Based on a host of factors, the orders might then be placed with
vendors in one or more countries around the world. Typically
vendors may take a few weeks to two months to procure fabrics,
have them approved by the retailer, and then produce a number
of samples, and only once all approvals are finished, put the style
into production.
From beginning to end, the process of defining a concept to
receiving goods in the retail store might take anywhere from 9 to
12 months for a typical retailer. This one-year advance decision-
making on what merchandise and how much to stock, is a bit like driving a car at speed by just looking in the rear view mirror! Amazingly, it seems to work 60-65 per cent of the time.
Zara, on the other hand, largely concentrates its forecasting effort on the kind and amount of fabric it will buy. It is a smart hedge for one, fabric (raw material) mistakes are cheaper than finished goods errors, and secondly, the same fabric could be turned into many different garments. In fact, for an extra degree of flexibility Zara buys semi-processed or un-coloured fabric that it colours up close to the selling season based on the immediate need.