fashion retailing

Fashion Apparel Retailing
Fashion refers to the things popularly accepted in a culture and society. It includes certain ways of behaviour or the use of certain types of products by a large number of consumers for a specific period of time, because they are considered to be socially acceptable and appropriate then. It is the culmination of style, glamour and beauty.
We differentiate between a style, fad and a fashion as follows. A style is basically a distinct mode of expression appearing in human behaviour. It can leave an impact over generations and keep going in and out of trend. A fashion is a style that is currently accepted or popular. A fashion that meets a genuine need and that is also in accordance with widely accepted social norms tends to last longer. Fads are fashions that come into existence quickly, get adopted with great enthusiasm, peak early but also decline very fast. One of the reasons for their quick decline is that they do not satisfy a genuine need and are mainly an impulsive behaviour pattern.
Evolution of the Indian Fashion industry:
The Indian fashion industry has seen an upswing from the street markets to dzepartmental stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets and lifestyle stores. But lately the trend is moving towards the upscale luxury and international brands owing to the rising disposable income, which has roughly doubled since 1985 (as per McKinsey Report 2007). The Indian market thus presents a huge opportunity in this arena.



Characterizing an object as fashion:
An important guideline used to classify objects as fashion would be that aesthetic and emotional appeals like visual images, scents, tactile feelings etc. influence the communication, purchase and use decisions. Also, the object needs to be accepted by a sizeable segment of consumers.
Figure 1: Characterizing an object as fashion

Challenges in Retailing of Fashion in India:
Short and Broken Lifecycles: The main challenges in retailing fashion arise on account of the short and broken life cycles of fashion goods. Fashion is an extremely ephemeral and transient industry. Things that are in fashion one season may be passé the next. It may be possible that before a fashion hits the market it has already become obsolete. Hence the entire industry has to strive towards achieving shorter lead times and lower inventory levels.
Seasonal Nature: Fashion is also seasonal in nature. Everything from colours and fabrics to cuts and styles vary across seasons. Hence designers have to come up with fresh collections every season. In order to handle seasonality, accurate forecasting of the market trends is required. Moreover timeliness is the key to successful seasonal merchandising, which means having an understanding what fashions and trends will work when.
Non-Universal Nature: Another major challenge is the non universal nature of fashion goods. What appeals aesthetically to customers varies widely across nations and at times even regionally. A trend might be very popular in one country, but it might not have the potential to dominate the national market. This especially gains importance in a diverse market such as India which incorporates a consumer base of 62 socio cultural regions, 23 languages and diverse habits and climatic conditions and different cultural orientations.
Matching Global Standards: The Indian fashion industry needs to go a far way in order to catch up with global standards of technology and productivity. This would give Indian fashion houses a global standing and avenues for international expansion.

Opportunities Retailing of Fashion in India:
Promising Future: The Indian fashion industry holds great promise for the future. Although the organised apparel and accessories retail market accounted for 13.6 per cent of the total clothing, textiles and fashion accessories market in 2004 that rose to 18.9 per cent in 2006 (As per the India Retail Report 2007), unorganized formats still dominate the Indian apparel market.




Economic Growth: India’s accelerated economic growth has increased the spending power and consumption levels of customers. India has a billion plus consumers with rising incomes and increasing purchasing power. Consumer confidence is on a high due to positive expectation about the economy. India as a developing nation has just begun its consumption journey and this applies to the fashion industry as well.


Changing Demographics: India has a population of over a billion, with annual growth rate of 1.6%. India is also expected to account for 18% of world population by 2030. India houses a sizeable section of the urban middle class who are potential customers for fashion goods. Changes in lifestyle and exposure to global cultures have opened up new avenues for retailing of fashion goods.







Types of Fashion Apparel:

Fashion apparel can be classified as couture fashion, ready to wear apparel, designer fashions, mass fashions and classics. Couture fashions are the customized designs made for a specific customer by famous designers or design houses. These usually cater to the very high strata of society.
Ready to wear apparel are manufactured in factories made in standardized sizes. Designer fashions are branded merchandize that are based on couture fashion, but are adapted in order to appeal to a wider audience. Designer and ready to wear fashions mainly target the upper-middle section of society.
Mass fashions are produced in large quantities and sold at reasonable price ranges. It usually appeals to the lower and lower-middle social classes. Classics include the fashions that have been widely accepted over a long period of time.

Factors Affecting Fashion:
An important characteristic of fashion is that it has a very non-universal nature. It adoption depends on various environmental factors such as demographic, economic, sociological, psychological, natural, etc. Few examples are given below:
Demographic
Age, Education levels
Economic
Level of economic development, disposable income
Sociological
Culture, Attitudes, Values, Feelings about class structures, Gender roles, Family structure
Psychological
Boredom, monotony, seeking a change in lifestyle, recognition, acceptance, expression of individuality
Natural Environment
Geography, Topology, Climate
Table 1: Factors Affecting Fashion





Development & Spreading of Fashion:
Fashions usually undergo a series of stages which can be depicted as follows:

Figure 2: Development & Spread of Fashion

The first stage in the lifecycle of a fashion would begin with the creation of a new design or style either by the designers or even by creative customers, retailers etc. However, the true life of a fashion begins when it gets recognized and accepted. The initial adopters of a fashion are called the fashion leaders or innovators.


The characteristic traits of these fashion leaders can be illustrated as follows:

Figure 3: Traits of Fashion Leaders

The third stage occurs when the fashion spreads from the leaders to others and gets widely accepted. These customers are called the early adopters. The fashion now becomes more visible, receives greater publicity, and media attention, and is readily available in retail stores. When large scale spread of the fashion has taken place, the fourth stage of saturation occurs. Now the very same fashion starts to seem mundane and boring to people. This is when the final stage of obsolescence and rejection occurs. The fashion then no longer serves its purpose of expressing one’s individuality.

Core Participants in the Fashion Industry:
Raw Material Suppliers provide the fibre which is the primary input for fashion apparel. These fibres can be natural (e.g. cotton, wool) or they can be synthetic (e.g. nylon, lycra, etc.).
The fabric manufacturers obtain the fibre from the suppliers and spin them into the cloth using techniques such as weaving, knitting, etc. The fibre suppliers work towards promoting their fibres to these fabric manufacturers so that they will come up with new fabrics using their fibres. It is important for the fabric manufacturers to be able to predict industry trends in advance so that they can supply the necessary fabric in a timely manner for the fashions to be available when required.
At the next level in the chain are the apparel manufacturers who can range from small companies to large scale mass manufacturers. These apparel manufacturers need to work on conjunction with the fibre and fabric manufacturers so that they are able to design quick response systems and thus be able to reduce the lead times and inventory levels.
Then there are the fashion designers who are the pivot for the creativity in creating the fashions. These designers need to be able to tap the pulse of the market so that they are able to design and offer the most acceptable fashions.
Fashion market centres are the avenue through which apparel manufacturers can sell their merchandize to retailers. Certain markets in the world are deemed to be the trend setting markets for any industry. These are called the lead markets. As far as fashion goods are concerned, Italy is most often considered as the lead market.
The fashion retailers facilitate as the link between the industry and the customers. They can not only spike the interest of the customers in new fashions but also obtain valuable feedback of the customers which could be used to get an idea about which fashions are selling and which are not.
The fashion press serves the purpose of communicating to everyone involved in the fashion industry. An example would be The Bombay Times section of The Times of India. The press conveys valuable information that helps the other participants of the fashion industry, right from the raw material suppliers to the customers, in their decision making.

Marketing Communication in the Fashion Industry:
Quick and prompt communication has a special importance in the field of fashion owing to the ever decreasing life cycles of fashion goods. Generating interest and awareness is what prompts customers to evaluate and try out the new fashions, which finally leads to adoption.
This communication can be achieved through fashion magazines which report on and interpret fashion news for consumers. Leading examples of fashion magazines include Vogue, Elle, Vanity Fair, etc. Even newspapers (Example: Bombay Times) now cover the fashion industry as part of their national news coverage. Countless television shows and feature films also provide an insight into the fashion world.
Moreover, events like fashion shows, fashion weeks, etc. offer a platform for the various participants of the industry to come together and showcase new trends and designs. Examples of fashion events include Lakme fashion Week, Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, HDIL India Couture Week, etc.

Conclusion:
India is a nation with a rich and varied textile heritage, where each region has its own unique take on what appeals aesthetically to customers. While traditional wear will most probably never go out of fashion in India, the young and urban India also exhibits openness to rapidly changing international fashion trends. Fashion in India is now at a vibrant and nascent stage. It is a colourful and glamorous world where new trends are started every day. However, there is still ample room for growth and improvement for organized retailing in the Indian fashion industry with formats like hypermarkets and Malls slated to be the main drivers of the growth.
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