Demand for Cutting Edge Trends Speeds Fast Fashion Firms

BROMSGROVE, England, July 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

This month's management briefing from just-style.com discusses the impact that consumer demand for up-to-the-minute styles at relatively low prices is having on apparel manufacturing and supply chains, retail strategies, and the bottom line. Contributing editors MJ Deschamps and Lee Adendorff provide an in-depth insight into the benefits and driving forces behind this fast fashion phenomenon.

The briefing is split into four parts which include:

Fast fashion competitive advantages:  As the model for two fixed seasons a year becomes a thing of the past, the entire apparel industry is shifting and changing in order to speed up lead times from design to store to a matter of weeks. Part one of just-style's briefing highlights the financial benefits, including better experience with markdowns and stock-ups by introducing fewer products more often.

Speed and flexibility a boost to profitability: Part two mentions how Spanish based retailer Zara - the "world's leading fast fashion enterprise," maintains its edge with a production model located close to home and tight geographical control. Adendorff, however, notes that the process of getting the latest trends from the catwalk to the retailers' racks in rapid time has inevitably created friction between high end designers and fast fashion enterprises.

Fast fashion shifts supply chain model: In part three, the briefing looks at how manufacturing supply chains are shifting and changing in response to the ever demanding fast fashion process. Such shifts have led to a re-think of the manufacturing process in order to keep up to speed with market demands. This section not only talks of improvements to speed the process but also takes a look in to how it can be enhanced by technology, including comments from Lectra's marketing director Anastasia Charbin. 

Speed to market breaks down fashion barriers: In this concluding part of the just-style briefing, Deschamps talks about the way fast fashion has made cutting edge trends accessible to the rest of the world - and how fast fashion players have performed extraordinarily well in the current economic climate. It also discusses fast fashion from a global perspective.

The management briefing offers a detailed analysis of the fast fashion phenomenon and its impact on the apparel industry on a global scale. Read the full exclusive insight.  

About just-style.com

Established in 1999, just-style is a leading online resource for global apparel and textile sourcing industry and retailers, publishing around 15 news articles, analysis features and insights every working day. Under the direction of Managing Editor Leonie Barrie, its experienced team of journalists, consultants and analysts provide a unique blend of apparel,  textile and footwear industry news,interviews and research that is delivered to over 100,000 business executives per month.

Via its web site, webinars and in-depth management briefings just-style offers insight into apparel sourcing and supply-chain trends, brand and corporate strategies, CONSULT research platform, enterprise technologies such as PLM and ERP, technical textiles and manufacturing developments and how clothing and footwear retailers perform around the world.

For details of how just-style is "helping decision makers make decisions" visit http://www.just-style.com.

For further information and images please contact Kate Varvedo, Marketing communication manager at Aroq Limited on +44-(0)1527-573-616, alternatively email kate.varvedo@aroq.com