Today’s class lecture was particularly interesting to me because it referred to the unique supply chain of Zara’s. As a fan of Zara’s, I was always baffled by how quick the merchandise in the store would be changing. I would spot an item I liked during a visit to the store and the item would be gone by the time I came back a week or so later.

Generally, most apparel retailers commit to clothing designs six months in advance. Zara, on the other hand, only require several weeks to take a design from the drawing board and bring it to stores. Forecasting plays a big role in decision making for retailers. It helps retailers decide what and how much they need to carry in their stores.

I can definitely see the big advantage Zara has with their fast supply chain management. If one design is unpopular with customers, Zara is not left with a huge amount of unsold inventory and can quickly bring new designs to stores. If an unexpected trend suddenly appears, Zara can quickly incorporate the trend into their designs and get it to stores before the trend fades out. Fortunately for Zara’s, their supply chain is difficult to copy.

Polka Dots Are In? Polka Dots It is!- Seth Stevenson

Red Lobster, a popular chain of seafood restaurants, is expanding their menu to include porkchops and chicken. They are diversifying their menu to respond to their declining sales. Starting October 15th, the new menu will be introduced, which will be including pork, chicken and more fresh fish. The majority of the new items on the menu will be priced at $15 and under.

The chain’s parent company, Darden Restaurants Inc, have decided to rebrand Red Lobster. Not only are the menus changing, the restaurants are being remodeled as well.

How will the public respond to the ‘new’ Red Lobster? The restaurant chain has always been known for serving affordable and delicious seafood. It’s point of differentiation that set it aside from other seafood restaurants was its affordability of good quality seafood.

Credited with bringing the prestige of expensive seafood dishes to everyday people, Red Lobster realizes that budget conscious diners are eating at home more and when they do look for a restaurant-David Graham

 

A new menu provides more variety, which can attract more customers. Providing more variety repositions the brand in consumers’ minds.

Red Lobster puts pork chops and chicken on menu to attract new customers– David Graham

Back in 2011, a Lancome ad featuring Julia Roberts was banned for the excessive use of photoshop. UK’s Advertising Standard Authority was the one who banned the ad, insisting that the image of Robert’s flawless skin was much too unrealistic.

The ad promotes one of Lancome’s foundations, which promises to give off the appearance of perfect skin. Although the ad was banned mainly for it’s exaggerated claims, the ad also raises an ethics issue. Should businesses have the creative freedom to advertise however they like?

It appears to me that media has always portrayed an unattainable image of beauty to society. Society is heavily influenced by the media, especially young girls. They see images of famous celebrities on television and in magazines and aspire to be like them. Many teenage girls struggle with self esteem, as their perception of beauty imitates what they see in the media. Although it is not necessarily a company’s duty to promote self esteem, there could be many positive effects on society if more companies were to do so.

Julia Roberts Ad Banned in the UK for Abuse of Photoshop– Brennan Slattery