Zara (Spanish: [ˈθaɾa]) is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Arteixo,Galicia, and founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and Rosalía Mera. It is the flagshipchain store of the Inditex group, the world's largest apparel retailer. The fashion group also owns brands such as Massimo Dutti,Pull and Bear, Uterqüe, Stradivarius, Oyshoand Bershka.
It is claimed that Zara needs just one week to develop a new product and get it to stores, compared to the six-month industry average, and launches around 12,000 new designs each year.[3] Zara has resisted the industry-wide trend towards transferring fast fashionproduction to low-cost countries. Perhaps its most unusual strategy was its policy of zero advertising; the company preferred to invest a percentage of revenues in opening new stores instead. This has increased the idea of Zara as a "fashion imitator" company and low cost products. Lack of advertisement is also in contrast to direct competitors such asUniqlo and United Colors of Benetton.
Zara was described by Louis Vuitton Fashion Director Daniel Piette as "possibly the most innovative and devastating retailer in the world." Zara has also been described as a "Spanish success story" by CNN.[4]