Zara designs all its products. It has almost 300 staff in its headquarters “commercial team” – comprising designers, market specialists and buyers. Together they produce designs for approximately 40,000 items per year from which about 10,000 are selected for production. Unlike their industry peers, these teams work both on next season’s designs and, simultaneously and continuously, also update the current season’s designs. The firm tries hard to encourage a collegial and dynamic atmosphere (e.g. there are deliberately no design ‘prima donnas’ and their average age is 26) and design inspiration is sought from myriad global sources (e.g. trade fairs, discotheques, catwalks, magazines). Extensive feedback from the store network also forms an integral part of the design process. Women’s, men’s and children’s designers sit in different halls in a modern building attached to the Inditex headquarters (see Figure 2). In each of these big open spaces – with floor to ceiling windows offering views over adjacent countryside) - designers occupy one side, market specialists the middle, and buyers (procurement and production planners) the other side. There are several big round tables in the central area of each hall for impromptu meetings and comfortable chairs and racks of the latest fashion magazines and catalogues fill