A ZARA Casual Pants Denouncing The "Foreign Brand" Storm

What's wrong with the quality of ZARA? In a word, the standard of fabric marking for ZARA casual pants is inconsistent with reality.

The exposure of the media is: spot checks of unqualified ZARA casual pants "cotton content is 75%, wool 20%, polyester 5%", and the actual test results contain 68.2% cotton, 68.2% less than the label, wool is only 10.6%, less than half the mark.

Polyester fiber, that is, polyester content of 15.7%, more than two times the mark. "

To what extent is this problem serious?

In the eyes of ZARA, there are many reasons not to regard this problem as a problem.

"I" originally provided the fast fashion of "first class design, second class fabric and three price"; "I" had its own selection criteria and quality control standards for fabrics, and launched tens of thousands of costumes a year, with errors in the understandable error range; "I" was the fashion oriented group who pursued fashion at low cost and did not care much about fabrics, and the fussy customers of fabrics were not my target customers.

In the eyes of consumers, an internationally famous brand that "I" like and willing to spend money to buy must abide by the promise in quality. When it comes to a problem, we should dare to take it; moreover, "I" have more rights to ask for more: for example, the waiter in the ZARA shop wants to laugh, speak, and make "I" feel comfortable.

Arrogant attitude "I" do not like, no matter what brand you are.

In the eyes of the media, ZARA is a "problem star" in the "foreign brand". The media constantly ask questions: why don't you admit that the quality of your product is problematic, are you playing big cards? You admit that there is a problem with the brand, but you shirk the responsibility to the supplier. Do you lack sincerity? Do you discriminate against the Chinese consumers with the same product in China and foreign countries? In the face of questioning, ZARA kept silent.

In the eyes of consumers' associations, safeguarding consumers' rights and interests is the reason for the existence of "me".

A consumer is weak in the face of a strong brand, and the consumer association must speak on behalf of the consumers.

ZARA has adopted a silent, delaying and evasive attitude towards media exposure, turning itself into a "object" from a "object" of the Consumer Association.

"If you can't control the quality, don't be a Chinese business", the Consumer Association's words are loud and clear.

In the eyes of the business community, ZARA is a successful brand.

It has a deep insight into consumer psychology, is good at grasping the trend of fashion consumption, and has achieved cross-cultural and cross regional success all over the world.

The business review describes ZARA as "DELL" in the clothing industry, and has its place in the world's best brands list of BusinessWeek. The world-renowned business schools such as Walton Business School regard ZARA as a model for future manufacturing.

So, for a brand observer, what inspiration can ZARA bring to the "quality gate" incident?

First, brand is the emotion above interest.

Observing the performance of ZARA in Chinese market, you will find that although statistics show that ZARA has been on the blacklist for seven years, but at the same time, nearly 100 stores have expanded to more than 40 cities. There is no huge consumer's pursuit of ZARA brand. Only ZARA's wishful thinking is not able to dial the beads.

According to our general thinking, quality is the foundation of brand, but ZARA tells us that sometimes quality and brand value will deviate.

In fact, LV brand also deviates from cost and price.

It is generally believed that price and cost are positively related. The higher the price, the higher the cost.

However, according to media reports, LV a cost of 500 yuan package, sold in the market more than 5000 yuan.

This is the proof that the brand is the emotion above the interest.

That is, brand satisfaction is your emotional pursuit on the product function and beyond the function.

Two, brand consumption is a kind of cultural consumption.

We noticed that, after the initial ZARA quality was exposed, ZARA's attitude was silent.

At that time, I told the media that ZARA was not saying nothing but saying something.

Then ZARA spoke, and I remember two sentences.

First, "ZARA's clothing is safe and healthy." another sentence is "maybe some suppliers do not understand the standard of clothing quality". (I understand ZARA is also telling consumers that you do not understand the quality standard of ZARA clothing).

That is to say, in the quality culture of ZARA, "safety and health" is taken as the standard, and cotton content is not regarded as the standard.

This is in conflict with the "quality view" of some of our consumers.

From this perspective, when the brand culture is different, consumers should remain rational in brand consumption and think clearly what they want, so that they can make their own choices.

If I pursue quality, I will buy a better brand than ZARA.

If the pursuit of fast fashion, I do not care about the quality of the fabric, but to experience the joy of fashion for their own lives.

Three, attitude determines the fate of a brand.

In the ZARA "quality gate" incident, the attitude of Beijing Consumers Association is very in place.

The responsibility of Consumers Association is to "supervise the goods and services in a social way, protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and guide consumers to make rational and scientific consumption."

Through questioning ZARA quality problems, we should guide consumers not blindly superstitious "foreign brands" while safeguarding consumers' rights and interests.

We also note that the consumer association is still cracking down on the "shell foreign brands" that mislead consumers.

At the same time, we want to thank consumers who complain about ZARA and other "foreign brands", because consumer complaints are important drivers of any brand's continuous improvement.

Of course, I also hope that with the maturity of Chinese consumer culture and the enhancement of the confidence of domestic brands, more quality and cost-effective Chinese brands will not play the game of "shell foreign brands", but will be accepted in front of consumers in the true face of local brands.

Finally, ZARA's attitude towards Chinese consumers is really "lack of sincerity". The problem is that there is a lack of respect for Chinese consumer culture.

In the majority of Chinese consumers' cognition, the quality of the brand is good, and the brand must serve well. This is the basic requirement of the Chinese people and even the majority of the people in the world for the brand.

If we do not understand this, it will be difficult to walk steadily and long enough to rely solely on the fast fashion mode.

The old saying that water can carry a boat or can overturn is still proven.

Whether ZARA or any other "foreign brand" is just a choice for Chinese consumers.

We now have money, of course, we must be good at consuming foreign brands' innovative achievements, we have an attitude now, and we can always say "NO" to foreign brands.

Four thousand one hundred and eleven

ZARA detected unqualified products for three consecutive years

Recently, in a comparative experiment conducted by the Beijing consumers' Association, ZARA, Marlboro, Hush Puppies and other famous clothing brands were exposed to unqualified quality.

This is the 3 consecutive year for ZARA brands.

"We must strictly abide by all national laws and regulations in the production of over 8 million products worldwide."

In April 26th, Xu Xueqing, director of China public relations communications of INDITEX group, stressed that ZARA clothing does not contain any prohibited or restricted material components, and does not pose any health or safety threat to customers.

But a few days later, Xu Xueqing told our reporter that the INDITEX group's internal letter sent to the Beijing Consumers Association in April 29th has acknowledged the findings of the Chinese testing agency. All the three clothes that bought the problem can be returned unconditionally by Chinese consumers and deeply apologized to consumers.

However, Xu Xueqing did not want to respond positively to product quality problems.

For the second response of INDITEX group, Luo Gang, director of social supervision and consumer guidance department of Beijing Consumer Association, disagreed.

He told our reporter that the INDITEX group still took an evasive attitude towards the quality of products. It merely acknowledged the quality of the products orally, and was not willing to make a public statement. It had no positive response to the infringement of consumers' rights and interests.

Public information shows that INDITEX group is ranked first in Spain and ranked third in the world. It has 8 clothing retail brands, and ZARA is one of the most famous brands.

In this survey, the cotton content of some products produced or distributed by INDITEX group is 75. The result shows that the survey is 68.2. The wool content is 20, the result shows 10.6, and the polyester is 5, and the survey shows 4.

In addition, the sample of the company was also found to have problems in terms of color fastness, acid resistance and alkali resistance.

In fact, since 2009, the Beijing consumers' Association has conducted 3 comparative tests on clothing products in accordance with the law. The 3 brands of ZARA products produced or distributed by the company were identified as unqualified by quality inspection agencies.

To this end, the Beijing Consumers Association has informed the company 3 times and released the test results to the public. But the Beijing Consumer Association is angry that the company has never had a clear attitude towards the quality of its products, and has never taken corrective measures.

"We think this enterprise is not doing enough in protecting consumers' rights and interests. This is the discriminatory attitude of international brands to Chinese consumers."

Luo Gang said.

In April 25th, the Spanish INDITEX group belonging to the ZARA brand was finally silent after 3 years of silence.

However, the statement only responded to the test of casual pants in April, but the quality of the two down coats in 2009 and 2010 was not mentioned.

In response to the test results of ZARA men's trousers (5627/594/700), INDITEX group said in a statement on the same day: "ZARA's clothing meets all relevant Chinese health and safety regulations, and all chemical tests are qualified."

As for the problem of unqualified color fastness, the statement said that the clothing of ZARA was in line with the highest level of clothing standards in many testing categories. Only two indicators failed to meet the highest standard, but still met the standard product quality standard.

For the INDITEX group's first statement, Tang Xiangtao, senior engineer of the national clothing quality supervision and inspection center of Tianjin, expressed different views.

He said: "marking the first grade products must be tested according to the standard of first grade products, and all the requirements and testing items of the first grade products can not reach the standard of qualified products."

In May 5th, Xu Xueqing explained that some suppliers did not understand the standards of clothing quality, which led to the occurrence of the current situation. At present, the relevant products have already been laid off, and ZARA will strictly abide by Chinese standards and laws in the future.

For the statement of INDITEX group, Luo Gang said in an interview with our reporter that such a statement is evasive and prevarication of consumers.

"China's quality monitoring institutions have been tested for 3 consecutive years. The change of ZARA statement is to give the quality inspection organizations and associations a face, or is it really responsible for consumers?" Shen Binti, lawyer of tannin law firm, said in an interview with our reporter.

ZARA's statement is worth avoiding.

Reporter: it is said that the Beijing Consumers Association has informed the Beijing business department about the 3 Comparison Test of the ZARA brand.

Luo Gang: for the problems of our second comparative test, the trade and Industry Bureau has already put in place the case. The case is at the end of the matter. The investigation and processing is over, and the final examination results will be final.

Reporter: what is the response of INDITEX group to the problem of product quality?

Luo Gang: according to the director of public relations and communications of INDITEX group in China, she did not understand the situation before. After seeing the report, she gave the initiative to report to Spain headquarters and then communicated with the consumer association from Australia to Beijing.

Soon after the communication, the company has admitted that its product quality has problems, but now it is reluctant to make a formal statement.

As an international brand, we believe that this statement is still prevarication.

Reporter: however, INDITEX group has issued a statement explaining it. How do you comment on the first statement of the company?

Luo Gang: their statement is only an indication of the attitude of the enterprise, and the strategy of avoiding the need for the quality of their products is not the essence of the problem.

The group only says that the quality of its products is based on the highest international standards.

What are the highest and lowest standards in the world?

Reporter: it is said that "color fastness" is an index of safety.

Luo Gang: color fastness, formaldehyde and pH value are the safety indicators of the clothing industry, because dye is a chemical product, directly contact with the skin, will definitely cause damage to the skin.

The color fastness of ZARA brand is not up to the standard, it can't meet the requirement, and the color is serious.

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Reporter: if consumers buy unqualified products, how to safeguard their rights and interests?

Luo Gang: consumers purchase unqualified products can ask for returns. If businesses refuse to accept or do not give returns, consumers can go to the industrial and commercial bureau to make complaints. The industry and commerce departments can directly punish businesses according to relevant laws.

In addition, consumers can claim compensation for lost time and pportation expenses, and if they do harm to the body, they can also claim compensation.

Reporter: next, how does the Beijing Consumers Association plan to follow up this matter?

Luo Gang: first of all, we require the company to respond positively to product quality problems, not just verbal; secondly, the loss caused by consumers requires enterprises to make compensation; third, enterprises are required to comply with Chinese laws and regulations.