ZARA: Trend Setter Turned Down

Zara, the flagship company of Inditex Group based in Spain has the famed story of successfully replicating the hot trends of the fashion industry and reaching the wardrobes of its customers in just 15 days. It is not an innovator which believes in creating fashion rather it is an early adopters. It prides itself in manufacturing 11,000 distinct SKU’s annually in about 4-5 weeks against the industry average of 6 months and bravely discontinuing it, if it fails to become the “HOT SELLING ITEM” in the pilot week.

“Government rejects Zara’s holding position in single brand retail” screamed a national daily, which stated the Indian government rejecting its proposal to set up a joint venture company holding 51% stake with foreign equity participation for single-brand retail trading of Massimo Dutti brand which incidentally is a subsidiary of the Inditex group. The reason given was the violation of a rule framed by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under which an investor must own the brand it proposes to bring to India.

The news is surely giving sleepless nights to not only Zara officials, but also IKEA’s top management which is all buckled up to inject 10,500 crores INR in “Third world” countries like India. Can this mayhem be blamed on blurred policies of the Indian government, not only concerning FDI norms but multi layered taxes and nuclear policies as well? In the 2012 Union Budget, Pranab Mukherjee stated that foreign single brand and multi brand retailers have to source 30% and 75% respectively of their goods locally. But the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) fails to realise that it is the policies of these globally renowned companies which have made them efficient. Zara buys its fabric in advance in prediction of forecasting trends. Much of its fabric is in greige form which is printed or colored to the desired effect, as when it’s needed. In a country where the lead time for the fabric to reach its factories is 30-60 days, it takes another 10-30 days to create the desired garment which would ultimately defeat Zara’s 15 day theory. Again, it has quality standards to adhere to for which Zara has a vertically integrated organisational structure.

The Indian government should clearly convey to these foreign companies that they have to change their vision, mission and corporate strategies to suit the Indian scenarios if it cannot change or clarify the policies it comes up with. But there is still a flicker of hope that Zara can convince the Indian government to bend its policies and continue to stick to its image of “THE TREND SETTER”.

The world retail industry is counting on it.

The stable called RETAIL- from the horse's mouth.

Hostel life gets to you. More than a year has passed, thousands of  minutes and counting and still no idea where all that time has been spent. Time spend running around completing that urgent assignment, searching for that elusive data, finishing that never-ending report, and going to sleep with each brain cell screaming for its due rest. And then waking up to loud ringing alarms scaring the daylights out of us. Waking up at 9.55 for a 10 AM class. Completing bare necessities while chasing slammed doors, strict professors, and improbable deadlines. A normal day in a retail students life. Our experience certificate for a lifetime of living up to the expectation of bosses, of sweating 8-10 hours a day on the shop floor. Our OJT, short for On Job Training has taught us that much.

Life has become an edited sequence, every unnecessary second trimmed, every unwanted action cut off, editing a Hollywood editor will be proud of. The life of an MBA in Retail student @ BIMTECH. Here’s a sneak peak.

8:30am: The alarm starts screaming. Loud for those lucky enough to be awake(a negligible minority), invisible to those resting those overworked brain cells.

9:00am: Waking up no longer a luxury, now an absolute necessity.

9:15am: Attending those morning necessities that even billionaires and CEO’s cannot do without. Difference is they get 3BHK luxury commodes while we fight for our turn on common bathrooms. Groggy eyed young men swearing at each other early in the morning is good practice for dealing with irate customers maybe.

9:45am: The big question, 15 minutes to class, do we pamper our empty stomachs or our honorable professors. A quick statistical analysis, taking into account the quality of the food, the importance of the class, the character of the individual, and the futility of the hard work results in the exact number of students arriving in class.

10:00am: The most important minute in a retailers life, the LAST MINUTE.

10:05am: The minutes after last. The difference between attendance, good marks, three hours of assignments, presentations, case studies and the occasional hidden nap, and a full relaxed breakfast and a few hours of serenity(ideally more sleep).

1:00pm: Lunch time, the brain so tired that 7 course, 7 star lunches would still be difficult to appreciate.

2:00pm: Back to class. The one’s there since morning envious of those who had their breakfast and rest and come to class, fresh and sprightly. Sacrifices the committed make and the pleasures of the undisciplined.

2:00 – 6:00pm: The eternal fight in the brain where a full stomach fights for sleep and a demanding professor fights for attention.

6:00pm: Class over, the shackles broken, shooting stars of freedom streaking across the dark sky of exhaustion.

And that’s not the end. It’s the beginning of another sojourn, the after class hours.

Time to make group presentations, complete the pending assignments, prepare for impending evaluations. And find those few precious moments to socialise, in person for the lucky few, on social networks for the vast majority. Somebody surely will think of a brain implant for 24hr facebook soon.

Post classes we feel the crunch, bundled up in a bunch. Hanging around the campus, when libraries give abode, sports fanatics to the courts and tables, the scatter and the chatter, and all the mental clutter in a platter! To do or not to do, to go or not to go, to study or to sleep, amidst the big assignments heap! 

As professor Viru Sahastrabuddhe once said wisely, “Life is a race, if you don’t compete, you’ll become a broken andaa!” 

Such is the mantra of corporate life in Retail. You need to be on your toes at all times! It’s a 24/7 job as they say and that’s what we chose to commit to. So, bring it on. Let the hunger games begin!!!

Hello World!!!!

Welcome to the Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), Greater Noida Retail student blog!

Take on controversies:

Satyam fiasco or the more recent Reebok India chairman doing a "Jis thali mein khate hain..usssi mein chedh karte hai" or social butterflies Poonam Pandey eh!!

UPA or NDA, the "Annadaatas" only in the election manifestos but fail miserably in the dynamic changes India is subjected to.

But the concern knocking the daylights out of the Government of India , the dominant middle class consumers/producers and most importantly BIMTECH's retail wing is FDI in retail in India which is the locus of discussions in this blog.

The mantra of democracy:The right to speech,the right to expression thoroughly be practiced.

Your suggestions,comments and queries are most welcome. Mail us at retailersbimtech@gmail.com