Fashion retailing/garment manufacturing has always been one of the most competitive industries; it is largely due to its complicated and dynamic macro and micro environments which closely link, and at the same time interact with each other. Externally, the economic downturn caused by the financial crisis once sweeping across Asia, the advanced technology and sophisticated manufacturing development, as well as a swift change in taste and fashion have stroke a strong impact on every unit involved, and influenced the marketing atmosphere generally. Internally, a firm’s relationship with its stakeholders – how it enhances its market share, or even strives for the position of the market leader by gaining preference from its suppliers, cultivating customers’ loyalty and dominating its competitors creates a unique marketing culture in the fashion/garment industry. In the following, I will scrutinize how both of its macro and micro environments play an inevitable role in shaping the distinctive features of the rapidly shifting fashion business model.
Read the rest of this entry →