I fly to Spain to stock up in Zara – trolls call it ‘madness’ but I save £124 on one shop & get cash back at the airport
A SAVVY shopper has revealed that he always flies to Spain to stock up in Zara.
Not only does Rod Adcock save £124.40 on just one Winter shop alone, but he also gets more cash back at the airport too.
So if you’re a Zara fan and are looking to cut costs on your next fashion haul, you might want to listen up.
Posting on social media, Rod explained why he would “never buy anything from Zara in the UK,” leaving many open-mouthed.
Instead, he explained: “It’s cheaper to fly to Spain and back to get that piece you’ve got your eye on, than to buy it from your local store.
“This is how you’re going to save a fortune and get a day out in the process.
“Becuase Zara is a Spanish company, everything is loads cheaper in Spain.”
Rod recently took a trip to a Zara store in Madrid to stock up for the Winter, where he nabbed a £149 wool blend double-breasted coat for just €129 [£107.37], saving him £41.63.
As well as this, he also found a cropped grey jacket, which is £79.99 in the UK, but only €69.95 [£58.22] in Spain, pocketing him an extra £21.77.
He also spotted a brown coat, which is normally £169 in the UK, but €149 [£123.93], in Spain, and thanks to further reductions at the airport, in total, he saved £124.40 on his three items.
Thrilled with his savvy hack, Rod shared: “Plus, when you take the clothes out of the country and back home, you can claim the tax back up to 15%.
“So if you’re buying this coat, £169 here in the UK, by the time you get your tax back, it’s £108.”
Rod recognised that shoppers will find flights for as little as £18 one way from London to Barcelona and he also claimed: “Even by the time you pay for your transfers, your food for the day, it is still cheaper to fly to Spain to buy that coat than it is to get it here in the UK.”
Why is Zara so popular?
Zara was founded in 1975 in Spain, and the first UK store was opened in 1998. It remains as one of the most popular stores on the high street, but why?
Rather than producing more quantities of a style, it is said Zara focuses on producing more styles.
Some stats suggest Zara releases 24 trend-led collections every year, 500 designs a week and almost 20,000 per year. Other estimates put its production levels at 450 million garments a year.
Even if a style sells out very quickly, there are new styles waiting to take up the space. This means more choices and higher chance of getting it right with the consumer.
Zara only allows its designs to remain on the shop floor for three to four weeks, and this pushes the consumer to keep visiting the store or website, because if they were just a week late, the clothes of a particular style or trend would be sold out and replaced with a new trend.
At the same time, this constant refreshing of the lines and styles carried by its stores also entices customers to visit its shops more frequently.
Clearly impressed, he beamed: “Day out, enjoy the sights, fill your belly full of patatas bravas and you are laughing.
“This money-saving hack will save you loads. A saving is a saving.”
Big divide
Rod’s Instagram clip, which he shared seven weeks ago, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it has quickly amassed 543,000 views.
But viewers were left divided by Rod’s claims – whilst some thought it was a great idea, others hailed it ‘madness’.
Craziness that it’s cheaper to go on a shopping haul two hours on a plane than it is to buy 20 minutes up the road
Instagram user
One person said: “Madness.”
Another sarcastically added: “Great advice for a climate crisis.”
Is Zara menswear cool?
By Fabulous Deputy Fashion Editor Abby McHale
Abbey McHale said: “There really isn’t a wide range of choice for men when it comes to shopping on the high street.
“Whilst most of the main womenswear stores also sell menswear a lot of the time it looks repetitive and quite boring.
“Queue Zara, a brand that for men pushes the boundaries of what they can wear.
“It’s a jack of all trades kind of brand, they have smart suits if you want to look sharp, casual basics that just look good on and then a lot of more trend led pieces that might be more Marmite.
“For instance on their New In section currently it goes from a Western inspired collection with fringed jackets and baggy cargo trousers, to surfer boy on the beach in some stylish holiday attire, to dapper slicked back basics, before finishing with sportswear.
“It’s one of the only high street brands that lets men experiment with fashion more and that’s what makes them so cool.
“They break the mould, which is something more menswear brands need to take note of. “
A third commented: “That’s a lie – you need to get to the airport so that’s a taxi or petrol to get there, flight, taxi to shops and back.”
Meanwhile, someone else joked: “Yes, great for the environment!”
However, at the same time, one Zara fan explained: “This is true, I saved around £120 this summer in Spain compared to the exact item in the UK.”
Great advice for a climate crisis
Instagram user
Whilst another fashionista wrote: “Craziness that it’s cheaper to go on a shopping haul two hours on a plane than it is to buy 20 minutes up the road. Plus it’s a fun day trip!”
Not only this, but one user questioned: “How do you claim the tax back?”
To this, Rob replied: “Just take your receipts to the airport. There’s big tax refund places.
“But in some of the bigger shops like Uniqlo – they have areas to do it in the store.”