Inditex puts its global ship-from-store plan into high gear
The parent company of Zara wants to give customers around the world access to all of its brands — even in markets where it doesn’t operate physical locations.
During a meeting with journalists in Milan on Tuesday, Pablo Isla, Inditex chairman and CEO, announced that the company will make merchandise from all brands available for purchase online from anywhere in the world by 2020. (The announcement coincided with the reopening of the global Zara flagship in Italy’s Corso Vittorio Emanuele shopping district.)
Inditex operates eight brands — Zara, Zara Home, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Uterqüe—and has a portfolio of 7,448 stores across 96 global markets. To streamline the digital launch, all of the company’s brands will adopt Inditex’s integrated stock management system in all countries where there is a physical store presence. Armed with the technology, the brands will be able to fulfill online customer orders with available store inventory.
The technology, which is supported by radio frequency identification technology (RFID), is already fully deployed in Zara stores in 25 markets, including Spain, France, Italy, China, the United States, the U.K. and Mexico, as well as across Inditex’s Uterqüe stores. The remaining brands are currently adding the technology, and are on pace to use the system by 2020, according to the company.
"We want to make our fashion collections available to all our customers, wherever they are in the world, even in those markets which do not currently have our bricks-and-mortar stores,” said Pablo Isla.
The rollout coincides with Inditex’s eco-efficiency plan, which aims to deliver energy and water savings of 20% and up to 50% respectively, compared with conventional stores. This plan is already complete in 80% of Inditex's stores, including in 100% of its locations in China. The eco-efficiency plan is is on pace to be fully deployed by 2020, Inditex reported.
During a meeting with journalists in Milan on Tuesday, Pablo Isla, Inditex chairman and CEO, announced that the company will make merchandise from all brands available for purchase online from anywhere in the world by 2020. (The announcement coincided with the reopening of the global Zara flagship in Italy’s Corso Vittorio Emanuele shopping district.)
Inditex operates eight brands — Zara, Zara Home, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Uterqüe—and has a portfolio of 7,448 stores across 96 global markets. To streamline the digital launch, all of the company’s brands will adopt Inditex’s integrated stock management system in all countries where there is a physical store presence. Armed with the technology, the brands will be able to fulfill online customer orders with available store inventory.
The technology, which is supported by radio frequency identification technology (RFID), is already fully deployed in Zara stores in 25 markets, including Spain, France, Italy, China, the United States, the U.K. and Mexico, as well as across Inditex’s Uterqüe stores. The remaining brands are currently adding the technology, and are on pace to use the system by 2020, according to the company.
"We want to make our fashion collections available to all our customers, wherever they are in the world, even in those markets which do not currently have our bricks-and-mortar stores,” said Pablo Isla.
The rollout coincides with Inditex’s eco-efficiency plan, which aims to deliver energy and water savings of 20% and up to 50% respectively, compared with conventional stores. This plan is already complete in 80% of Inditex's stores, including in 100% of its locations in China. The eco-efficiency plan is is on pace to be fully deployed by 2020, Inditex reported.