VW set the bar pretty high and I truly didn’t think they could beat themselves.

But I stumbled on to this over at Sharman’s.

And I have just watched a bunch of dogs belt out the Imperial March.
Yes… the impossible just actually happened.
It’s brilliant.

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http://welovepictures.blogspot.com/

I want to get married so the We Love Pictures team can photograph it. And yes, I’m aware it’s probably not the most rational reason to enter into matrimony.

But hell, I could marry a mop handle in a broom closet and they’d make it look good.

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ZARA is a brand I love and no trip is complete without it infiltrating my case. It’s the stylish Mr Price of Europe. The quality isn’t amazing, but you deal, because their stores are polished, their marketing is slick and you’re wearing the latest trends for a fraction of the cost. They are the retail superstar with footprints in Asia, Africa (Morocco and Tunisia), America and the Middle East.

ZARA has always been an elitist brand here in South Africa; something only those who travelled had access to. In fact it’s become a significant lifestyle indicator. If you’re wearing ZARA, you’ve travelled, you probably have an iPhone and you’re on-trend with the current, “IT” brand against your skin.

Earlier this year they launched in Australia and posted impressive, initial sales and after months of rumour and speculation, it’s finally launching in JHB. Local girls are flipping sticks about the news. But I know that it’s not going to be the same experience. I mean obviously it’s not going to be the same, because it could never be the same.

But local expectations are high. I mean this is the brand we’ve idolised for months and months. Just a sniff of ZARA and we practically dismantle the doors off the store to get inside.

Here’s why it won’t be the same.

Time and Distance:

ZARA promises consumers affordable designer-looking products , with new garments hitting stores every 2 weeks. Every two weeks. [Yeesh I'd hate to see their carbon footprint]. They rely heavily on vertical integration [ZARA is the ultimate supply chain Big Brother] and adapting their offer to suit customer needs in the shortest time possible. ZARA heavily values time over money. To them time is key, their USP and the move that was the retail industry game-changer.

Now.

South Africa is miles away from ZARA HQ, which sits in Spain. All garments must go through HQ, before being dispatched to stores worldwide. The lag time between the garment getting out of Spain and into JHB  is going to be significantly longer than the time it takes for them to get stock into their European stores. I mean logistically Europe is a gem. Everything is nearby, the transport infrastructure is geared to aid freighting, they don’t have pirates and it’s reliable.

ZARA have gotten around international freighting[Australia, America], but I potentially see our customs and infrastructure posing obstacles for further expansion. ZARA just won’t be able to respond as quickly to the SA market.

Sale Culture:

ZARA is undeniably a retail success story. Their European stores truly pump and they’re busy the whole year round. I’ve yet to walk into a quiet one. But their success is greatly aided by quick turn-around and the drastic European sale culture. When Europe says everything must go… everything actually goes.

I’ve seen MISS SIXTY reduce everything in their store to 5 euros, because they didn’t want to cart unnecessary stock to their new premises. To them, it was more cost effective to cull stock, than to move it to a premises which was situated 2 streets away. Asian markets like Hong Kong and Shanghai have a similar sale culture. Trust me, Hong Kong is truly incredible during sale season. Incredible. This is one of several reasons that ZARA’s success and aggressive expansion into China makes total sense to me.

I love South Africa, but our sale season is laughable by comparison; we don’t have anything close to this.

Range:

Obviously we won’t get the benefit of all their collections and hence won’t be spoilt for choice of colour, style and size. Thanks to inexperience in our market and shipping costs, they’ll send a basic sample of what’s on offer. By the way, ZARA sizing can sometimes be a tiny nightmare, as the Mexican and Spanish sizing is odd. So always, always try the garments on, especially their shoes. My feet regularly dance between 38, 39 and 40.

I’m really stoked ZARA is here, but the realist in me cautions myself not to get my hopes up. Everything you have heard about it, will not be true for South African consumers.

Sure, it’s highly-anticipated arrival will ensure it’s the next biggest thing for a few months. But if the the stock sits stagnant,  it will go the same way that Mango [another Spanish fashion label] did. And to me the Mango’s in South Africa are a complete morgue, when contrasted with their European counterparts.

And how will competitors like Country Road, Forever New and Mango react?  Will they even react? Forever New, how’s that going by the way? Another international arrival that was hyped beyond comprehension.

BUT back to ZARA.

Maybe I’m wrong. It’s just my 2c. No matter what, I love their collections and I’m really keen to see how their business model adapts to local market conditions and their long-term success in outlying, markets like South Africa and Australia.

PS

Rest assured elitist Fashionistas. Your status won’t be compromised. I bet you’ll still be able to spot who gets their ZARA overseas and who gets it in JHB.

*images sourced here

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA7-31Cxc2I

Loved this. Ran at the 2010 Superbowl.

Only seeing it a year later, so I’m a bit late to the party.

But then good adverts don’t really get old.

Plus I love Betty White.

#loveyouBetty

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H8bnKdf654

I’m so excited for Transformers 3. I may just run around in circles like a crazy person.  I’m even looking forward to queuing for tickets (I hate queues), grabbing my 3D goggles (no one looks good in these. No you don’t. Don’t argue. Not even your mother thinks you do.) and staring in complete, dumbstruck awe at all the Transformer awesome unfolding in front of my eyeballs.

And I don’t care if my geek colours are  cracking through this cool kid veneer that I’ve taken years to perfect, because I truly L.O.V.E this franchise. Even if you don’t like it, listen to the original score in the beginning of that trailer. Come on. Its pretty cool right?

Look. I love epic, serious, “we’re gonna clean up at Sundance boys” films as well. But sometimes its nice to just go to a movie and indulge in a bit of limited thinking.

Sometimes I really couldn’t be bothered to search for the hidden meaning… I just wanna see the Autobots take out some Decepticons, the guy get the girl, the good guys prosper and a script that redefines the concept of action cheese.

I also really just want to here that noise they make when they transform.

I’m gonna miss Fox (me and every red blooded male I know)… she’s being replaced by Rosie Huntington Whiteley (tres posh) . I’ve heard her acting credentials run to Victoria’s Secret commercials… and that’s it.I would confirm this for you, but her name really is quite a performance to Google… especially if you happen to be the Queen of the Typo… which I am . I’ve messed it up 4 times and now I can’t be bothered.

Can she act? Has she acted before? Does it even matter?

Can it please just hit our screens already ? Pull some strings Spielberg, I know you can.

Sigh. The suspense may actually kill me.

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Here’s a reason to love Germany.

The have Milka.  And Milka makes The Uber Chocolate. In a variety of flavours as well.

It is, in the words of Basil Fawlty, ” Ah Wonderful!  Wunderbar!”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb7K_KUJqoQ

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This trip I took serious advantage of having the fast-fashion, Spanish brand ZARA around the corner. Described by Louis Vuitton fashion director Daniel Piette as “possibly the most innovative and devastating retailer in the world,” the Spanish brand is quite the success story.

Previously only available to the jet-set elite in South Africa, the up-market, stylish design label without designer prices is hitting South African shores in 2011.

Who Are They?

ZARA manages everything from design to distribution and has one, insane business model. After identifying a trend, they can have clothes in their stores within 30 days. Partly thanks to the fact that it most of it’s production takes place in Spain, right on the doorstep of most of it’s markets.

They carry several collections which cover business, to casual to cute, cocktail dresses and maintain reasonable price points. Their stores are cleanly lit, with loads of mirrors and wooden finishes. Their quality is out-of-this-world, when compared with what South African consumers are used to.

TRF Collection is a favourite

Getting Online:

On September 2nd, ZARA’s going digital with the launch of it’s online store to UK, Spain, France, Germany, Italy and Portugal. Despite it’s zero advertising policy, they’ve developed a criticized iPhone app, which apparently failed to achieve it’s potential.

Navigating South Africa:

I love the brand but as South Africans start to mount their hopes and Sandton starts to polish it’s floors, it really does depend on what the buyers bring over. The ZARA’s in France and Luxembourg stock very different shelves to their counterparts in Germany and the SA store could fall seriously short of high expectations. South Africa has neither the European sale culture nor ZARA’s Spanish production houses living in their backyard, which both aid the ‘fast-fashion’ that has won ZARA it’s fame.

Regardless of the outcome, I love the clothes (when I look at my purchases and my luggage allowance … maybe a little too much) and I’m stoked they’re finding their way to SA.

Best Buy

Other Best Buys

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I found these Firefly: natural energy drinks in a German sushi bar. The flavours are unique, fresh and invigorating … wow that sounded like a sales pitch. They really are just awesome though.

Fave Flavour: Detox ( Lemon, Lime and Ginger)

The bottles told me to check out their site, so I did and you can too: http://fireflytonics.com/

It’s pretty cool. It allows you to check out each flavour and ‘undress’ the juice right down to what’s actually inside the bottle and you can submit your own, inspirational photographs to stand a chance to win the monthly, natural energy prize.

You can also design your own Firefly bottle, which I did and now I want to go off, buy it and drink it

They launched in Britain in 2003 and are now on the shelves in 40 countries! South Africa is listed…I just haven’t seen them in any of our stores yet.

If you have, please let me know ninjabeans!

Twitter: @FireFly

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When I was younger and used to watch American sitcoms with American girls crying about being dumped and needing to eat an entire tub of Ben & Jerrys to ease the soul-destroying pain. I used to think … wow. That’s a lot of tears… that must be one big tub of ice cream.

I was basing this on the O.T.T acting and the fact that in South Africa we sell ice cream by the l.5 litre tub.

So when I finally did meet a Ben and Jerry tub, I was really surprised at how little they are.

Quite cute in fact.

Yet what they lack in size, they make up for in creative branding and names like Cherry Garcia, Chunky Monkey and Chubby Hubby. Baked Alaska is one of my faves. Its vanilla ( like the ice caps … just don’t lick them) and full of white chocolatey polar bears.

So I think we should start a uniquely, South African branch . How about Bongile and Jakobus ?

Our first flavour can be Mzansi Swirl complete with lots of yummy, milk chocolate vuvuzelas.

Got to admit, it does sound good I’d buy a tub.

Any other flavours spring to mind?

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