In the wake of controversies about racism in the Northeast, the brand closes one of its stores in Bahia
The year 2021 did not end well for Zara. In recent months, the brand’s name has had national repercussions for accusations of racism in different malls in the Northeast.
In September, a black delegate was stopped at the Shopping Iguatemi store, in Fortaleza (CE), for “security issues”; in December, a black man was taken from the bathroom at Shopping da Bahia and accused of stealing a backpack he had bought at the store.
As if the episodes weren’t enough, the police found out about the use of the code “Zara zerou” to indicate the presence of “suspicious” people who should be followed inside the stores.
But the year 2022 doesn’t start much better either. In addition to unfolding processes such as claims for compensation, the brand will close a store in the region, the Barra Shopping unit, in Salvador (BA).
The store is not directly related to the recent cases, but it closes on January 31. The unit was opened in 2006 and has an area of 1200 m². The reason for the closure was not disclosed. The information, revealed yesterday (19) by Hello Hello Bahia portal, was confirmed by PROPMARK with the shopping center. Zara and the Inditex group were also contacted, but there was no return until the closing of this one.
With the change, the brand continues with only one store in the capital of Bahia, at Shopping da Bahia, where the boy was approached in the bathroom. The enterprise, by the way, has used the episode in conduct training. “Shopping da Bahia does not condone any discriminatory act and clarifies that the professional involved in the case was removed from his duties to undergo a recycling process. The training of the entire team was also reinforced, including using this situation as an example to prevent repeat,” the company said.
global restructuring
On the website of the Spanish group Inditex, Zara presents itself as a brand that “offers the latest trends in fashion for women, men and children”, as well as “international and diversified, with stores in the main cities of the world and also online”. “Our business model is centered on customers, continually adapting to their needs. Our commitment to sustainability is an everyday objective, to offer more ethical and responsible products”, says the text.
The company is undergoing a global reorganization, a process that began in 2020. In June of that year, The Guardian reported that Inditex sales had fallen by 44% in the first fiscal quarter, and that 1,200 stores would be closed worldwide to increase sales. online.
About Brazil, Estadão spoke at the end of seven stores, chosen based on relevance and size: Joinville (SC), São José dos Campos (SP), Vila Velha (ES), Uberlândia (MG), São Bernardo (SP), Campo Grande (MS) and Goiânia (GO), There were no mentions of units in the Northeast.
controversial history
Whether due to restructuring or a consequence of controversies in the country, the closing of a store in Bahia ends up adding to a history that is far from being positive. In an interview in October 2021, Fábio Milnitzky, CEO of iN – Consultoria de Marcas, spoke to PROPMARK precisely about the impacts of so many cases on the company’s image.
“A simple Google search already shows us – in English and Portuguese. Almost all the major national vehicles emphasized the news and several international vehicles, although less traditional and relevant, did the same”, he commented.
For the specialist, the negative history that accompanies the company throughout its trajectory calls attention. Milnitzky recalls that controversies have marked the company’s reputation for years. “In 2007, the brand launched a bag with the symbol of the swastika. Seven years later, the new collection featured pajamas similar to those worn by prisoners in concentration camps, as well as a blouse that read “white is the new black”. , accused of being racist. Zara apologized and removed the products from the stores. In 2017, the brand was condemned for the slavery-like working conditions to which it subjected its factory workers”, he quotes.
In his view, the cases that took place in Brazil, even if in different places and years, would be capable of shaking the brand’s reputation outside the country, as “there are no geographic borders that are capable of containing a reputational crisis”.
Asked about the impact of the most recent events on the company’s sales, he points out that despite studies showing a drop in sales of unsustainable brands, this is still not seen strongly in Brazil. But he doesn’t rule out business consequences.
“We have to remember that activism is a form of expression, but not necessarily a state of consciousness. Therefore, it is not possible to dissociate part of the noise from the social representation that a group of people seeks to have from the activism of social networks. makes noise, but hates to change behavior. So, Inditex, owner of Zara and which until the beginning of this year was the most valuable clothing manufacturer in the world, is still going strong. On the other hand, it would not be surprising that in the company will soon face a crisis of great proportions and with consequences for sales”, he ponders.
Given the history and the almost automatic associations at the mere mention of the brand, the path to recovering a good image involves a lot of “work”. For the executive, it is not sustainable to act only reactively when a new scandal emerges. “And corporate notes disconnected with practice are not capable of transforming the image of a brand”, he adds.
Milnitzky also says that despite the good financial results, an internal restructuring is needed “able to reveal the true purpose of Zara, what the company can deliver to the world and who it wants around”. “Oh, and act before you speak! No one will believe in a brand with this history without concrete actions that combine speech with practice.”
