Zara and H&M are international fashion brands and retailers with many stores around the world. These fashion moguls are not direct competitors; they focus on a similar target audience while applying different business models for their sales and operations.
If you’re having a hard time deciding which brand to buy from, then this article is perfect for you. We’ll be highlighting the differences, perks, and downsides of Zara vs H&M.
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Who Owns Zara vs H&M?
Zara, formerly known as Inditex, was founded in 1975 to manufacture fabrics. While Hennes & Mauritz, popularly known as H&M was founded in Sweden in 1947. Today, it has grown to become a multinational fashion brand to reckon with.
Which Is Better – Zara or H&M?
We’ll be comparing these two fashion brands by using the following criteria: pricing, product categories, production, shipping, and store locations.
Pricing
Zara’s products are divided into lower and upper garments for men, women, and children. The prices of the upper garments are significantly higher than those of the lower garments.
The fashion label’s goal is to be a high-end seller of affordable clothing. It’s no surprise that its flagship stores are positioned in prime real estate locations. As a result, it is more expensive than H&M’s products, with the exception of H&M’s COS.
H&M focuses on a broader target audience of both affordable and high-end clothing. This company also owns Collection of Style (COS) which sells higher-end items at a higher price than H&Ms.
Product Categories- Zara vs H&M
Zara sells clothes, beauty products, shoes, perfumes, and other accessories. It also sells a special detergent that contains a solution that helps to reduce microfiber abrasion in textiles (by 80%), particularly during washing. This detergent solution was developed through a collaboration between Inditex and BASF Home Care.
H&M product ranges are available for men, women, teenagers, babies, and children. Some of H&M’s collections include shoes, accessories, and cosmetics. Its collection of clothing includes tank tops, T-Shirts, jackets and sweaters, cardigans and coats, underwear/innerwear, shorts, bottoms, and more.
Production
Zara has manufacturing plants in Spain, Turkey, Morocco, and Portugal. Its supply chain prioritizes rapid product turnover. Zara is a fast fashion retailer, as the time between design and production is very short.
H&M does not manufacture its designs but rather partners with more than 500 companies, particularly in Asia and Europe.
Shipping at Zara vs H&M
Zara offers both store pickup and home delivery. Store pickup is free, your order is processed within 3 to 5 working days, and you have to pick up your order within 15 days of receiving notification.
If you choose home delivery, your order may take up to 2 to 4 working days to arrive and costs $5.95. But if you spend $50 on Zara’s products without discounts, you get free shipping.
Zara also offers next-day delivery, which costs between $9 to $19.95 per order depending on your location.
As an H&M member, you enjoy free shipping for orders above $40. The standard shipping fee for non-members is $5.99 and is free for orders over $60, it typically takes 3 to 5 business days. Its express shipping costs $14.99 and it takes 2 to 3 business days to be delivered.
The next-day shipping costs $24.99 and it takes 1 to 2 business days before delivery. It also offers free In-Store Pickup Delivery. However, you must pick up your order the same day you ordered it online.
Store Location
Zara has over 2000 stores majorly in Spain, the UK, and the US. This fashion retailer has always strived to provide a higher number of products than its contemporaries in the industry. It’s no surprise manufactures more than 9,000 pieces per year and has become a major competitor for fast fashion brands like Shein, PrettyLittleThing, and others.
H&M operates over 4000 physical stores globally. However, because of the growing number of online purchases, it has had to close some of its physical stores.
Final Thoughts
Both fashion brands offer high-quality clothing at affordable prices; however, Zara’s products are more expensive than H&M’s. Sure, H&M is more affordable, but Zara has far more variety.
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