Zara's Clever Strategy That Keeps You Coming Back for More

Zara's HQ is no doubt full to the rafters with complete geniuses, but if you've ever wondered just how the company turns around predictive, trend-smashing pieces that we want (before we even know we want them), then a peek into a small facet of Zara's business strategy explains a lot. 

Zara analyse everything, of course they do, but they're really responsive to what YOU are buying in real time too. This works in two ways. A little industry birdie has told us that if something sells out in a flash, it's sure to be reproduced and put back onto shop floors and online ASAP. So far, so normal. However, our source continues to tell us that Zara look at what's really popular and then sets out to create alternative, tweaked, souped-up, new versions quickly and easily to keep up with the demand. This in turn guarantees you're discovering something fresh without stepping outside of what you're interested in, plus, it also ensures that you're not caught wearing the same Zara item as everyone in your friendship group/office/hometown… even if you are all hooked. 

This process most often applies from season to season—meaning if something's sold wildly during the summer, it's likely you'll see rebooted iterations arriving back in time for autumn. We'd say you could clearly see this tactic in 2016 via the one jacket trend that keeps going: the bomber has returned in many ways with different trims, colours and finishes. Clever, right? 

All this Zara talk is making us feel pretty spendy. Scroll down to shop our favourite pieces available now…

Hannah Almassi
Editor in Chief

Hannah Almassi is the editor in chief of Who What Wear UK. Hannah has been part of the the Who What Wear brand since 2015, when she was headhunted to launch the UK sister site and social channels, implement a localised content strategy and build out the editorial team. She joined following a seven-year tenure at Grazia magazine, where she led front-of-book news, fashion features and shopping specials as fashion news and features editor. With experience in both print and digital across fashion and beauty, Hannah has over 16 years in the field as a journalist, editor, content strategist and brand consultant. Hannah has interviewed industry heavyweights such as designers including Marc Jacobs and Jonathan Anderson through to arbiters of taste including Katie Grand and Anna Dello Russo. A skilled moderator and lecturer specialising in the shift to digital media and e-commerce, Hannah’s opinion and work has been sought by the likes of CNBC, BBC, The Sunday Times Style, The Times, The Telegraph and MatchesFashion.com, among many others. Hannah is often called upon for her take on trends, becoming known as a person with their finger of the pulse of what’s happening in the fashion space for stylish Brits.

Hannah currently resides in Eastbourne with her photographer husband, incredibly busy son and highly Instagrammable cat.