Zara is a well-known global brand in the retail fashion industry. As of the writing of this response, the top-level domain (TLD) “.Zara” does not exist. Top-level domains encompass generic top-level domains (gTLDs) such as .com, .org, and .edu, and country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) such as .us for United States, .uk for the United Kingdom, and .es for Spain, where Zara originated. But there are also what we call brand TLDs, these are top-level domains that are being owned by the brands themselves like .google, .apple etc. Gaining ownership of a brand TLD is a rigorous process.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is responsible for the approval and registration of new top-level domains. According to ICANN, a company must pass through several stages to earn approval for a new top-level domain. They announced the plan to increase the number of generic TLDs via its New gTLD Program in 2011, but it was not until 2013 that the first wave of new gTLDs began rolling out into the marketplace (source: ICANN). Through this application window, several brands sought to secure their gTLDs, such as .google, .bmw, and .samsung.
Although ICANN has since closed the first application window for new gTLDs, it is expected to open it again in the future. If and when it does, it could present an opportunity for Zara to own its TLD giving it the exclusive right to register and control all second-level domains under .zara.
It’s good to note why several brands go through the tedious process of acquiring their gTLDs. Having a .brand TLD improves the brand’s digital identity as it boosts the authenticity and visibility of their online presence. It is excellent for differentiating genuine websites from counterfeit ones, a common problem in the fashion industry (source: Harvard Business Review). Furthermore, this can lead to improved SEO rankings that would drive more organic traffic towards the site.
Examples of this advantage have been experienced by BNP Paribas (.bnpparibas), Barclays (.barclays), and Canon (.canon), among others. These companies migrated their existing websites to their brand TLD and reported an increase in online visibility and improved customer trust (source: Making the Brand, dotStories).
In conclusion, Zara, like all other businesses, has the potential to gain a lot of benefits from owning the .zara top-level domain. However, as of the writing of this, ICANN has not yet opened another application round for new gTLDs, and there are no indications that Zara has applied or is interested in this particular TLD (source: ICANN). Therefore, the TLD .Zara does not exist yet.
Sources:
- ICANN
- Harvard Business Review
- Making the Brand, dotStories.
