Zara's Secret for Fast Fashion

2/21/2005
Spanish retailer Zara has hit on a formula for supply chain success that
works. By defying conventional wisdom, Zara can design and distribute a
garment to market in just fifteen days. From Harvard Business Review.
by Kasra Ferdows, Michael A. Lewis and Jose A.D. Machuca
Editor's note: With some 650 stores in 50 countries, Spanish clothing
retailer Zara has hit on a formula for supply chain success that works by
defying conventional wisdom. This excerpt from a recent Harvard
Business Reviewprofile zeros in on how Zara's supply chain
communicates, allowing it to design, produce, and deliver a garment in
fifteen days.
In Zara stores, customers can always find new productsbut they're in
limited supply. There is a sense of tantalizing exclusivity, since only a few
items are on display even though stores are spacious (the average size is
around 1,000 square meters). A customer thinks, "This green shirt fits me,
and there is one on the rack. If I don't buy it now, I'll lose my chance."
Such a retail concept depends on the regular creation and rapid
replenishment of small batches of new goods. Zara's designers create
approximately 40,000 new designs annually, from which 10,000 are
selected for production. Some of them resemble the latest couture
creations. But Zara often beats the high-fashion houses to the market and
offers almost the same products, made with less expensive fabric, at
much lower prices. Since most garments come in five to six colors and five
to seven sizes, Zara's system has to deal with something in the realm of
300,000 new stock-keeping units (SKUs), on average, every year.
This "fast fashion" system depends on a constant exchange of information
throughout every part of Zara's supply chainfrom customers to store
managers, from store managers to market specialists and designers, from
designers to production staff, from buyers to subcontractors, from
warehouse managers to distributors, and so on. Most companies insert
layers of bureaucracy that can bog down communication between
departments. But Zara's organization, operational procedures,
performance measures, and even its office layouts are all designed to
make information transfer easy.
Zara's single, centralized design and production center is attached to
Inditex (Zara's parent company) headquarters in La Corua. It consists

of three spacious hallsone for women's clothing lines, one for men's, and
one for children's. Unlike most companies, which try to excise redundant
labor to cut costs, Zara makes a point of running three parallel, but
operationally distinct, product families. Accordingly, separate design,
sales, and procurement and production-planning staffs are dedicated to
each clothing line. A store may receive three different calls from La
Corua in one week from a market specialist in each channel; a factory
making shirts may deal simultaneously with two Zara managers, one for
men's shirts and another for children's shirts. Though it's more expensive
to operate three channels, the information flow for each channel is fast,
direct, and unencumbered by problems in other channelsmaking the
overall supply chain more responsive.
Zara's cadre of 200 designers sits In each hall, floor to ceiling windows
right in the midst of the
overlooking the Spanish countryside
production process.
reinforce a sense of cheery informality
and openness. Unlike companies that sequester their design staffs, Zara's
cadre of 200 designers sits right in the midst of the production process.
Split among the three lines, these mostly twentysomething designers
hired because of their enthusiasm and talent, no prima donnas allowed
work next to the market specialists and procurement and production
planners. Large circular tables play host to impromptu meetings. Racks of
the latest fashion magazines and catalogs fill the walls. A small prototype
shop has been set up in the corner of each hall, which encourages
everyone to comment on new garments as they evolve.
The physical and organizational proximity of the three groups increases
both the speed and the quality of the design process. Designers can
quickly and informally check initial sketches with colleagues. Market
specialists, who are in constant touch with store managers (and many of
whom have been store managers themselves), provide quick feedback
about the look of the new designs (style, color, fabric, and so on) and
suggest possible market price points. Procurement and production
planners make preliminary, but crucial, estimates of manufacturing costs
and available capacity. The cross-functional teams can examine
prototypes in the hall, choose a design, and commit resources for its
production and introduction in a few hours, if necessary.
Zara is careful about the way it deploys the latest information technology
tools to facilitate these informal exchanges. Customized handheld
computers support the connection between the retail stores and La
Corua. These PDAs augment regular (often weekly) phone
conversations between the store managers and the market specialists

assigned to them. Through the PDAs and telephone conversations, stores

transmit all kinds of information to La Coruasuch hard data as orders
and sales trends and such soft data as customer reactions and the "buzz"
around a new style. While any company can use PDAs to communicate,
Zara's flat organization ensures that important conversations don't fall
through the bureaucratic cracks.
Once the team selects a prototype for production, the designers refine
colors and textures on a computer-aided design system. If the item is to
be made in one of Zara's factories, they transmit the specs directly to the
relevant cutting machines and other systems in that factory. Bar codes
track the cut pieces as they are converted into garments through the
various steps involved in production (including sewing operations usually
done by subcontractors), distribution, and delivery to the stores, where
the communication cycle began.
The constant flow of updated data mitigates the so-called bullwhip effect
the tendency of supply chains (and all open-loop information systems)
to amplify small disturbances. A small change in retail orders, for
example, can result in wide fluctuations in factory orders after it's
transmitted through wholesalers and distributors. In an industry that
traditionally allows retailers to change a maximum of 20 percent of their
orders once the season has started, Zara lets them adjust 40 percent to
50 percent. In this way, Zara avoids costly overproduction and the
subsequent sales and discounting prevalent in the industry.
The relentless introduction of new products in small quantities, ironically,
reduces the usual costs associated with running out of any particular item.
Indeed, Zara makes a virtue of stock-outs. Empty racks don't drive
customers to other stores because shoppers always have new things to
choose from. Being out of stock in one item helps sell another, since
people are often happy to snatch what they can. In fact, Zara has an
informal policy of moving unsold items after two or three weeks. This can
be an expensive practice for a typical store, but since Zara stores receive
small shipments and carry little inventory, the risks are small; unsold
items account for less than 10 percent of stock, compared with the
industry average of 17 percent to 20 percent. Furthermore, new
merchandise displayed in limited quantities and the short window of
opportunity for purchasing items motivate people to visit Zara's shops
more frequently than they might other stores. Consumers in central
London, for example, visit the average store four times annually, but
Zara's customers visit its shops an average of 17 times a year. The high
traffic in the stores circumvents the need for advertising: Zara devotes

just 0.3 percent of its sales on ads, far less than the 3 percent to 4 percent
its rivals spend.
Excerpted with permission from "Rapid-Fire Fulfillment," Harvard Business
Review, Vol. 82, No.11, November 2004.
[ Order the full article ]
Kasra Ferdows is the Heisley Family Professor of Global Manufacturing at
Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business in Washington
DC.
Michael A. Lewis is a professor of operations and supply management at
the University of Bath School of Management in the UK.
Jose A.D. Machuca is a professor of operations management at the
University of Seville in Spain.
For Fast Response, Have Extra Capacity on Hand

Excerpted with permission from "Rapid-Fire Fulfillment," Harvard Business

Review, Vol. 82, No.11, November 2004.
In the business of fashion, time has always been important. However,
speed and efficiency are now both a strategic imperative and a tactical
necessity. With greater unpredictability in the market, it is critical to have
the correct product at the correct time in the right quantity. Fast fashion
requires completely different thinking in the way product is developed,
how pre-production processes are undertaken and how production is
organised. The Fast Fashion Seminar will draw upon the live experiences
of leading practitioners from the area of product development and supply
chain. It will be structured as an interactive session. This Third Eyesight
Fast Fashion Seminar will provide you with a valuable insight into how to
effect rapid changes in the market to your benefit.
Among other aspects, it will:
Describe in detail the concept of fast fashion
Identify key strategic actions to meet fashion consumer demand
Detail how leading brands such as Zara operationalise the concept

Discuss how to achieve less than 1% inefficiencies in their processes

from design to delivery, including inventories and markdowns
substantially below the industry average.
Understand the underlying principles of the fast fashion model and
how these might be applied to retail and fashion business models in
India

Fast Fashion and Speed Sourcing Instructor Led Class

Successfully implementing fast fashion and speed sourcing.
Best practices for Apparel Retailers
Target Audience
This class is designed for apparel retailers, and their partners, either
where this is their core business or a key growing sector, e.g.
supermarkets or general retailers - in particular, those who are looking to
improve their supply chains to get more benefit out of it.

Buying, Merchandising and QA Directors

Supply Chain / Sourcing Directors

Business Change Directors

IT Directors or those supporting supply chain initiatives

Manufacturers partnering with retailers to implement fast fashion or

speed sourcing

Suppliers selling merchandise management, merchandise planning,

range planning, PLM and CAD systems to retailers.

Class Overview
This class consists of a combination of instructor led discussion, practical
exercises and lectures led by fast fashion and speed sourcing experts. It
will review the best practices associated with implementing fast fashion
and speed sourcing successfully. By the end of the class all delegates will
have put together a personalised action plan for starting to implement
fast fashion and / or speed sourcing in their company, or the next steps to
making it work more effectively.
Class Objectives

Develop a personalised action plan to implement or improve your

implementation of fast fashion or speed sourcing processes in your
company
Differentiate between fast fashion and speed sourcing and explain
related supply chain best practices

Understand how you can use collaboration to shrink seasons

Improve the accuracy of forecasting and other decisions by making

them closer to the season

Understand the best use of technologies (low and high tech) to

support fast fashion and speed sourcing

Training Formats

Fast Fashion and Speed Sourcing Instructor led classes

Currently no US public classes scheduled, in-house classes available
on request.
Currently no UK public classes scheduled, in-house classes available
on request.
Content for corporate universities and intranets

Fast fashion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Fast fashion is a contemporary term used by fashion retailers to
acknowledge that designs move from catwalk to store in the fastest time
to capture current trends in the market.[1] This has developed from a
product driven concept based on a manufacturing model referred to as
"quick response" developed in the U.S. in the 1980s [2]and moved to a
market based model of "fast fashion" in the late 1990s and first part of the
21st century. Zarahave been at the forefront of this fashion retail
revolution and their brand has almost become synonomous with the term
but there were other retailers who worked with the concept before the
label was applied such as Benetton. [3] [4] Fast fashion has also become
associated with disposable fashion because it has delivered designer
product to a mass market at relatively low prices.[5] Fast fashion is a term
used to describe clothing collections which are based on the most recent
fashion trends presented at Fashion Week in both the spring and the
autumn of every year.[6] These trends are designed and manufactured
quickly and cheaply to allow the mainstream consumer to take advantage

of current clothing styles at a lower price. This philosophy of quick

manufacturing at an affordable price is used in large retailers such
as H&M, Zara, and Topshop. It particularly came to the fore during the
vogue for "boho chic" in the middle of the first decade of the 21st century.
[7]

A H&M store in DowntownMontreal

Contents

1 Philosophy
o 1.1 Category Management
o

1.2 Quick Response Method

2 Marketing

3 Production

3.1 "Supermarket" Market

3.2 Supply Chain, Vendor Relationships and Internal

Relationships

3.2.1 Supply Chain

3.2.2 Vendor Relationships

3.2.3 Internal Relationships

4 Design Lawsuits and Legislation

o

4.1 Lawsuits

4.2 Proposed Legistlation

4.2.1 H.R. 5055

4.2.2 H.R. 2033

5 References

6 Further reading

[edit] Philosophy
[edit] Category Management
The primary objective of the fast fashion is to quickly produce a product in
a cost efficient manner. This efficiency is achieved through the retailers
understanding of the target market's wants, which is a high fashion
looking garment at a price at the lower end of the clothing sector.
[6]
Primarily, the concept of category management has been used to align
the retail buyer and the manufacturer in a more collaborative relationship.
[8]
Category management is defined as "the strategic management of
product groups through trade partnerships, which aims to maximize sales
and profits by satisfying customer needs"..[8] This collaboration occurs as

many companies resources are pooled to increase the market's total

profit. The fast fashion market utilizes this by uniting with foreign
manufacturers to keep prices at a minimum.
[edit] Quick Response Method
Quick Response (QR) was developed to improve manufacturing processes
in the textile industry with the aim of removing time from the production
system.[9] The U.S. Apparel Manufacturing Association initiated the project
in the early 1980s to address a competitive threat to its own textile
manufactures from imported textiles in low labour cost countries.
[10]
During the project lead times in the manufacturing process were
halved; the U.S. industry became more competitive for a time, and
imports were lowered as a result. [11] The QR initiative was viewed by
many as a protection mechanism for the American textile industry with
the aim of improving manufacturing efficiencies.[12]
The concept of quick response (QR) is now used to support "fast fashion",
creating new, fresh products while also drawing consumers back to the
retail experience for consecutive visits.[13] Quick response also makes it
possible for new technologies to increase production and efficiency. [13] The
Spanish mega chain Zara has become the global model for how to
decrease the time between design and production. This production short
cut enables Zara to manufacture over 30,000 units of product every year
to nearly 1,600 stores in 58 countries.[14] New items are delivered twice a
week to the stores, reducing the time between initial sale and
replenishment. As a result, the shortened time period improves
consumer's garment choices and product availability. In the case
of Renner, a Brazilian chain, a new mini-collection is released every two
months.[14] New technologies are constantly being pioneered to accelerate
quick response. Recently, the continuous inkjet printing process was
introduced from the combined effort of Dutch printing company Osiris,
and the French inkjet specialist Imaje.[15]The process uses image editing
software to convert screen printing into continuous digital printing. The
digital printing continuously recirculates the unused ink back into the
system instead of the stop start method used by the traditional screen
printing method.[15] As a result, the recirculation results in a reduction of
preparation time and a reduction in ink costs because of fewer waste
products.
[edit] Marketing
Marketing is the key driver of fast fashion. Marketing creates the desire for
consumption of new designs as close as possible to the point of creation.

This is achieved by promoting fashion consumption as something fast, low

price and disposable. The fast fashion business model is based on
reducing the time cycles from production to consumption such that
consumers engage in more cycles in any time period. For example, the
traditional fashion seasons followed the annual cycle of summer, autumn,
winter and spring but in fast fashion cycles have compressed into shorter
periods of 4-6 weeks and in some cases less than this. Marketers have
thus created more buying seasons in the same time-space.[16] Two
approaches are currently being used by companies as market strategies;
the difference is the amount of financial capital spent on advertisements.
While some companies invest in advertising, fast fashion mega
firm Primark operates with no advertising. Primark instead invests in store
layout, shopfit and visual merchandising to create an instant hook.[17] The
instant hook creates an enjoyable shopping experience, resulting in the
continuous return of customers. Research shows that seventy five percent
of consumer's decisions are made in front of the fixture within three
seconds.[8] The alternative spending of Primark also "allows the retailer to
pass the benefits of a cost saving back to the consumer and maintain the
company's price structure of producing garments at a lower cost".[8]
[edit] Production
[edit] "Supermarket" Market
The consumer in the fast fashion market thrives on constant change and
the frequent availability of new products.[13] Fast fashion is considered to
be a "supermarket" segment within the larger sense of the fashion
market.[8]This term refers to fast fashion's nature to "race to make apparel
an even smarter and quicker cash generator".[13] Three crucial factors exist
within fast fashion consumption: market timing, cost, and the buying
cycle.[8]Timing's objective is to create the shortest production time
possible. The quick turnover has increased the demand for the number of
seasons presented in the stores. This demand also increases shipping and
restocking time periods. Cost is still the consumer's primary buying
decision. Costs are largely reduced by taking advantage of lower prices in
markets in developing countries. In 2004 developing countries accounted
for nearly seventy five percent of all clothing exports and the removal of
several import quotas has allowed companies to take advantage of the
even lower cost of resources.[13] The buying cycle is the final factor that
affects the consumer. Traditionally, fashion buying cycles are based
around long term forecasts that occur one year to six months before the
season.[13] Yet, in the fast fashion market the quick response philosophy
can result in higher forecast accuracy because the time period is

significantly shortened. A higher sell-through for the goods produced is

also a result of the shortened production period.
[edit] Supply Chain, Vendor Relationships and Internal
Relationships
[edit] Supply Chain
Supply chains are central to the creation of fast fashion. Supply chain
systems are designed to add value and reduce cost in the process of
moving goods from design concept to retail stores and finally through to
consumption.[18] Efficient supply chains are critical to delivering the retail
customer promise of fast fashion. The selection of a merchandising vendor
is a key part in the process. Inefficiency primarily occurs when suppliers
can't respond quickly enough, and clothing ends up bottlenecked and in
back stock.[14] Two kinds of supply chains exist, agile and lean. In an agile
supply chain the principle characteristics include the sharing of
information and technology.[13] The collaboration results in the reduction in
the amount of stock in the megastores. A lean supply chain is
characterized as the correct appropriation of the commodity for the
product.[13] The combination of the two supply chains is called "leagile".
[edit] Vendor Relationships
The companies in the fast fashion market also utilize a range of
relationships with the suppliers. The product is first classified as "core" or
"fashion".[13] Suppliers close to the market are used for products that are
produced in the middle of a season, meaning trendy, "fashion" items. In
comparison, long-distance suppliers are utilized for cheap, "core" items
that are used in collections every season and have a stable forecast.
[edit] Internal Relationships
Productive internal relationships within the fast fashion companies are as
important as the company's relationships with external suppliers,
especially when it comes to the company's buyers. Traditionally with a
"supermarket" market the buying is divided into multi-functional
departments. The buying team uses the bottom-up approach when trend
information is involved, meaning the information is only shared with the
company's fifteen top suppliers.[13] On the other hand, information about
future aims, and strategies of production are shared downward within the
buyer hierarchy so the team can consider lower cost production options.
[13]
The buyers also interact closely with merchandising and design
departments of the company because of the buyer's focus on style and

color. The buyer must also consult with the overall design team to
understand the cohesion between trend forecasting and consumer's
wants. The close relationships result in flexibility within the company and
an accelerated response speed to the demands of the market.
[edit] Design Lawsuits and Legislation
[edit] Lawsuits
Recently "Forever 21", one of the larger fast fashion retailers has been
involved in several lawsuits over alleged violations of Intellectual
Property rights.[19] The lawsuits contend that certain pieces of
merchandise at the retailer can effectively be considered knockoffs of
designs from Diane von Furstenberg, Anna Sui and Gwen
Stefani's Harajuku Lovers line as well as many other well-known
designers.[19] Forever 21 has not commented on the state of the litigation
but initially said it was "taking steps to organize itself to prevent
intellectual property violations".[19]
[edit] Proposed Legistlation
[edit] H.R. 5055
H.R. 5055, or Design Piracy Prohibition Act, was a bill proposed to protect
the copyright of fashion designers in the United States.[20] The bill was
introduced into the United States House of Representatives on March 30,
2006. Under the bill designers would submit fashion sketches and/or
photos to the U.S. Copyright Office within three months of the products
"publication". This publication includes everything from magazine
advertisements to the garment's first public runway appearances. [21] The
bill as a result, would protect the designs for three years after the initial
publication. If infringement of copyright was to occur the infringer would
be fined $250,000, or $5 per copy, whichever is a larger lump sum.[20] The
bill was suspended after the House of Representatives session concluded
in 2006, this resulted in H.R. 5055 being cleared from the agenda.
[edit] H.R. 2033
The Design Piracy Prohibition Act was reintroduced as H.R. 2033 during
the first session of the 110th Congress on April 25, 2007.[22] It had goals
similar to H.R. 5055, as the bill proposed to protect certain types of
apparel design through copyright protection of fashion design. The bill
would grant fashion designs a three-year term of protection, based on
registration with the U.S. Copyright Office. The fines of copyright

infringement would continue to be $250,000 total or $5 per copied

merchandise.[22]
[edit] References
1. ^ Hines, Tony, and M. Bruce. 2001. Fashion marketing Contemporary issues. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
2. ^ Lowson, B., R. King, and A. Hunter. 1999. Quick Response Managing the Supply Chain to Meet Consumer Demand. Chichester:
Wiley.
3. ^ Hines, T. 2001. "From analogue to digital supply chains:
Implications for fashion marketing " In Fashion marketing:
Contemporary issues. Eds. T. Hines and M. Bruce. Oxford:
Butterworth Heinemann, 26-47
4. ^ Hines, T. 2004. Supply chain strategies: Customer driven and
customer focused. Oxford: Elsevier.
5. ^ Hines,T. (2007) Globalization: Global markets and global supplies,
in Hines, T. and M.Bruce. Eds. Fashion Marketing Contemporary
Issues 2nd Edn. Oxford, Elsevier
6. ^ a b Muran, Lisa. "Profile of H&M: A Pioneer of Fast Fashion." Textile
Outlook International (July 2007): 11-36. Textile Technology Index.
EBSCO. Mary Couts Burnett Library, Fort Worth, Texas. 13 Nov. 2008
<http://lib.tcu.edu.ezproxy.tcu.edu/PURL/EZproxy_link.asp?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.tcu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=tdh&AN=27084147&site=ehost-live>.
7. ^ See, for example, Sunday Times Style, 17 September 2006
8. ^ a b c d e f Sheridan, Mandy, Christopher Moore, and Karinna Nobbs.
"Fast fashion requires fast marketing: The role of category
management in fast fashion positioning." Journal of Fashion
Marketing and Management 10 (2006): 301-15.
9. ^ Hines,T. (2007) Supply Chain Strategies, Structures and
Relationships, in Hines, T. and M.Bruce. Eds. Fashion Marketing
Contemporary Issues 2nd Edn. Oxford, Elsevier
10.
^ Hines, T. 2001. "From analogue to digital supply chains:
Implications for fashion marketing " In Fashion marketing:
Contemporary issues. Eds. T. Hines and M. Bruce. Oxford:
Butterworth Heinemann, 26-47.

11.
^ Hunter, N.A. . 1990. Quick Response in Apparel
Manufacturing. Manchester The Textile Institute.
12.
^ Hines,T. (2004), Supply Chain Strategies: Customer Driven
and Customer Focused, Oxford: Elsevier
13.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bruce, Margaret, and Lucy Daly. "Buyer
behaviour for fast fashion." Journal of Fashion Marketing and
Management 10 (2006): 329-44.
14.
^ a b c Pfeifer, Margarida O. "Fast and Furious." Latin Trade
(English) 15.9 (Sep. 2007): 14-14. Business Source Complete.
EBSCO. Mary Couts Burnett Library, Fort Worth, Texas. 13 Nov. 2008
<http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.tcu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=bth&AN=26768746&site=ehost-live>.
15.
^ a b Gee, Tim. "Fast fashion." Engineer (00137758) 293.7742
(25 Feb. 2008): 16-16. Business Source Complete. EBSCO. [Mary
Couts Burnett Library, Fort Worth, Texas. 13 Nov. 2008
<http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.tcu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=bth&AN=31484251&site=ehost-live>.
16.
^ Hines, Tony. 2001. "Globalization: An introduction to fashion
markets and fashion marketing." In Fashion marketing:
Contemporary issues. Eds. T. Hines and M. Bruce. Oxford:
Butterworth Heinemann, 1-24.
17.
^ Baker, Rosie. "Following fast fashion." In-Store (June 2008):
37-39. Business Source Complete. EBSCO. Mary Couts Burnett
Library, Fort Worth, Texas. 13 Nov. 2008
<http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.tcu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=bth&AN=33119643&site=ehost-live>.
18.
^ Hines, T. 2010. "Trends in textile global supply chains."
Textiles 37 (2): 18-20.
19.
^ a b c Casabona, Liza. "Retailer Forever 21 Facing A Slew of
Design Lawsuits." WWD: Women's Wear Daily 194.15 (23 July 2007):
12-12. Textile Technology Index. EBSCO. Mary Couts Burnett Library,
Fort Worth, Texas. 13 Nov. 2008
<http://lib.tcu.edu.ezproxy.tcu.edu/PURL/EZproxy_link.asp?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.tcu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=tdh&AN=25996233&site=ehost-live>.
20.
^ a b United States. Cong. House. Committee on the Judiciary.
109th Cong., 2nd sess. HR 5055. By Goodlatte, Delahunt, Coble and

Wexler. 30 Mar. 2006. 13 Nov. 2008

<http://www.aipla.org/content/contentgroups/legislative_action/109t
h_congress/house1/hr5055.pdf>.
21.
^ Woyke, Elizabeth. "FASHION'S BID TO KNOCK OUT
KNOCKOFFS." Business Week (10 Apr. 2006): 16-16. Business Source
Complete. EBSCO. Mary Couts Burnett. 13 Nov. 2008
<http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.tcu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=bth&AN=20339336&site=ehost-live>.
22.
^ a b United States. Cong. House. Committee on the Judiciary.
110th Cong., 1st sess. HR 2033. By Delahunt, Goodlatte, Maloney
and Bono. 25 Apr. 2007. 13 Nov. 2008
<http://www.aipla.org/Content/ContentGroups/Legislative_Action/11
0th_Congress1/House2/HR2033.pdf>.
[edit] Further reading

Anderson, Kim. "Alternative Strategies to the ZARA Fast Fashion

Model." AATCC Review 8.4 (Apr. 2008): 33-33. Textile Technology
Index. EBSCO. Mary Couts Burnett Library, Fort Worth, Texas. 13
Nov. 2008
<http://lib.tcu.edu.ezproxy.tcu.edu/PURL/EZproxy_link.asp?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.tcu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=tdh&AN=31745670&site=ehost-live>.
Baker, Rosie. "Following fast fashion." In-Store (June 2008): 37-39.
Business Source Complete. EBSCO. Mary Couts Burnett Library, Fort
Worth, Texas. 13 Nov. 2008
<http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.tcu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=bth&AN=33119643&site=ehost-live>.

Bruce, Margaret, and Lucy Daly. "Buyer behaviour for fast fashion."
Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management 10 (2006): 329-44.

Casabona, Liza. "Retailer Forever 21 Facing A Slew of Design

Lawsuits." WWD: Women's Wear Daily 194.15 (23 July 2007): 12-12.
Textile Technology Index. EBSCO. Mary Couts Burnett Library, Fort
Worth, Texas. 13 Nov.
2008 http://lib.tcu.edu.ezproxy.tcu.edu/PURL/EZproxy_link.asp?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.tcu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=tdh&AN=25996233&site=ehost-live

"Charlotte Russe Holding Inc." Apparel Magazine 49.9 (May 2008):

16-18. Textile Technology Index. EBSCO. Mary Couts Burnett Library,
Fort Worth, Texas. 13 Nov. 2008
<http://lib.tcu.edu.ezproxy.tcu.edu/PURL/EZproxy_link.asp?

url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.tcu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=tdh&AN=32117993&site=ehost-live>.

Cole, Michael D. "The Oxford School of Fast Fashion." Apparel

Magazine 49.11 (July 2008): 40-41. Textile Technology Index. EBSCO.
Mary Couts Burnett Library, Fort Worth, Texas. 13 Nov. 2008
<http://lib.tcu.edu.ezproxy.tcu.edu/PURL/EZproxy_link.asp?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.tcu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=tdh&AN=33484012&site=ehost-live>.

Corcoran, Cate T. "WHERE THE GARMENT FACTORY IS GOING."

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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_fashion"

Fast-fashion retailers often get inspiration from the catwalks of Paris and
Milan. Now, luxury companies like Cavalli Group say they must take their
lead from cheaper and speedier rivals.
Hennes & Mauritz AB and Inditex SA, the owner of Zara stores, update
their clothing and accessory designs continuously and can get them from
studio to store in as little as two weeks. The speed of change increases
pressure to offer new products more often, Cavalli Chief Executive
Officer Gianluca Brozzetti said in an interview.
As demand for 3,750-euro ($5,102) silk dresses and 2,395- euro zebra
design bags returns after the recession, luxury companies need to
innovate to attract and retain customers, Brozzetti said.
Loyal clients that are coming to the store frequently will get bored of not
finding something new, he said.

Cavalli and companies including Chanel SA and PPR SA-owned Yves Saint
Laurent already offer pre-collections of apparel and accessories and
limited-edition lines, in addition to the traditional spring-summer and
autumn-winter ranges that are the focus of fashion weeks in New York,
London, Milan and Paris.
The concept of the two seasons is more and more obsolete, Peter
Farren, an analyst at Bryan Garnier & Co., said in a telephone interview.
Thats what especially Zara has brought to the scene and accustomed
the customer to. Luxury companies are responding to that.
Twice a Week
Inditex, the worlds largest clothing retailer, delivers new models to its
stores twice a week, according to its website. H&M, which sells $29.95
blazers, can design, manufacture and distribute new products in three
weeks, spokeswoman Jenni Tapper-Hoel said.
To be sure, fast-fashion retailers dont always get it right. While H&Ms
August sales rose 14 percent, the quickest pace in more than two years,
third-quarter profit missed analysts estimates after the Stockholm-based
companys efforts to increase sales weighed on margins. H&M didnt
specify where it spent more improving the customer offering. The shares
fell the most in two years on Sept. 29.
Luxury companies need to improve their logistics to react more quickly to
changes in consumption patterns, Farren said. Burberry Group Plc is now
able to replenish stock monthly and in April introduced a limited-edition
range of apparel and accessories, which went from design to store in three
months.
Season-less
The maker of $3,595 double-breasted silk lace trench coats has also
allowed customers to order items online during fashion- show webcasts
since September 2009 to enable early delivery and installed iPad tablet
computers in its stores during London Fashion Week.
Its got to be a dynamic business, Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts said in
an interview. So keep being dynamic is going to be part of our longer
term success.
Because sales of luxury goods are rising fastest in markets like Asia and
Latin America, there has to be a large part of the line thats season-less,
she added.
Emerging market consumers may account for 60 percent of global luxury
goods sales in 2020, up from 40 percent in 2009, according to Luca Solca,

an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. Excluding tourist flows, luxury

expenditure in emerging markets may rise to 40 percent of the total from
23 percent in the same period, Solca estimates.
Saint Tropez
The goal for every luxury company, wherever their clients are, is to keep
people coming back into stores with new products, analyst Farren said.
Thats what consumers want.
Cavalli will introduce in November the Saint Tropez denim collection for
spring ahead of the main seasonal range, Brozzetti said.
The Florence, Italy-based company wont be able to present new
collections every month because its costly, Brozzetti said. But the
premium luxury brands are developing packages that can be delivered in
step to the shops so that almost every four weeks you have something
new to show the clients, he said