Zara to launch online store in Japan 19.10.2011
Fashion concept Zara, part of Inditex, one of the world’s biggest fashion retail groups, is launching online shopping in Japan tomorrow, October 20th at www.zara.com, delivery to all prefectures. Zara’s online platform will sell the full range of women’s, men’s and children’s clothing that are also available in-store.
Delivery options
Garment prices are identical online and in-store and there are three classes of delivery: Standard, Express, and Defined Date Delivery. Shoppers opting for standard delivery will receive their orders at home within two to four days. Similarly, they can opt to pick up their orders at the store of their choice within a period of three to five days. With the express delivery, the orders will be delivered within 24-48 hours (except specific areas). The Defined Date Delivery is a special option in which shoppers can choose the date and time of delivery at no extra charge. Regardless of the selected delivery option, product orders will be wrapped in purpose-designed eco-friendly packaging which keeps purchased garments in an optimal state until delivery.
Payments can be made using major credit cards, including Visa, Master Card, JCB and American Express.
Exchanges and returns
The exchange and return policy is identical to that offered in-store: during a 30-day period and unwanted items can be picked up at home or returned to Zara stores. Zara has hired a logistics operator with a proven track record in the field to handle nationwide distribution.
Site users can also call toll-free customer service or write to a dedicated e-mail address for help with order-related queries or problems.
User-friendly
The
www.zara.com website has been designed to make online shopping as consumer friendly as possible. The garment search function has been enhanced by a number of filter options (by garment characteristics, colors, sizes, prices, etc.). Shoppers can also find specific items by reference number, garment description, category, etc.
Shoppers can view their shopping baskets at any time while browsing, editing their product selections right away. Shoppers wishing to pick up their orders at a conveniently located store can use a store search and mapping tool to automatically locate the nearest Zara store.
The website displays visual content of the collections with photos, lookbooks, videos, and a fashion collaboration section called "People!" so that shoppers can get an overall impression of the current range; moreover, this content can be shared on the various social networks. Users can also sign up for a newsletter to stay abreast of the latest fashion trends.
The
www.zara.com website has been designed to ensure shopping compatibility using any of the browsers available in the marketplace.
Dear Japan
To mark the launch of its e-commerce platform in Japan, Zara has commissioned photographs of each of the country's prefectures. Katsura Komiyama, Daisuke Ito, Mutsumi Makino, Dan Abbe are just some of the 28 photographers participating in the ‘Dear Japan’ campaign, comprising 47 photos which can be viewed on Zara’s Japan website beginning Thursday, October 20th.
Internet and social networks
The Japan online platform is Zara’s first in the Asian market. In Europe, shoppers can already buy online in 16 countries. Zara recently celebrated the first anniversary of its online shopping launch on September 2, followed by the U.S. launch on September 7th. With over 10 million Facebook fans around the world, Zara is also very active in social networks and will look to deliver fresh information of its collections to the similarly active Japanese online community through its Facebook page, Japanese Twitter account, and other local social networks.
Zara in Japan
Zara’s business presence in Japan dates back to 1998 when it opened it first store in Shibuya, Tokyo. Tokyo was the Spanish group’s first location choice in Asia, stemming from the important position the city holds in the world's fashion industry. Today Zara operates 71 stores in over 35 Japanese cities, with flagship stores in high-street fashion areas of major cities such as Shibuya, Harajuku, Ginza, Shinjuku, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto, or Fukuoka.
Business model
Zara is known for its flexibility and swift response to emerging trends. With a creative team of over 300 professionals, the whole design process at Zara is centered around its customers’ wishes and desires. The strategy is characterized by continual range updates: new items hit the stores twice a week. Zara pays close attention to the design of its stores, store windows and shop interiors, locating them in the top locations on the busiest shopping streets.
Zara is part of the Inditex Group, one of the world’s largest fashion retailers with over 5,150 stores in 78 countries across all five continents. In addition to Zara, Inditex has seven other fashion concepts: Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home and Uterqüe.
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