Topic
Zara’s Current Marketing Provisions
Instructions
TASK 1. TARGET MARKET (10%)
Research, describe and evaluate the marketing strategy used by Zara clearly identifying the company’s current target market.
TASK 2. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS (10%)
Analyze the impact of environmental pressures and ONE further significant external factor, relevant to Zara in 2019. Discuss the impact of these external factors and how they influence Zara’s marketing strategy in a changing retail environment.
TASK 3. IDENTIFYING A POTENTIAL NEW TARGET MARKET (10%)
Following your analysis in Task 1 and Task 2, identify and describe a potential ‘new’ target market for Zara.
SECTION B (CHOOSE AND ANSWER THREE QUESTIONS ONLY – Total 60 marks)
TASK 4. PRODUCT (20%)
Analyze the products that Zara is offering its customers currently and identify how Zara can further develop its products to continue to grow and increase profit margins in the clothing retail market,
TASK 5. PRICING STRATEGIES (20%)
Research the current pricing strategy used by Zara for its clothing products. Compare Zara’s pricing strategy with another clothing retail company. Recommend, following your research, whether Zara should revise or maintain its current pricing strategy.
TASK 6. PROMOTION (20%)
Outline an on-line promotional campaign to encourage Zara customers to recycle their clothes.
(Include visual examples if this helps to communicate your ideas)
TASK 7. PLACE (20%)
Evaluate the effectiveness of how customers can currently purchase Zara products and compare your findings with another clothing retailer.
Considering a new target market segment (as described in your answer to Section A Task 3), identify how you may need to change/adapt channels of distribution to meet this new target market’s needs.
TASK 8. ETHICS (20%)
Society is becoming increasingly aware of the environmental issues of ‘fast fashion’. “People are far more interested than before in knowing exactly where products are coming from and how they are being made,” Samantha Dover, a senior retail analyst from Mintel says (See Article 1).
Discuss the importance of ethics and CSR when developing a marketing strategy for Zara.
TASK 9. RECOMMENDATIONS (COMPULSORY) (5%)
Reflect on your analysis and make one recommendation for Zara to support continued growth and increase profits in a changing retail environment.
Answer Preview
Zara thrives on demographic segmentation when identifying its target market whereby a majority of the customers are between 18 and 40 years; in that regard, the company targets youthful, price-conscious and extremely sensitive to fashion patterns customers (John, 2017). It would be essential to note that Zara does not carry out its segmentation based on age or lifestyle has it is exposed to a broader market. Additionally, the firm has been able to beat competition whereby it focuses its strategy on offering cutting edge fashion that is available at affordable prices yet embracing trendy styles in its stores. Most importantly, the retail industry is ever-changing and the consumers always look for new fashions; hence, Zara works to offer products to this group of outgoing individuals. Therefore, this group is characterized by small-sized and plus size shaped apparel customers who wish to have attires that make them as comfortable as possible (Harbot, 2011). To that end, the affordability factor is instrumental in identifying the target market for Zara and the company seems to address prices for all its classes of customers.
Word Count: 2,200