High street fashion goes HAUTE

Spanish clothing giant Zara, which is renowned worldwide for its fast changing high street fashion clothes and accessories, has touched the Indian shore by opening their first store in New Delhi’s Select Citywalk mall, followed by two other stores in New Delhi and Mumbai. The flagship store from the Inditex group, Zara is a joint venture between Inditex and Tata’s retail arm Trent Limited. The store occupying a retail space of around 16,000 sq ft, spread across four sections, is truly a dream come true for any fashionista who have been relying too heavily on a shopping trip to abroad to fill in their wardrobe.

Store layout

The Zara store at Select Citywalk has been done in four sections, one each for men, women and kids with an added section for teenage girls called the TRF or Trafaluc in Spanish. Located on the ground floor, the store has two separate entrances, one for the men section and the other for the women. Huge window displays welcome the visitors with the mannequin done very interestingly in the shades of black and white. A lot of attention has been given on the visual merchandising, which gives one a feel of walking down a red carpet. The staffs are well groomed and sophisticated.

Inside the store the lighting has been done in a very subtle tone and the whole designing revolves around the logo of Zara, white embossed in black. The humming music in the background certainly creates the elite western milieu. The shelves are all wooden with black steel work on them that add to the visual appeal of the buyers lending beauty to the fashion creations. The accessories are displayed creatively with bags and caps finding the top shelves while footwear on the middle and bottom shelf respectively. Every section has their share of trial rooms, with fair space to try on the offerings, conveniently done with the brown curtains instead of doors. Women section is more spacious with a lot more stuff cramped in there. The kids section and the TRF section occupy the left and the right portions of the store. At more than 16,000 sq ft, the store looks and feels exactly as other stores internationally. The merchandise in the stores is also the same although of basic level as compared to their international counterparts which stock higher-end collections.

Products and merchandise

People of all age group who are interested in the latest and fast changing fashion trends throngs this place. The store offers a classic and trendy outfits and accessories for the fashion conscious women, men and kids. You can get everything from a cap to a bag, scarf and belt. It’s all in there.

The men section was dominated by the casual wears and the formal wear as well. Although the shirts were all dull and boring, you get filled with all the excitement when you move towards the colourful tees and scarves and the all bright color canvas sneakers. Men range starts from Rs 550 and goes up to Rs 8,990.

White and the indigo blue almost filled the whole of women’s wear. For women they have the basic line, the casual line and the studio collections. The nice strapless dress and jackets can be complemented with tan belts and a large variety of sandals and stilettoes to go with the attire. The store has decent options for office wear as well. The prices for women’s wear range from Rs 445- 6550.

The TRF section, which is dedicated to teenage and college going girls, has been done very vibrantly, with huge mirrors and colourful clothes. You can get a Lady Gaga or a Michael Jackson tees at Rs 645. There is a huge collection of mini skirts, baggy jeans and the print was mainly floral. The whole interior and the offerings will surely appeal a teenager. The TRF collections range between Rs 345 and Rs 3,590.

A relatively small kids’ wear section with not too much to offer in terms of new fashion, failed to attract mommies. The section had all the normal stuff and that is not what Zara is known for. The range starts at Rs 445 and goes up to Rs 3590.

The billing section is well managed with seven points of sales in operation, keeping the prospect of standing in queue at bay.

Quick Facts

Zara changes the stock every 2 weeks.
Zara stuck to its unique model of every store manager communicating their store needs to the design team in Spain about the requirement of the stuff.
Zara comes up with 1,000 designs a month based on design team report.
Although sharing the same set of principles, each store of Zara is unique and adjusts to different cultures and environments.

Store presentation

Assessment Area Outstanding Fair Poor

Lighting 3

Store fit-outs 3

Colour designs 3

Ambience 3

Payment counter 3

Show window 3

Customer Relations

Assessment Area Outstanding Fair Poor

Staff grooming 3

Staff greeting 3