Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2011. This news from 7 September 2011 covers the launch of the Inditex chains’ online stores, Zara’s US online store, its upcoming arrival in Japan, Amazon’s entry into Spain, and Google and Apple entering the Spanish publishing market; all refer to that date. Uterqüe has since been closed by Inditex.
From today, all of Inditex‘s chains (Massimo Dutti, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Oysho, Stradivarius and Uterqüe) have their own online store in Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, the UK and a few other countries, while Zara’s online store is available in the United States from today and, according to a company statement, will soon arrive in Japan.
Online fashion is a profitable business, and Inditex has known how to take advantage of it to increase its sales online with minimal investment. Amancio Ortega’s company plans to invest more than 12 million euros in its online stores. Zara could also acquire a new luxury store on one of New York’s most central streets.
Zara’s strategy is to reach 10% of its sales through the internet, which would bring in extra revenue of more than 1.2 billion euros. In the middle of a recession, Inditex is behaving like one of the great conquerors: for the company, the crisis is something people talk about but that doesn’t show up on its income statement.
From a “Made in Spain” business conquering markets abroad to one setting out to conquer the Spanish market
Amazon will enter Spain this September. Little is known yet about the business model it will start with, although according to the Spanish newspaper ABC, it could operate as a traditional bookshop selling print books. Amazon has been closing deals and developing its distribution strategy.
Its key logistics centre will be in the south of France, and everything suggests the company has already signed a deal with the courier company MRW to offer free or very cheap delivery to customers.
With Amazon’s arrival in Spain, it’s inevitable that many bookshops and publishers are worried about how it could affect their traditional business, especially those entrepreneurs who are not yet very familiar with new technologies.
Besides Amazon, Google and Apple will also enter the Spanish publishing market this autumn, so in Spain these three giants are going to make things very hard for traditional businesses, and the sector will need to adapt enormously and change its mindset.
We live in a technological era, and today these two companies show us how to grow in times of crisis. As we’ve said more than once, a crisis is not the time to stop, but to move forward and take up a position in the market.
Further reading
- How to increase sales in a business in crisis
- Mistakes to avoid when starting a business
- SMEs: change the way you think about your company
Featured image: bargainmoose, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
