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The role of market orientation on company performance through the

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DOI: 10.1108/02634500310480103

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 Marketing Intelligence & Planning
The role of market orientation on company performance through the development of sustainable
competitive advantage: the Inditex-Zara case
Andrés Mazaira E. González Ruth Avendaño
Article information:
To cite this document:
Andrés Mazaira E. González Ruth Avendaño, (2003),"The role of market orientation on company performance through the
development of sustainable competitive advantage: the Inditex-Zara case", Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 21 Iss 4
pp. 220 - 229
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 The role of market orientation on company
performance through the development of sustainable
competitive advantage: the Inditex-Zara case

AndreÂs Mazaira
University of Vigo, Oureuse, Spain
E. GonzaÂlez
University of Vigo, Oureuse, Spain
Ruth Avendan Äo
University of Vigo, Oureuse, Spain

Keywords A study of business realities is crucial to worldwide whose success and personality
Market orientation, bridge the distance between university have achieved an outstanding position in the
Competitive advantage, studies and the business world and enable the
Clothing industry,
media and in scientific debate in
student to realise that the subjects under
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Organizational culture academia[3].

discussion are not abstract, ideal concepts,
When the company was launched on the
Abstract but a reflection of reality (Munuera and
stock exchange, it published a complete
This paper has been developed as RodrõÂguez, 2000, p. 15).
a part of research seeking to verify
company information brochure[4] which
the effects of organisational This case study is a reflection of this defines the main activity of Inditex (the
culture in general, and market intention to bring the two worlds closer acronym for Industria de DisenÄo Textil, SA)
orientation in particular, on the together, and uses the case method as an and its subsidiaries as the design,
behaviour and results of
approach to the business world. manufacture, distribution and sale of clothes,
managerial organisations. The
difference with other existing Although this method is more often used in footwear and accessories for men, women
work on the same subject is that teaching than in research, we agree with and children, including cosmetics and
this work uses the case method to literature (Hartley, 1994; Yin, 1994; Bonache, leather goods. Additionally, some of the
bring managerial reality into closer
1999; PeÂrez, 1999; Gummesson, 2000) on its companies in the group carry out different
contact with the university
environment. This report contains validity as a research strategy, especially for activities; for instance, construction
the first of the case studies the study of organisational culture and its activities or estate agency, as a complement
carried out in the context of this effects. to the Inditex group's main activity. Table I
research, and examines Zara, a The aim of this paper is to apply the case
strategic unit in the Inditex group, shows the companies (Spanish and other)
which is shown to be a
method to a study of market orientation as a making up the Inditex group.
paradigmatic example of the characteristic culture in managerial Inditex is an international fashion
development of market orientation organisations, and the effects of its manufacture and distribution group (see
in a company, as a basis for the implementation on the company's behaviour
company's performance and Table II) with five store chains, Zara, Pull &
competitive advantages.
and results. Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka and
The present paper discusses the influence Stradivarius. These are managed as separate
of market orientation on managerial strategic business units. On 31 January 2001,
organisations through analysis of the Inditex the Inditex group owned 1,080 stores (1,093
group, with emphasis on Zara. Company- including joint ventures), in 33 countries. Of
specific literature has been used, including these 908 (84 per cent of the total number of
other case studies on the group, interviews, stores) are owned by the company, and 172
press and Internet articles, and reports by (16 per cent) were franchised stores.
financial analysts[1]. Specific questionnaires Turnover in the year 2000 was slightly over
were sent out to members of different 435,000 million pesetas. Profits were over
departments of the store chains which 43,000 million pesetas. Tables II and III show
compose the group, and in-depth interviews information on each of the chains.
were carried out with Mr Fernando The world fashion market has changed
Aguiar[2], a company executive and considerably over the past few decades.
university lecturer. Fashion products, which used to be an elite
consumption product, are now a mass
consumption market ± embodying what has
1. The Inditex group and the been called ``the democratisation process of
clothing sector fashion''. Fashion products are now bought
Marketing Intelligence & Founded 38 years ago, the Inditex group is by all segments of society, helped by lower
Planning now part of a select group of companies average prices, which have brought about a
21/4 [2003] 220-229
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[ 220 ]
 AndreÂs Mazaira, E. GonzaÂlez broadening of the target by including a alone. Stores also compete for the best store
and Ruth Avendan Äo growing number of consumers in the market. locations and good terms for rent or
The role of market orientation
on company performance Consumer tastes over the past few years purchase. New competitors are also a
through the development of have been veering away towards extremes. constant threat in a sector with very few
sustainable competitive Stores offering latest fashions and stores
advantage: the Inditex-Zara entry barriers.
case offering lower priced clothing have taken The following trends may be identified as
Marketing Intelligence & market share from general fashion outlets, determinant factors for the sector's future
Planning such as department stores, which were the development:
21/4 [2003] 220-229
main players up to the mid-1990s. . De-localisation of textile and clothing
Today's clothing and accessories industry manufacture in Europe and
is highly competitive, and increased North America.
competitiveness is to be expected over the . A strong increase in competitive pressure.
next few years. One-brand store chains in . Company growth strategy and forward-
particular have a tendency to competition for looking integration for clothing
the same customer profile. They must also manufacturers.
compete with local, national and . Development of distribution chains.
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international department stores, individual . Increased market participation for

shops or boutiques, markets, and companies ``killers''.
operating sales by catalogue or on the . Growing internationalisation.
Internet. Competition does not affect sales . A strong commitment to flexibility.

Table I
Companies (Spanish and other nationalities) in the Inditex group, 31 January 2001
Spanish Other nationalities
Raw materials and Comditel, Samlor, Trisko, Nikole, Choolet, Sircio, Zintura,
manufacture Fioos, Hampton, Tempe, Denllo, Stear, Glencare, Yeroli
Logistics Zara LogõÂstica, Massimo dutti LogõÂstica, Pull & Bear
LogõÂstica, Bershka LogõÂstica
Sales Zara EspanÄa, Kiddy's Class EspanÄa, Bretto's BRT EspanÄa, Zara USA, Zara Argentina, Zara Venezuela, Zara UK, Zara
Grupo Massimodutti, Pull & Bear EspanÄa, Bershka BSK Deutschland, Zara Canada, Zara Norge, Zara Danmark, Zara
EspanÄa, Stradivarius EspanÄa, Oysho EspanÄa Sverige, Zara Belgique, Zara Asia, Zara OÈsterreich Clothing,
Zara Hellas, Zara Japan, Zara Luxembourg, Zara Nederland,
Zara Fance, Zara Chile, Zara Mexico, Zara Uruguay, Zara
Portugal, Zara Brasil, Zara Suisse, Za Giyim Ithalat Ihracat
Ve Ticaret, Kiddy's Class Portugal, Massimo Duti
Deutschland, Massimo Dutti Hellas, Pull & Bear Portugal,
Pull & Bear Hellas, Bershka Portugal, Bershka Mexico,
Bershka BSK Venezuela, Bershka Hellas, Stradivarius Hellas,
Stradivarius Portugal
Complementary Goainvest, Inditex, Zara SA (EspnÄola), Inditex CogeneracioÂn Zara SA (Argentina), Zara Holding, Zara Merken, Zara
activities and Aie, Lefties EspanÄa Vastgoed, Zara Financien, Zara Vastgoed Hellas, Zara
inactive companies Mexico, Vastgoed France, Zara Italia, Zara Nipon, Zara
France InmobilieÁre, Zara Vastgoed Ferreol, Vastgoed,
General Leclerc, Vastgoed Nancy, Zalapa, Vastgoed Asia,
Invercarpo, Robustae SGPS, Massimo Dutti Holding, Zara
Italia, Jose Maria Arrojo Aldegunde, Motorgal

Table II
International presence of Inditex stores
Own stores Franchises Joint ventures Stores in Spain Total stores Countries
Zara 410 27 12 220 449 29
Pull & Bear 199 30 ± 165 229 11
Massimo Dutti 119 78 1 137 198 13
Bershka 102 2 ± 83 104 4
Stradivarius 65 35 ± 87 13 7
Inditex group 908 172 13 692 1,093 33
Source: Inditex (2001)

[ 221 ]
 AndreÂs Mazaira, E. GonzaÂlez Table III
and Ruth Avendan Äo Target audience, positioning and weight of Inditex stores
The role of market orientation
on company performance Target audience age Positioning Per cent sales
through the development of
sustainable competitive Zara Women (58%) ± Men (22%) Quality: medium-high 78.2
advantage: the Inditex-Zara
case ± Children (20%) Price: medium-low
Marketing Intelligence &
Age 0-45/50 Several product lines
Planning Pull & Bear Women ± Men Quality: medium-high 6.6
21/4 [2003] 220-229
Age 14-28 Price: medium-low
Sports, leisure, fresh air
Massimo Dutti Women (50.8%) ± Men (49.2%) Quality: medium-high 7.0
Age 24-45 Formal-informal designer wear
Bershka Women Quality: medium 5.2
Age 13-23 Price: medium-low
Latest trends ± informal wear
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Stradivarius Women Quality: medium 2.8

Age 15-27 Price: medium-low
Latest trends
Constant rotation
Source: Research team, Inditex Information

. Low fidelity levels. ``One-brand Market orientation has been one of the most
wardrobes'' no longer exist, and attractive research topics in marketing and
companies seek to increase their share in management research during the past
customer wardrobes. decade. It focuses on superior skills in
creating customer satisfaction with positive
Table IV shows details of some of Inditex's impact on company profitability. Market
main competitors. orientation is inter-functional, and requires
co-ordinated behaviour across the
organisation ± hence the expression ``market
2. From marketing orientation to orientation'' instead of ``marketing
market orientation orientation''.
The market-orientation construct originated Three main approaches have been used to
in marketing orientation, which was define market orientation:
developed in the 1950s on the basis of the 1 Cultural approach. This perspective
assumption that: considers market orientation to be a
. . . creating a satisfied customer is the only characteristic organisational culture[5].
valid definition of a business purpose Narver and Slater (1990) argue it is
(Drucker, 1954). ``organisational culture that effectively

Table IV
Zara's competitors
Source Year Sales (millions pesetas) No. of stores No. of countries
Companies which distribute fashion and other products
El Corte IngleÂs 1 1999 1,630.000 474 1
Carrefour 2 2000 6,256.114 1,898 21
Fashion companies
Gap 2 2000 2,152.475 3,676 5
C&A 2 1999 831.930 444 10
HM 2 2000 663.706 682 14
Inditex 3 2000 435.049 1,093 33
Benetton 2 1999 329.444 7,000 120
Cortefiel 3 2000 112.237 567 8
Mango 1 2000 128.949 511 49
Adolfo DomõÂnguez 3 2000 16.155 186 11
Source: Inditex
Notes: (1) Analysts' estimation, (2) corporate Web page, (3) company accounts

[ 222 ]
 AndreÂs Mazaira, E. GonzaÂlez and efficiently creates behaviours'' in the and, specifically, the Zara chain, how far the
and Ruth Avendan Äo organisation for creation of superior group's marketing strategies and tactics are
The role of market orientation customer value (Narver and Slater, 1990).
on company performance different from competitors', and what causes
through the development of Market orientation is: ``the culture that (1) these differences.
sustainable competitive places the highest priority on the There is strong media focus on the fact that
advantage: the Inditex-Zara
case profitable creation and maintenance of Zara does not have a formalised marketing
Marketing Intelligence &
superior customer value while department, keeps its advertising budget to a
Planning considering the interests of other minimum, and centres corporate success on
21/4 [2003] 220-229 stakeholders; and (2) provides norms for production and logistics strategy. The
behavior regarding the organisational inference is that marketing in Zara is
development and responsiveness to non-existent.
market information'' (Slater and Narver, However, the Zara organisation clearly
1995, p. 67). Market orientation's key
states: ``Our customers are the basis and the
feature is held to be a commitment from
reason of our group's existence''. Close
all members of the organisation to
attention is paid to continuous information
continuous creation of added value for the
on customer needs and wants, and these are
customer (Narver et al., 1998). Leading
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answered with clear market segmentation

from this definition, Narver and Slater
describe market orientation as a one- and product differentiation. Specific sets of
dimensional concept, encompassing three behaviour across the entire company are
behavioural components: customer designed to answer customers' needs in an
orientation, competitor orientation, inter- agile and permanent manner. This paper will
functional co-ordination. seek to show that marketing permeates
2 Behavioural approach. This approach Inditex and Zara and is a determinant factor
focuses on market orientation as a for its success[8].
measure of organisational behaviour Zara's success is a direct result of market
(Norburn et al., 1990). Key features of orientation. Its implementation of the
market orientation are: ``(1) an expanded marketing concept and marketing
focus on market rather than customer philosophy go deeper than the functional
intelligence, (2) an emphasis on a specific view of marketing embodied in the
form of inter-functional coordination with marketing orientation.
respect to market intelligence and (3) a Perhaps better than any other existing
focus on activities related to intelligence Spanish company, Zara shows the step from
processing rather than the effect of these marketing orientation to market orientation.
activities'' (Kohli et al., 1993, p. 468). Marketing orientation is an internal
3 A third type of approach is a synthesis of company orientation and is shown by the
the above. Day (1994) holds market importance of the marketing department and
orientation to be a superior[6] ability for the use of marketing tools. Zara goes a step
understanding and satisfying consumers.
further and shows successful
Its key features are identified as first, an
implementation of a market orientation, as a
organisational culture that puts the
business philosophy which focuses attention
customer's interest first; second, the
on customers and competitors and
ability of the organisation to generate,
determines the working of the entire
disseminate and act on information about
customers and competitors; and third, the organisation.
co-ordinated application of This paper will centre on the following
interfunctional resources to the creation three points:
of superior customer value. 1 Market orientation is shown to exist in
Inditex-Zara.
This last approach describes market 2 This orientation is shown to determine
orientation in a business setting as a development of its competitive advantage.
company culture[7] seeking to achieve 3 Competitive advantage is implemented
superior value for the customer (when set through certain sets of behaviours which
against value offered by competitors) are determined by the market orientation.
through co-ordinated behaviour across all
sections of the organisation. 3.1 Organisational culture in Inditex/Zara
Using the literature on the subject as a basis
for observation, a series of values, beliefs and
3. Inditex and Zara: a paradigmatic clear determinant basic organisational rules
example of market orientation are to be observed in Inditex/Zara, which
We will now discuss what marketing's role show the implementation of market
has been in the evolution of the Inditex group orientation.
[ 223 ]
 AndreÂs Mazaira, E. GonzaÂlez (i) The Inditex group and Zara have a group of its differentiation from its competitors (see
and Ruth Avendan Äo of values or basic beliefs which determine Figure 1 and Figure 2).
The role of market orientation
on company performance the organisation's focus towards A customer-oriented culture has led Zara
through the development of satisfaction of consumer needs to become an integrated retailer, with control
sustainable competitive A market-oriented organisation requires over the entire production process, from
advantage: the Inditex-Zara
case customer satisfaction to be its reference design to sale. Development of a product from
Marketing Intelligence & point. Customer satisfaction implies initial design stage to sale is set out in
Planning continuous, in-depth understanding of Figure 2 and shows precisely how the Zara
21/4 [2003] 220-229 customer needs. Narver and Slater (1990)[9] model is organised. In other Inditex store
point out how this understanding is chains, the group's presence in the
necessary to identify existing and potential production process is weighted differently, as
customers and focus on their present and Figure 3 shows.
future needs, and what perceptions will lead Seeking to generate value for the customer,
customers to feel satisfaction today and in the company has developed its own business
the future. Deshpande et al. (1993) identify concept, which the group calls the Zara
market orientation as a set of beliefs which Concept. The Zara Concept implies a change
in how the business and the product are
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put customer interests first, in order to

develop a long-term profitable business. considered. Fashion products such as
In Inditex, values and rules which put clothing, accessories and footwear have
customer satisfaction first are present in the traditionally been considered a durable
company's definition of its business model: consumption article. Inditex-Zara considers
Customer orientation. The customer is our fashion to be a non-durable product, with a
inspiration and customer service is our goal. sell-by period between three and four weeks.
Production shall be adapted to customer This principle permeates the whole
demand through supply chain control. Our organisation and is constantly pointed out as
own and our suppliers' production will be
a key factor for success[10].
able to focus on trend changes happening
With this as a key point in the organisation
inside each season (Inditex).
of Zara's value chain, time becomes an
(ii) Inditex and Zara's customer orientation essential factor in Zara's processes. Every
is understood as a tendency to generate effort is made to reduce the time which
value for customers which is superior to elapses between product design and
what competitor companies are able to availability for sale. Thus, Zara prolongs the
achieve. All departments in the duration of the production cycle for each
organisation have a strong commitment to season. On average, 85 per cent of goods are
this principle manufactured during the season when they
In the field work, all interviewees from the are to be sold, after the company has proved
Inditex organisation answered the question: acceptance by the market. This policy also
``How far do you consider that offering the affects purchasing, production and logistics
customer a higher value than our policies, and the behaviour of the entire
competitors is a source of competitive organisation. Thus, market orientation
advantage for a company?'' with ``totally'', the drives creation of specific sets of behaviour
highest level on the seven-point Likert scale which, in turn, create value for the
used. organisation.
Narver and Slater show that an
organisation adopts this behaviour when it 3.2 Generating sustainable competitive
focuses on the need to create greater value advantage through the basic values and
for consumers. Day and Wensley (1988) argue rules developed in Inditex-Zara
that to do this the company must develop the Figure 4 shows how Zara prolongs the
capacity to generate value on any point of the season's production cycle over a greater
complete buyer's value chain, and act duration than the textile industry standard.
accordingly. A market-oriented organisation This originates Zara's sustainable
should be cognisant of the total value chain of competitive advantage, which materialises in
its company, and act on its whole extent. the company's capacity for continuous
Inditex/Zara's concern with continuous adaptation of its offering to consumer tastes,
analysis of its value chain has led the with short-term adaptation to changing
organisation to focus on control over the trends.
greatest possible number of links. Zara has This competitive advantage implies:
established control over the total length of . Stores are stocked with new articles
the production process, from inception of a several times a week. Customers perceive
product design to sale. This is a crucial issue this and visit Zara stores continuously
in the group's strategy and the main feature during the season.
[ 224 ]
 AndreÂs Mazaira, E. GonzaÂlez Figure 1
and Ruth Avendan Äo Value chain for clothing manufacture and distribution companies
The role of market orientation
on company performance
through the development of
sustainable competitive
advantage: the Inditex-Zara
case
Marketing Intelligence &
Planning
21/4 [2003] 220-229
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Figure 2
Flow chart across value chain

[ 225 ]
 AndreÂs Mazaira, E. GonzaÂlez Figure 3
and Ruth Avendan Äo The production process in other Inditex chains
The role of market orientation
on company performance
through the development of
sustainable competitive
advantage: the Inditex-Zara
case
Marketing Intelligence &
Planning
21/4 [2003] 220-229
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Figure 4
Complete seasonal cycle

[ 226 ]
 AndreÂs Mazaira, E. GonzaÂlez . New market trends are brought into the or on successful television serials,
and Ruth Avendan Äo stores in an agile, continuous manner. competitors' stores, stores in other trend-
The role of market orientation driven sectors, museums, and travel to
on company performance The organisation has full, almost
through the development of immediate capacity to answer the market. fashion-sensitive areas, where presence in
sustainable competitive This is an essential factor in a changing clubs, fashion centres, universities or
advantage: the Inditex-Zara
case sector. Agility is such that from product markets is encouraged.
Marketing Intelligence & design to sale, only two weeks elapse for The second and most important source of
Planning repeat orders or slight changes, and five information comes from Zara's own stores
21/4 [2003] 220-229 weeks for new products. and is based on Zara's integrated retailer
. Stores are permanently stocked with process and the organisation's capability to
successful products, even in the sales reduce the time between design and sale.
period. ``Product-shop teams'' are able to receive
. Risk in interpretation of fashion continuous information from stores
tendencies is noticeably lessened. So is the worldwide. Each day, they check products'
risk of accumulating stocks of failed success and examine the trends suggested by
products. Risk products are produced the store managers. This information is
in-house. immediately transmitted to the purchase
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. Purchasing late in the season has department, the design department (which
favourable effects on costs, as suppliers works on three seasons simultaneously) and
are anxious to sell off materials before the the production department. All three
end of the season. departments organise their work as a
response to this continuous customer
Further, continuous change in the stores'
feedback.
products achieves a scarcity-opportunity
Another important source of information
feeling. In the words of a company executive
are orders placed by store managers through
(see Herreros, 2000):
their ``Cassiopeia'', an instrument
Customers who enter a Zara store and see
something they like, know they have to buy it specifically created for placing orders and
straight away, because it probably won't be continuous collection of market information
there next week. in the Inditex group. Stores place orders
twice weekly, selecting products from an
This competitive advantage is hard to copy offer they are sent beforehand. Production
by competitors, because its success is not plans are made up from orders. Logistics
simply a technical issue. It originates in the centres serve small volumes to ensure store
company's strong identification with the managers are not able to stock up on
values of market orientation and the Zara best-selling products.
business concept. So, information is captured daily and
perfected twice a week. It is disseminated
3.3. Behaviours in Zara which derive from throughout the organisation and brings forth
its characteristic organisational culture immediate response. If a product is
and allow competitive advantage to be unsuccessful, it is immediately taken off the
sustained market. Behaviour in this area is clearly
The presence of a clear market orientation market oriented.
has been confirmed in the Inditex group and On average, Zara places 10,000 different
Zara. Now, we will examine how specific sets articles on the market each year (10,744 in
of behaviour in the company are affected by 1999, 9,845 in 2000).
this orientation. This discussion will centre
on four points: Production
1 collection, dissemination and response to The Inditex group owns 20 production
market information; companies. These are specialised according
2 production; to garment type, e.g. one shoe company, two
3 product line strategies; and children's clothing manufacturer, one shirt
4 price policy.
Collecting information Table V
Interviews in the group show that great Internal versus external production
importance is attached to obtaining market
information. Two main sources of Companies in the External production
information have been observed. Information group (per cent) (per cent)
on market trends is collated by members of 1998 53 47
the design team. The team works on several 1999 50 50
sources of inspiration and information, such 2000 44 56
as trade fairs, fashion shows, books,
observation of styles worn by opinion leaders
Source: Inditex (per cent over sales out figures)

[ 227 ]
 AndreÂs Mazaira, E. GonzaÂlez Table VI
and Ruth Avendan Äo External production according to country of origin
The role of market orientation
on company performance Spain Portugal Other EU Rest of Europe Asia Other
through the development of
sustainable competitive (per cent) (per cent) (per cent) (per cent) (per cent) (per cent)
advantage: the Inditex-Zara
case 1999 25 24 9 11 23 8
Marketing Intelligence &
2000 20 22 5 15 29 9
Planning
21/4 [2003] 220-229
manufacturer, one company specialising in Pricing policy
men's trousers and jackets. Zara's system for price fixing is different
Other items are produced externally. In the from the usual sector system. The clothing
words of an Inditex executive: industry commonly uses a traditional cost
The decision whether to externalise or to plus margin pricing system. Zara uses a
produce in the group depends on cost, market-oriented target pricing system. The
delivery date, returns [. . .] We attempt to sales department identifies the price
maintain a competitive feeling between all
consumers are ready to pay and the price of
our suppliers, including our own factories
similar products in other accessible
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[. . .] In general, our own factories take on

products with greater specificity and greater competitor stores, and establishes a target
risk. price for each article accordingly. To achieve
this price, materials and suppliers are found
As shown in Figure 4, in-house production to manufacture the product with the desired
originates competitive advantage by price and margins. The information is given
lengthening the seasonal production cycle to the company purchasing department, who
and increasing the production rate at the end are in charge of margin control.
of the season. The Zara case is, as conclusion, a
The increase in external production over paradigmatic example, reflecting how a
the past few years is due to a trend in favour market-oriented culture, constructed from a
of basic products with lower added value (see clear target customer definition and an
Table V). original market concept, generates
For in-house production, cut (which is sustainable competitive advantages and sets
labour-intensive) is outsourced to external of market-oriented behaviours, and keep
sewing companies, mainly located in Spain these up over time.
and Portugal (see Table VI).
Strict time limits are set out for the Notes
production process and force it to adapt to 1 The Inditex group attracted analysts'
market needs. Zara's role as an integrated attention on its recent launch on the Spanish
retailer entails total control over the stock exchange.
production process to ensure it is driven by 2 We would like to thank Mr Aguiar for his
customer needs and wants. Production costs invaluable help in carrying out this research.
are tailored to respond to customer needs and 3 Case books including a ``Zara case'' are
strict time limits are adhered to in order to increasingly frequent (see DuraÂn, 1996; Lois
et al., 2000; Munuera and RodrõÂguez, 2000).
ensure an agile response to market trends.
4 A document containing exhaustive
Product strategies information on the sector and the company.
One of Inditex's distinctive qualities is its 5 Organisational culture as a dynamic
focus on market segmentation through aggregate of assumptions, values and
specific store chains which seek to adapt to mechanisms, the significance of which is
market needs. Figure 2 shows how Zara's understood by the organisation's members.
store chains centre on specific targets, with 6 Superior to competition.
different offerings which are tailored to each 7 Culture as a set of rules, values, attitudes and
belief which determine the way organisations
segment's needs and wants.
perceive reality and the way they act. Culture
New markets were opened up in 2001 with
is a substantial determinant factor for the
the birth of a new chain of high-street stores,
company's behaviour in its context.
``Oysho'', with product categories such as
8 Hooley et al. (1990, p. 22) reflect this concept of
underwear, evening wear, swimwear, marketing when they argue that marketing
accesories and cosmetics at medium-high should not be perceived as an exclusive
quality and medium-low prices. The chain is departmentalised function, but as a
to operate on an international scale, mainly philosophy which is able to guide the entire
in Europe. organisation. A visit to Inditex's buildings or
International expansion policy has also an interview with Zara executives show
achieved an agreement for introducing Zara ``Marketing is Zara and Zara is marketing'', in
into Finland. the sense used by McKenna (1989).

[ 228 ]
 AndreÂs Mazaira, E. GonzaÂlez 9 Narver and Slater include all activity directed Munuera, J.L. and Rodriguez, A.I. (2000),
and Ruth Avendan Äo towards the acquisition of information about Estrategias de Marketing para un Crecimiento
The role of market orientation customers and competition in the target Rentable. Casos PraÂcticos, ESIC, Madrid.
on company performance
through the development of market, and its spread across the Narver, J.C. and Slater, S.F. (1990), ``The effect of a
sustainable competitive organisation, as indicators of customer market orientation on business profitability'',
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case
10 See, for instance, VaÂzquez (2000) or the Narver, J.C., Slater, S.F and Tietje, B. (1998),
Marketing Intelligence & interview with J.M. Castellanos on ExpansioÂn, ``Creating a market orientation'', Journal of
Planning
21/4 [2003] 220-229 26 July 2001, available at: Focused Market, Vol. 2, pp. 241-55.
www.expansiondirecto.com/edicion/noticia/ Norburn, D., Birley, S., Dunn, M. and Payne, A.
0,2458,14530,0.html (1990), ``A four nation study of the
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Gummesson, E. (2000), Qualitative Methods in
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Management Research, Sage, Thousand Oaks,
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Inditex (2001), ``Folleto Informativo Completo Consumo, Vol. 8 No. 38, pp. 50-67.
(Modelo Rv)'', available at: www.cnmv.es Flavian, C. and Polo, Y. (2000), ``Inditex (1994-
Kohli, A.K., Jaworski, B.J. and Kumar, A. (1993), 1999)'', in Munuera, J.L. and RodrõÂguez, A.I.
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McKenna, R. (1989), ``El Marketing a Medida: orientation: a comment on Deshpande and
Oportunidad o Reto'', Harvard-Deusto Farley'', Journal of Focused Market, Vol. 2,
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