Fact of the Month

London Fashion Week generates £20 million for the city's economy and produces orders of about £100 million.

Source: CNN

Feature of the Month: Fast Fashion

While most clothing manufacturers design a new line for each of the four seasons, a new operating model is gaining popularity and is spreading around the world. Fast Fashion merchants aim to put out multiple lines per season and use a variety of techniques to shorten the length of their supply chains. This makes their products more relevant to customers, allows for a less expensive price point and all while increasing margins. This might seem easy at first sight, until you realize that most retailers plan their lines out years in advance because of how long it takes to produce the clothing and ship it to their stores.

Some of the most fashionable fast fashion franchises include Sweden’s H&M, Spain’s Zara, Japan’s Uniqlo, and the United Kingdom’s Topshop.  These brands have recently expanded internationally and many have opened concept stores in premier shopping districts. American companies are responding to this new competitive pressure by shortening their supply chains and opening their own Fast Fashion boutiques. JC Penney has released a concept called MNG by Mango featuring midpriced clothing designed to attract customers from their teens to 30s.

In typical fashion supply chains, decisions were made purely on a low cost basis. Retailers are now learning that there is value to speed and that increased margins can easily overcome the increase in supply chain costs. One simple strategy retailers are adopting is designing clothes to use the fabric they already have. This single strategy can save two months in the production process. The most aggressive strategy (and the most expensive) is shipping products by air instead of sea. Although this is more expensive, retailers can better adapt to consumer demand and save a lot of money by not having to mark down excess inventory.

Fast Fashion is likely here to stay. Empty malls are enjoying the new tenants and shoppers love the wider selection and often cheaper prices.

From the globalEDGE Blog

Fast Fashion is quickly spreading around the globe, however it is not the only popular trend in fashion. Many consumers are now looking for clothing that is produced using universally accepted Fair Trade principles. To learn more about Fair Trade initiatives by designers around the world, click onto the globalEDGE Blog. 

Featured Resources

China Textile Economic Information (CTEI)
The China Textile Economic Information (CTEI) site is home to numerous statistical and data reports on the Chinese textile industry, as well as links to current news articles affecting the industry in China and a listing of industry events. The "textile bases" tab shows information about Chinese cities that are major players in the textile industry. All of the information if available for free, except for the directory which must be purchased.
Category: Apparel and Textiles

Fairtrade International
Fairtrade International coordinates Fairtrade labeling at an international level. The organization sets Fairtrade standards, organizes support, develops strategy and promotes justice internationally. The site provides well organized information relating to the organization's functions.
Category: Social Responsibility

Featured Academy

Internationalization Process of the Firm
The Internationalization Process of the Firm informs on the following issues: the internationalization process of companies that want to conduct international business; the different frameworks and theories regarding how companies handle the internationalization process; the role of company size on a company’s ability to efficiently achieve its internationalization goals; the factors that dictate the choice of a particular foreign market entry mode; and why gradual entry used to be the method of choice, but is becoming obsolete.
Catoregy: Market Research & Entry

globalEDGE Business Review

"Mainstreaming Fair Trade: From Coffee and Chocolate to Clothing and Beyond"
by Paulette L. Stenzel (Volume 5, Number 5, pp. 1-2, 2011)

The Fair Trade movement has expanded around the world in response to public awareness of Fair Trade’s contributions to sustainable development. In response to public demand, major companies, such as Starbucks and Walmart, have introduced Fair Trade product lines. This article looks at the reasons for those business decisions and to the future of Fair Trade in mainstream business.

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