Zara's Marketing Mix

Zara is a popular Spanish clothing store that uses a very unique marketing strategy. Because they do not outsource their manufacturing, the company is able to more quickly respond to fluctuating customer demands in fashion trends. Zara's Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is to create or imitate the latest trends within a short two-week period; the new styles are available on sales floors for no longer than 4 weeks. In the case that a product does not sell, its inventory is immediately pulled from the floors and discontinued after one week.
Zara is said to have the "most unusual strategy...its policy of zero advertising; the company preferred to invest a percentage of revenues in opening new stores instead."

Zara's marketing strategy is very effective because of its 1) affordable prices and 2) unique response to market demands. Because items move so quickly through Zara stores, customers feel the pressure to buy an item for fear that it may not longer be there next time.