Phoebe Lyu

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PURPOSE

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Purpose is the intention and core value of the fashion business. To define the business position, objectives and the approach to reach those objectives. And to clear its identity, future direction and corporate strategy to achieve success. 

Brand need a destination, map, and guide to growth and develop. The mission statement outlines why the organization exists, the vision statement describes where it aims to be in the future, and the value proposition communicates what it offers to its customers, (Mitterfellner, 2023). This clarity helps employees understand their roles and motivates them to work towards common goals. In a crowded marketplace, having a distinct brand philosophy can set a company apart from its competitors. The creation of an unique selling point makes the brand distinctive and why consumers should choose it over alternatives. At the same time, Instead of thinking of luxury as a name brand, Gen Z really looking for unique items that set them apart, (Finneman, et al, 2020).

Moreover, fashion business have inextricably linked with corporate social responsibility and sustainability. CSR is a significant component of brand philosophy, emphasizing charitable giving, doing good deeds, and offering possible customer benefits. And brand demonstrating its corporate responsibility and accountability not only to the environment and social, but also to the people it employs and to communities in need, (Londrigan and Jenkins, 2018). CSR build trust between all of the key participants in the fashion industry, (Londrigan and Jenkins, 2018).

Gen Z is known for idealism and desire for authenticity, brands need to employ specific strategies to communicate their purpose effectively. Authenticity is an important value to Gen Z, and they tend to be more skeptical and discerning when it comes to brand messaging. The three concepts at the core of McCartney’s work ethic: being responsible, being honest, and making decisions and practicing with an eye toward the future, (Londrigan and Jenkins, 2018). Therefore, brands that are transparent, honest, and loyal to their principles have a higher chance of gaining their attention. Gen Z, they care about sustainability even more than millennials, (Londrigan and Jenkins, 2018). Brands can engage on social issue, be willing to engage with social and political issues relevant to the brand’s values. Then, use storytelling to convey the purpose, share narratives that illustrate the business journey, challenges, and successes in living up to brand’s mission and values. These stories can be shared through various mediums, such as videos, blog posts, and social media. Partner with influencers or organizations that align with your brand’s purpose. These collaborations can help you reach a wider Gen Z audience and lend credibility to your efforts. However, business should tapping into collaborator’s audiences and consider the fit with the brand’s feeling and attitude, (BOF Team, 2020). The ideals and interests of Gen Z members can differ from one another. Make the strategy unique to the Gen Z target market for the brand to make sure they understand and are moved by the mission.

Bibliography: 

Mitterfellner, O. (2023). Luxury Fashion Brand Management : Unifying Fashion with Sustainability, Taylor & Francis Group, Milton. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [27 October 2023].

Londrigan, M.P. , and Jenkins, J.M. (2018). Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability. In Fashion Supply Chain Management (pp. 41–60). New York: Fairchild Books. Retrieved October 27, 2023, from http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781501317798.ch-003. [27 October 2023].

Finneman, B., Spagnuolo, E. and Rahilly, L. (2020). Meet Generation Z: Shaping the Future of Shopping | McKinsey. [online] McKinsey. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/meet-generation-z-shaping-the-future-of-shopping. [29 October 2023].

BOF Team (2020). How to Communicate and Connect with Gen-Z Consumers. [online] The Business of Fashion. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/retail/afterpay-communicate-and-connect-with-gen-z-consumers/ [Accessed 29 Oct. 2023].

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PROFIT

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Profit is a key factor of a business, and profitability is determined by many sectors. The management style, new business and profit models, economic situation, target customers, global trend and so on. Therefore, learning how to analyze and adapt to changes and balance the other three pillars with profit is crucial.

“Fashion is one of the world’s most important industries, driving a significant part of the global economy,” stated McKinsey in its State of Fashion 2017 report. The labour force of fashion industry is approximately 3.45 billions in 2021. The United States and China are the largest apparel retail markets in the world, (Mckinsey, 2016). And, China is the largest exporter of textiles and clothing, which had 154 billion dollars in 2020 and annually increase 29 present.  

Fashion industry has been divided into multiple product segments and categories. (Berg, et al 2017) For instance, in the high fashion and luxury, luxury fashion brands and high-end designers cater to a niche market of affluent consumers, and their sales often rely on exclusivity and brand prestige. Moreover,the fast fashion brands can adapt to changing trends rapidly and offer budget-friendly options to a wide consumer base. But it cause variety waste and unsustainability. Furthermore, the E-commerce for online retail was booming, and e-commerce platforms were becoming the preferred shopping method for many consumers.

Remaining competitive in uncertain economic times can be a challenge for fashion brands. However, there are several strategies that the businesses can adopt to navigate economic uncertainty and maintain their competitiveness. Firstly, is diversity. Expand the price rage from entry level to ultra-high (Mitterfellner, 2023), and the market diversification in global. Like, in YSL’s new marketing mix aimed to diverse retailers both offline and online, and to diverse market especially in Asia, (Mitterfellner, 2023). Then, brands need to analyzed and adapted to current rends and behaviors of younger consumer segments. They need to development the online platform by strengthen the digital strategy and e-commerce capabilities. To advertise via social media, blog to increase brand recognition through the unique tone of voice and visual identity of bloggers, (Mitterfellner, 2019). Also, cooperate with influencer and celebrities to attract potential customers. 

Creative director responsible for shaping a brand’s creative vision while ensuring that it translates into successful business outcomes. Effective management is necessarily, to balance each departments in the business and motivate staffs. An important point is to innovate and development product to ensuring that align with consumers’ tastes and the brand’s image. At the same time, director must pay attention to the cost control, (Graver, 2022), find ways to reduce overhead while maintaining product creativity and quality. Furthermore, to analyze the retail data from sales and customer feedback, creative directors can make data-driven decisions about which products are performing well and adjust their creative direction accordingly. Last, creative director should have strong cultural and social awareness to care the sustainability, environmental and ethical issues is crucial for brand reputation and loyal, especially young customers concern about these factors.

Bibliography:

Mckinsey (2016). The State of Fashion 2017. [online] McKinsey & BoF. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Retail/Our%20Insights/The%20state%20of%20fashion/The-state-of-fashion-2017-McK-BoF-report.pdf [Accessed 20 Oct. 2023].

Berg, A., Hedrich, S. and Leon, J. (2017). The two faces of fashion-industry performance. [online] McKinsey & Company. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-two-faces-of-fashion-industry-performance [Accessed 21 Oct. 2023].

Mitterfellner, O 2023, Luxury Fashion Brand Management : Unifying Fashion with Sustainability, Taylor & Francis Group, Milton. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [21 October 2023].

Graver, K. (2022). 8 Tips to Help Manage a Business in Uncertain Economic Times. [online] Business Plan Writers & Startup Consultants – 1# Resource for Entrepreneurs & Self Employment. Available at: https://startgrowimprove.com/manage-a-business/ [Accessed 21 Oct. 2023].

Mitterfellner, O 2019, Fashion Marketing and Communication : Theory and Practice Across the Fashion Industry, Taylor & Francis Group, Milton. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [21 October 2023].

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PEOPLE

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The people pillar represents all the stakeholders involved in the fashion industry. From the customers to the designer, from the supplier to the manufacturer, who had played a role in the process of fashion. In the fashion industry, people have been divided into different generations according to the year they were born. Before, there were the Maturists, Baby Boomers, and Generation X. Now we have Generation Y and Z. In the future, there will be Alphas and Betas. As we can see, people always is a significant factor in the fashion business.

Gen Z is currently the second-youngest generation (McKinsey, 2023), with millennials before and Generation Alpha after. The first key characteristic of Gen Z is digital native. Gen Zers chat, search, shop, and even date online, and follow many influencers and celebrities on social media. This helps Gen Z respond to the world trend and find out more opportunities for their future. On the other hand, there are many difficulties that Gen Z is facing. The reports by McKinsey and European respondents found that Gen Zers are more likely to have mental issues and self-stigma. Gen Zers also face different crises, for instance, the pandemic, inflation, economic crises, climate change, lack of resources, and so on (McKinsey, 2023). Therefore, Gen Z is faced with many threats as well as opportunities.

As Gen Z becomes a large group of customers in the fashion business, brands should develop strategies to attract Gen Z. For example, the brands may cooperate with celebrities and influencers (Brzezicki, 2022). Then, build the online platform for buying services. Moreover, Gen Z cares about ethical factors, they agree on the balance for people of diverse and underrepresented. Also, the environmental factor pays attention to rigorous sustainable and green practices (McKinsey, 2023). Furthermore, the brands should be more creative in advertisement, and build a community around the brand (Brzezicki, 2022). To target Gen Z, brands should focus on current events to adapt to changes and build better reputations and loyalty. The ThirdLove, which is a lingerie company launched in 2013. A range of bras has been created with 78 different sizes for women to choose from. Additionally offered in a variety of ‘nude’ hues to accommodate a larger range of skin tones (Nadra Nittle, 2018). To demonstrate the brand’s diversity, the company also publishes several of its programs and goals focused on women and people of color.

Many different people skills need to be applied in fashion brands to achieve success. First, good communication and negotiation skills, help to be good at building relationships with potential customers and negotiating agreements with suppliers. Also, there may be maths skills required. To calculate income statements, cash flow statements, and other financial concepts that have an impact on their organization (Dillon, 2018), it will be beneficial to have a basic understanding of mathematics and the ability to put mathematical principles to work. An extensive understanding of the fashion industry is also needed, a fashion entrepreneur must be informed about the fashion business and the latest trends. Lastly, entrepreneurs need to have a lot of ambition and drive to start, maintain, and achieve long-term success.

Bibliography:

Nadra Nittle (2018). Brands like Fenty Beauty and ThirdLove use inclusion as a selling point. [online] Vox. Available at: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/12/7/18129445/brands-inclusion-fenty-third-love-victorias-secret [Accessed 13 Oct. 2023].

Brzezicki, A. (2022). Marketing to Gen Z: What the new wave of consumers want. [online] Bazaarvoice. Available at: https://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/marketing-to-gen-z/ [Accessed 12 Oct. 2023].

McKinsey (2023). What is Gen Z? | McKinsey. [online] www.mckinsey.com. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-gen-z [Accessed 13 Oct. 2023].

Dillon, S. (2018). The fundamentals of fashion management. New York: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.

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PLANET

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The fashion business today supports a wide range of market sizes, which brings up a wide range of issues with the present fashion design and production process.

Four pillars of fashion industry are Planet, People, Profit and Purpose. And the three pillars in sustainable fashion are Environment, Economic and Social. The economic pillar is based on how effectively and responsibly a business uses its resources, which can ultimately enhance operations and return on investment. The environmental pillar also aims to guarantee the preservation and renewal of natural resources throughout all stages of the fashion-making process. Then, the social pillar concentrated on the principles that aim to lessen social inequalities. (Serr, J. 2022)

Circular economy is suggested as the most suitable system and model of sustainable fashion. Circularity is often described as a system where all materials are infinitely recycled and biodegradable. (Gwilt, A. 2014). There are three main principles of CE in fashion industry, they are design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use, regenerate natural systems. The CE brought model of production and consumption in sustainable fashion, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended.

The initial concerns regarding design and the environment were raised in the 1960s, that means the responsible, ethical and sustainable issues are related to fashion market all the time. The key issues of fashion industry are from five stages, which are Materials, Fabric and garment production, Distribution and retail, Use and Disposal. (Gwilt, A. 2014). Therefore, to strengthen sustainability in fashion should focus on these five stages. For instance, improving production techniques and distribution systems, choosing low-impact process and resources of production.

As the environmental, ethical, social concerns raised in recent years, UN formulated seventeen sustainable development goals. The process of production and services in the fashion industry affect the life on land, which is the 15th goals of UN SDG.

In the process of growing cotton, increase in the amount of pesticide used, this lead to destroy of other living things nearby. Moreover, in disposal stage, the textile waste is going to landfill and burn. Of the 100 billion garments produced each year, 92 million tones end up in landfills. H&M has at least started offering recycling services at more than 4,200 stores to prevent their customer’s unwanted clothing from reaching landfill. It accepts textiles old or new, from any brand. (Brown, R. 2021). And for every bag of textiles customers drop off, they receive a discount card for 15% off their next in-store purchase.

There is currently a huge selection of information available on sustainable fashion. However, the real challenge in fashion business is to balance the sustainable objectives and the profit of business. We have to learn and apply the garments’ life cycle, circular economy and all the theories to achieve sustainability in the long term with profitability.

Bibliography:

Serr, J. (2022). The Sewing Room Fashion Sewing and Sustainability Blog – Pillars of Sustainable Fashion. [online] The Sewing Room. Available at: https://www.thesewingroomalameda.com/fashion-studies-blog/2022/7/15/pillars-of-sustainable-fashion [Accessed 6 Oct. 2023].

Gwilt, A. (2014), A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, London. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [6 October 2023].

Brown, R. (2021). The Environmental Crisis Caused by Textile Waste. [online] Road Runner. Available at: https://www.roadrunnerwm.com/blog/textile-waste-environmental-crisis [Accessed 6 Oct. 2023].

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