. It is important to act appropriately on those business operations that can be trimmed or outsourced to other firms. As many businesses become considerably lean, there is need to concentrate on economic growth, as well as on product differentiation. To compete effectively with contemporary top-notch companies, such as Zara and Benetton, small and emerging cloth manufacturing companies need to take into consideration all the factors highlighted above. In addition, the new and emerging companies need to create a competitive advantage by having an edge over the medium-sized competitors.
In contemporary global market, the benefits of all the competitive advantages created cannot be downplayed. The competitive advantage helps in the realisation of a business organisation that is at the top of the industry. Therefore, to get to the top in the clothing industry, the small company needs to engage in strategic planning and extensive research with regard to the products availed to the customers. The small firm should also be aware of the changes in the needs of the customers, as well as the changes in the profile of the key competitors.
Sustainability of the Zara Business Model in the Home Goods Industry
Innovative techniques aimed at establishing and sustaining a competitive edge in the market can be employed in any industry. To grow a new business into a booming entity in the home goods sector, Zara needs to come up with innovative ideas. To succeed in the new sector, the company should make efforts to fully understand the new industry. The company needs to analyse the target home goods market, while seeking to identify what the key competitors are doing. The target market needs to be characterised using demographic factors, social-economic factors, as well as other features that appeal to the target audience.
The company needs to learn from leading marketers in the home goods industry, as well as from the target customers. It needs to regard the competition as a learning tool and use it to evaluate its business model. It is important for the small business to analyse and imitate the various strong aspects of the leading firms, while using the weaknesses to their advantage. Information regarding the business processes adopted by the leading firms will assist the new home goods Zara business achieve the competitive edge it needs to surpass other players in the industry. The new business will need to gain in-depth knowledge with regard to the portfolio of their customers. The information will help the new business to maximise its revenue, retain existing customers, and attract new clients. The company can make use of various tools and approaches to evaluate consumer needs and aspirations, as well as its position in the market. It should also familiarise itself with the status of the key competitors.
Conclusion
Zara has emerged as a leading cloth manufacturing business because of its use of innovative and flexible techniques. Its business model has proved to be sustainable. The company has embraced state-of-the-art technology to produce and grow its market base. It needs to maintain the competitive edge by becoming more flexible and fully understanding the needs of the future customers. The company can also establish new home goods business using the same business model. But it needs to understand the new market, as well as learn from the competitors and customers. To emulate the success of Zara and Benetton, the owners of the small cloth manufacturing business have to gain a competitive edge by using innovative and flexible business models. The new company should also strive to understand the dynamics of the target customers.