In preparation for a couple of our sessions on Wednesday, June 10, the articles and two case studies below will serve as the basis for learning activities during the week. It is essential that you read the four articles/case studies indicated by an asterisk before the sessions. Reading these articles/case studies in advance will allow us more time for the group design activities.
The five Zara articles below describe the fast fashion model of Zara. Please read the first and fifth Zara article. Scan the others to the extent that you are interested. The 2012 article is a short overview. The other four Zara articles go into more depth about the model, the strategy, the technology, and the work processes underlying it, and the strategic issues lying ahead—especially stressing the challenge they face in moving to digital. The last article (J. Crew’s Mickey Drexler Confesses …) chronicles the same challenge as seen from competitor J Crew.
- *Zara Gets Fresh Styles to Stores Insanely Fast. How Do They Do it?
June 21, 2012 (from: Slate.com) - How Zara Grew Into the World’s Largest Fashion Retailer
November 9, 2012 (from: The New York Times) - Zara Builds Its Business Around RFID “Fast Fashion’ Meets Smarter Inventory; Retailer Learns from Others’ Mistakes
Sept 16, 2014 (from: The Wall Street Journal) - A Model for Fast Fashion—Zara’s parent identifies trends and quickly moves garments from sketch pads to stores
January 18, 2017 (from: ProQuest) - *Zara’s New Focus: Bigger Bricks, More Clicks
April 7, 2017 (from: ProQuest) - J. Crew’s Mickey Drexler Confesses: I Underestimated How Tech Would Upend Retail
May 24, 2017 (from: The Wall Street Journal)
Two case studies:
*Computer Components Case Study
by Susan A. Mohrman
*How Uber Uses Psychological Tricks to Push Its Drivers’ Buttons
by Noam Scheiber