If we ever need a reminder of how important it is to focus on the customer and the ability to ship quickly and reliably, the success of the Inditex Group (which owns Zara) serves well.
The latest episode of David Senra’s Founders podcast focuses on Amancio Ortega, founder of Inditex.
Now one of the wealthiest people on the planet, Ortega revolutionised the fashion industry by focusing on manufacturing and logistics and using technology as an advantage to ship new clothes in days, not seasons.
Some quotes that struck me:
“Their business is centred around 1 single premise - being quick at responding to the market”
They can go from an idea to having the item hanging in stores around the world at a bargain price in 15 days.
Instead of shipping lines according to seasons, Zara continuously modifies its products according to what people are asking for.
They turn the customer into a source of privileged information, not just a receiver of a commodity.
They are willing to adapt the entire production process to their demand.
Their 3 core tenets:
Find out what customers want
Design and make clothes quickly
Distribute to customers quickly
In the digital world, distribution is essentially free and instantaneous.
If Zara can go from idea to clothes hanging in stores in 15 days, what excuse do we have?