Zara v H&M: Which will win the battle for Australian fast-fashion?

  Soon the Australian consumer will have the choice of leading fast fashion retailers in the world.

Announced the Swedish giant H & M in March, it will be extended to Australia next year. Bowing our sales dollars he joined perennial rival Zara, which is here since 2011.

H & M and Zara are leading retailers competing in the same space, but have developed radically different business models.

How do they differ, and who is going to win in Australia? We asked the experts.
Presentation of the fashion titans

H & M was founded in 1947 and written in 2012, $ 745 million in profits. It is supported and promoted by some of the biggest names in popular culture. Its current season is sponsored by R & B singer Beyoncé. It operates 2,853 stores in dozens of countries, including many in Asia quickly (three branches in Thailand, three in Malaysia, 15 in Japan and more than 100 in China).

Until recently, the largest fashion retailer H & M Europe. And then, in 2006, he was overtaken by Zara.

Zara is the best known brand of Inditex, founded in 1963 by Spanish giant in the retracted billionaire Amancio Ortega, now one of the richest men in the world.

Inditex listed in 2001 and increased its profit more than quadrupled since then, 3 billion dollars. It is the largest company in Spain and is proud of its fast fashion business model. Since H & M expands.

Both Zara and H & M are as fast-fashion icons. But they have different strategies to thank for their success.
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The greatest strength of Zara in its supply chain, they can run (three weeks) in new ways in a fraction of the time it is traditional retailers.

Unlike most retailers, Zara rarely entrusted Asia. He cuts tissue internally at its headquarters north of La Coruna in Spain and sends the local cooperatives for sewing. Sewing cooperatives and packages (adding price tags and hangers), and return to Zara stores will be driven and controlled world.

When he does not outsource expensive European countries whose output can be pushed quickly to the seat.

Zara designers are all based at its headquarters in La Coruña and churn quickly inspired by the latest runway trends drawings. The offer is limited - no more than a race made of any design. This keeps rare drawings. Zara stores receive new merchandise at least twice a week.

This means that the chain always strictly controlled Zara stores about new products, but in a limited quantity.

H & M operates quite differently. It uses a similar retail traditional seasonal fashion model. The stores are also widely used with staples in Asian factories cheap, are made throughout the year in stock.

It achieves a fast recovery similar to Zara, but it makes much more use of Asian outsourcing.

This can vaccinate against one of the biggest risks of a pure fast-fashion retail expert and his partner David Gordon Bentley said Leading Company help.

"The risk of fast fashion is that you misunderstood the fashion trends.

"The basics are not fast-fashion. This means that if you sell regularly, they are at low risk for a boost your sales."

But H & M of outsourced supply chain and clip area means that it will not be considered in the same league as Zara into consideration when it comes to fashion quickly, says marketing professor at the University of Melbourne Mark Ritson.

"H & M in terms of the actions is still too fast. Zara But if you simply can not qualify the model as fast fashion, H & M., It always follows the seasons, for example. H & M on a road or only jeans in comparison, "says Ritson, which advises many luxury brands in the world.

"H & M is largely successful, but it is not Zara. His growth and business model is less radical. If there is no Zara, H & M, the king of fast fashion."