Profit

The profit pillar refers to the financial gains and losses a company generates through its operations.

According to Statista, the revenue of the global apparel market was calculated to 1.53 trillion dollars in 2022, a slight decrease from the previous year. (P.Smith-Statista, 2023) However, the revenue was forecast to increase in 2023, to more than 1.7 trillion dollars. (P.Smith-Statista, 2023)

“Many industry players are in a stronger position than they were a year ago, however, the fashion industry delivered a 21 percent increase in revenues in 2020-21.” (McKinsey, 2022) This is because as long as the brand can fulfil the increasing demands of potential customers who are desiring to get the items that are in line with trends, increasing the supplies of those items can easily increase the sales. 

In 2023, since the consumer demand for more environmentally conscious apparel options increases, the second-hand apparel industry is forecast to thrive. On the other hand, the study shows that a lot of the world’s largest companies have a long way to go when it comes to revealing how ethically they run their operations. (P.Smith-Statista, 2023)

In this time of increasing concern for environmental issues, emphasis on corporate transparency, which refers to openly sharing information about the processes, practices, and impacts of the fashion supply chain, would be the most effective way to stay competitive in the market. Therefore, if the company can be very transparent, the trust value of consumers will increase, and thus, sales will also increase. Furthermore, the chance of being affected by an uncertain economy will be smaller.

In the fashion industry, creativity must be one of the factors for brands’ success. However, earning more profit is the only way to keep a brand surviving in the diverse fashion industry. Consequently, to ensure that those innovative concepts can be commercially successful and marketable, creative directors can reasonably depend on each idea to balance the creativity and purchase value to make products easier for consumers to approach the creation, then broader customer base, and lastly increase the purchase rate of the product.

Ann Demeulemeester’s 1985-2013 collections have always had the same element, feather, as shown in the picture above. With the advent of more feather-related apparel, the feathers became the brand’s identity; thus, consumers became obsessed with the brand because of this uniform element but a different way of using each piece of apparel. 

Bibliography:

1. McKinsey (2022). The state of Fashion 2023: Holding onto growth as global clouds gather. Available at https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/state-of-fashion 
2. P.Smith (2023). Global apparel market- statistics & facts. Available at https://www.statista.com/topics/5091/apparel-market-worldwide/#topicOverview 

Image references:

1. Ashleigh Kane (2013). Ann Demeulemeester’s most subversive moments. Available at https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/17949/1/ann-demeulemeesters-most-subversive-moments 
2. P.Smith (2023). Global apparel market- statistics & facts. Available at https://www.statista.com/topics/5091/apparel-market-worldwide/#topicOverview