According to the information on the internet, only garments would soon no longer be sufficient for the market. Thus the major textile companies have engaged themselves in decorating/home decors. Indeed, in 2009, H&M launched its furniture department with the best set of linens. On this particular point, H&M and Zara seem to have adopted similar strategies. Both are now regarded as the two giants of the textile industry, having stores in which clothes are available at affordable prices. Both the companies then managed to open a huge number of stores and have now obtained stunning financial results.
These two companies started their business in France quite recently, i.e. less than fifteen years ago. Yet, now these two companies are the most powerful in the market for textiles and the ready-to-wear, with a bewildering range of rates for the French competitors, such as Kookai, Naf Naf, Promod and Etam.
How do Zara and H&M manage to combine the ultra-sharp trends with competitive prices? What are their strategies? Where do they manufacture their collections? What are their communication strategies?
Though apparently, H&M and Zara seem to be similar, but in reality they are direct competitors, and therefore they opt for more suitable economic choices and various communicative strategies in order remain in the market as pioneers.
Even though Zara and H&M have some commonalities, the major differences between these two groups lie in their development strategy and communication process.
When one changes its regular collections, the other develops and reproposes its collection season after season.When one is omnipresent in the media, the other has been silent for 60 years.
What are the opposing strategies of Zara and H&M?
We will try to analyze this in order to understand the strategies of the two giants of the textile industry.
At first, we will see how Zara and H&M produce and distribute their products. In the second step, we will see what various means have been opted for a better communication, to raise awareness and attract potential customers.
The Products: Zara has about 1,050 stores worldwide, quite contrary to H&M's 1700 stores. In these shops, the products are offered to the customers after a long research about the upcoming trends, and after choosing fabrics and production processes in different countries. Even though the results are almost identical in terms of arrivals of new collections, Zara and H&M have adopted two different methods.
Tags: Textile companies, production processes, affordable prices, Kookai, Naf Naf, Promod and Etam
[...] For the sake of sale, Zara has opted for maximum visibility and directly addresses the client, who will, scrutinize the window and observe the changes in regular collections in the store. Thus, the client himself will promote Zara by using BAO, which will gradually become a ‘buzz' among the local people. Zara can invest a huge amount in its stores, as a lot is saved by adopting the no communication method. Zara is thus a true exception in the world of fashion. [...]
[...] It is therefore important to see how H&M and Zara strategically choose the locations of their stores; how they communicate to their customers and why they have chosen their respective strategies in particular. Communication Strategy When these two textile giants are facing each other, we must observe what their choices are within the marketing mix. . In the case of their products and prices, we can say that Zara and H&M are standing in the equal position, not only in terms of selling a product or the quality, but also the prices, which in both the cases are accessible to all. [...]
[...] What are the opposing strategies of Zara and We will try to analyze this in order to understand the strategies of the two giants of the textile industry. At first, we will see how Zara and H&M produce and distribute their products. In the second step, we will see what various means have been opted for a better communication, to raise awareness and attract potential customers. The Products Zara has about 1,050 stores worldwide, quite contrary to H&M's 1700 stores. [...]
[...] Thus, we will find that, despite differences in marketing strategies adopted by both, H&M and Zara walk on the beds of luxury. Affordable luxury: is it an oxymoronic phrase? If luxury is democratized, then it ceases to be luxury. In order to define luxury, it can be said that it is inaccessible to those who do not have the means to achieve it. However, Gabrielle Chanel gave us something that could take us onto another track. Luxury is not the opposite of poverty but one of vulgarity . [...]
[...] Through these campaigns, mainly promoting about its luxury items, H&M has developed the concept of masstige, short form for ‘mass market and prestige'. H&M promotes access to luxury, with the upcoming trends and catering the recent styles, which is accessible to all in terms of price. Indeed, masstige is also union of a prestigious brand name with a consumer'[12]. H&M invites several prestigious names from the fashion world to design a new collection by putting its name next to the original Swedish label of H&M. [...]
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