Business Research Assignment on Zara

Question

Criteria

1. A brief statement of the problem, research aim and objectives
2. A brief methodology
3. Sources of secondary data, data presentation and analysis methods
4. Accurate referencing, use of correct English and logical sequences between sentences and paragraphs

Answer

Introduction
Zara Australia Pty Limited is the famous clothing retail company which has its business in the wide range of fashion clothes in Australia. Zara is the popular company among the customers in terms of accessories, clothing and footwear. The company started its business operations in 1999 in Sydney Australia. Zara is the successful brand in the clothing retail but there are some factors affecting the business operations of Zara in Australian market. Those factors are becoming hindrance in the way of success of Zara (Pearson, 2011). There are supply system, production line and distribution system which are very much centralized which affect the business operations of the company. Due to centralized inventory management, the business misses out the crucial revenue opportunities along with the risk of out of stock. The centralized distribution and business system basically goes against the ability of local stores in terms of adopting market conditions (Jones & Robinson, 2012). So, these factors impact on the business operations of Zara and act as the obstacles in the growth of the business. This Business research assignment is focused on identifying the brand factors and their impact on business success. In addition to this, the Business research assignment will help in selecting appropriate business strategies which are required to maintain the positive brand image of the company in Australian market. The Business research assignment will identify the required strategies which can be used by Zara so that negative impact of brand factors on the business growth and success can be minimized effectively.

Statement of problem
In Australia, Zara has continuous growth and development in the business. But there are some factors that impact the business operations of the company in the Australian market. The company has centralized distribution system is one of the biggest obstruction in the business growth of Zara. In addition to this, there are supply system, production line and distribution system which are very much centralized which affect the business operations of the company (Ailawadi, Pauwels & Steenkamp, 2008). Zara has wide range of fashion clothes but company is not focused on creating the trend of season. Further, the company has the policy of zero advertisements which is accountable for the restricted public exposure in the business. So, it is clear that there are various factors affecting the brand success of Zara. The key purpose of this research is to analyze and find out the solutions of the problems faced by Zara related to business growth and implement the effective strategy for the growth and development in the Australian market (Tungate, 2012).

Research aim, objectives and research question
Key aim of this Business research assignment is to analyze the various factors affecting on the business operations of Zara in Australian market. In addition to this, the aim of the Business research assignment is to understand the significance of factors on the brand success of Zara.

Research Objective
Key objectives of this study are as follows:

• To analyze the impact of centralized distribution system on the business operations of Zara,
• To understand the impact of zero advertising policy on the brand success of Zara, and
• To analyze the impact of not being trendsetter on business

Justification
This Business research assignment focuses on the factors that impact on the brand success of Zara. Zara is the famous clothing brand in all over the world. The company is popular for its business plan and innovative clothing and fashion products. But there are some factors that affect the business growth of the company in multiple ways. In current time, the fashion industry is highly competitive and there is the need of creating new trends in the industry to attract the potential customers (Sandberg, 2011). So, by the analysis of the factors affecting the brand success of Zara, this research would be helpful for other companies to implement effective strategies for the business growth in various markets. In addition to this, this study would also be useful in identifying the innovative strategies which can be used in the business operations for achieving competitive advantage over the rivals. Further, knowing the factors that affect the business growth will also be helpful for other interested parties in brand image of Zara. The study will help in selecting appropriate business strategies which are required to maintain the positive brand image of the company in Australian market. At the same time, the research will give a significant and in depth knowledge about the success factors which are required for the business growth. The Business research assignment will be helpful for the future researchers who wish to study in this particular area (Baroto, Abdullah & Wan, 2012).

Potential output of research
This Business research assignment is all about identifying and analyzing the impact of brand factors on the growth and success of Zara in Australian market. Key aim of this study is to analyze the various factors affecting on the business operations of Zara in Australian market. This research will, provide significant result in terms of impact of brand factors on the business growth (Davidsson, & Wiklund, 2013). So, the study will find out the major brand factors which are creating obstacles in the growth of Zara. For this manner, valuable information related to brand factors of Zara would be gathered for the effective analysis and evaluation. In addition to this, the research will give crucial outcomes about the effective strategies which are required for the successful business management. The Business research assignment will identify the required strategies which can be used by Zara so that negative impact of brand factors on the business growth and success can be minimized effectively.

Conceptual framework
Zara has faced problems in its business operations due to some internal processes. First of all, the company is affected sue to its centralized warehouse and distribution system. In addition to this, the company is also affected by the zero advertising policy which directly impact on the company’s brand image. At last, company is not setting the fashion trend in the operation market which can significantly impact on the business.

Centralized distribution system- Centralized warehouse is the integral part of the business to control the inventory. Without the distribution system, company will not be able to move the products and lose the capital. On the other hand, centralized distribution is helpful in keeping the inventory on track. In case of Zara, centralized distribution system is considered as the hindrance or obstacle in the development and growth of the company’s business. In the centralized distribution system, the company has to bear high cost of rush delivery. The company has to pay additional fees for rush deliveries to compensate. There are some challenges which faced by Zara due to centralized distribution system (Ray, 2010).

• Due to centralized distribution system, Company has to face the challenge of slow response time related to store needs. If the store of Zara is running low on the fashion products then the stock will be run out before the demand. In addition to this, the business also misses out the crucial revenue opportunities along with the risk of out of stock (Lysons & Farrington, 2012).
• Further, employees and front-line managers may face inability to replenish stock as important from in-store inventory. The employees on the company are those who have to deal with unsatisfied customers who are not able to buy the products they want. They have to spend the time on satisfying the customers rather than meeting the inventory demand. This distracts the front line managers from their store-level duties.
• Further, centralized distribution or inventory system has significant impact on the business due to unpredictable demand. This enhances the likelihood to deal with the issue of stock-outs. In the business, it means that various stores have demand on the same products then buyers for the distribution center have to face many challenges. This also creates problems to get order of the products at prior basis (Mihm, 2010).
• At last, the centralized distribution and business system basically goes against the ability of local stores in terms of adopting market conditions. The inability of the company to manage the inventory at the store level makes the harder for the store to adopt the changing demands (Gattorna, 2012).

Zero advertising policy- In case of hindrance in the business operations of Zara, zero advertising policy is also one of the significant factors. Zara has adopted the policy of zero advertising in which company does not promote itself in the operating market (Charles, & Gareth, 2012). Although company is famous among the established markets so it does not need to promote itself. But, in the emerging markets, company is less known due to its zero advertising strategy. This is a disadvantage of the company in terms of attracting the customers in the new markets. They will never switch to Zara due to the presence of various established companies which are trying hard to get competitive advantage by various promotional strategies. Zero advertising policy is not good for the company in terms of maintaining long terms loyal customers in the new and emerging markets. Zero advertising is also responsible for limited public exposure in the company (He, 2012).

Not being trendsetter- It is observed that Zara has wide range of fashion products according to the current fashion trend in the market. But, one of the negative aspect of Zara is that the company is not focused on setting new tends in the fashion industry. It is observed that there is the lack of diversity in the fashion products created by Zara. Fashion has become more commercial than ever before and it is saturated with Zara. Due to not being the trend setter, Zara is losing out the opportunity to see up-and-coming and it is also the cause of loss of diversity in fashion.

Methodology
In order to conduct the Business research assignment in proper manner, positivism is selected as the research philosophy. The reason is that it would be helpful in understanding and analyzing the impact of some brand factors on the success and growth on Zara in Australian market. In addition to this, it would also be helpful in analyzing the importance of those factors in maintaining positive brand image of Zara in the operating market. Further, the study will also use deductive research approach in order to identify effective business strategies by conducting valuable information. Along with this, the Business research assignment will use exploratory research design so that the ideas relevant to the research topic can be acknowledged in the effective manner.

Data collection
Data is the collection of important and significant information so that the research topic can be analyzed and effective solutions to the research questions can be achieved. In case of this specific research, secondary data will be gathered from the official website of Zara. In addition to this, data will also be gathered from various fashion blogs and websites of Australian clothing companies so that he research problem can be analyzed effectively. Further, in this research, qualitative research method will be used in which interview survey will be done (Fisher, 2010). The interview will be conducted with three managers of Zara Australia Pty Ltd. The respondents will be selected from different departments of the company i.e. production and design department, warehouse and distribution department and operations and strategy department. In addition to this, 50 Australian customers who are loyal for Zara will be interviewed in this study. In this research, research ethics and standards will be maintained in proper manner. The timeframe to conduct the research will be 6 weeks and 200 Australian dollars will be required to complete the research in the proper manner.

Secondary data sources
In terms of secondary data sources, the data will be collected from the official website of Zara Australia. Along with this, data will also be gathered from various fashion blogs and websites of Australian clothing companies so that he research problem can be analyzed effectively. The data and useful information gathered from various sources is classifies as follows:

• Impact of zero advertising policy on the brand image of Zara in operating market,

• Proper information related to centralized distribution system of Zara in Australian market, and

• Importance of being a trendsetter in the fashion market of Australia

In order to analyze the collected data, excel sheet and correlation analysis will be used so that the type of relationship two variables can be analyzed. There will be two variables i.e. brand factor and business growth of Zara. Correlation analysis will be helpful in analyzing the relationship between these two variables (Walker, Curren & Kiesler, 2013).

Organization of study
This Business research assignment will include five key chapters. The organization of this specific research is given below:

• Introduction of the topic will be included in first chapter in which overview of Zara and brand factors will be described,
• Second chapter of the study will include literature review, in which the viewpoints and researches of various authors will be analyzed,
• Third chapter of the study will include research design and research methodology. The chapter will focus on data collection technique, method of data analysis and survey method,
• Further, fourth chapter will focus on the result and discussion part of the complete study and
• Chapter five will be the last chapter which will include conclusion, recommendation and summary of the overall study.

Project budget
The budget for this particular study is 200 Australian dollars. The study will be completed within 6 weeks. The justification of proposed budget is given below:

• Data entry, collection and printing will require $50,
• Access of different literatures including articles, books and online sources will require $50,
• Data analysis will need $50 and
• Purchase of data from secondary sources will require $50

Project activities

Schedule (Gantt chart)

Conclusion
Based on the above Business research assignment, it is clear that there are supply system, production line and distribution system which are very much centralized which affect the business operations of the company. In current time, the fashion industry is highly competitive and there is the need of creating new trends in the industry to attract the potential customers. This Business research assignment would also be useful in identifying the innovative strategies which can be used in the business operations for achieving competitive advantage over the rivals. The Business research assignment will find out the major brand factors which are creating obstacles in the growth of Zara. For this manner, valuable information related to brand factors of Zara would be gathered for the effective analysis and evaluation. The company is affected sue to its centralized warehouse and distribution system. In addition to this, the company is also affected by the zero advertising policy which directly impact on the company’s brand image. In case of Zara, centralized distribution system is considered as the hindrance or obstacle in the development and growth of the company’s business. In the centralized distribution system, the company has to bear high cost of rush delivery. In the emerging markets, company is less known due to its zero advertising strategy. In order to analyze the collected data, excel sheet and correlation analysis will be used so that the type of relationship two variables can be analyzed. Data for the Business research assignment will also be gathered from various fashion blogs and websites of Australian clothing companies so that he research problem can be analyzed effectively. Business research assignment are being prepared by our business assignment help experts from top universities which let us to provide you a reliable assignment help australia service.

References
Baroto, B., Abdullah, M. & Wan, H. L. (2012). Hybrid Strategy: A New Strategy for Competitive Advantage. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(20), pp. 1-14.

Charles, & Gareth, J. (2012). Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach, Cengage Learning, Pg 94- 109.

Davidsson, P., & Wiklund, J. (2013). New Perspectives on Firm Growth. USA: Edward Elgar publishing limited.

Fisher, C. (2010). Researching and writing a dissertation – An essential guide for business students. (3rd). Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.

Ailawadi, K., Pauwels, K. & Steenkamp, J. B. (2008). Private label use and store loyalty. Journal of Marketing, 72 (11), pp.19-30.

Gattorna, J. (2012). Challenges of global fast fashion supply chains, Retrieved from https://www.supplychainmovement.com/challenges-of-global-fast-fashion-supply-chains-part-i/

Gattorna, J. (2012). Challenges of global fast fashion supply chains, Retrieved from https://www.supplychainmovement.com/challenges-of-global-fast-fashion-supply-chains-part-i/

Jones, P. & Robinson, P. (2012). Operations Management, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lysons, K. & Farrington, B. (2012). Purchasing and supply chain management, Harlow, Essex: Pearson Financial Times.

Pearson, A. (2011). the Story of Zara - The Speeding Bullet. Retrieved from http://www.uniquebusinessstrategies.co.uk/pdfs/case%20studies/zarathespeedingbullet.pdf

Ray. (2010). Supply Chain Management for Retailing, IND: Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

Sandberg, E. (2011). Business trends and logistics challenges in the Western European retail industry. Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), 6(1).

Tungate, M. (2012). Fashion Brands – Branding style from Armani to Zara. (3rd), London: Kogan Page Limited.

Walker, K., Curren, M. and Kiesler, T. (2013). A Retail Center Facing Change: Using Data to Determine Marketing Strategy. Marketing Education Review, 23(3), pp.287-296.