Fast fashion quadrangle: An analysis

Abstract

INTRODUCTION During the past two decades, the role of fast fashion in the apparel industry has enhanced substantially. Fast fashion refers to designs that move swiftly from runway to stores in order to capture the latest trends. Bhardwaj and Fairhurst (2009) stated that the advent of this sector was stimulated by the fading of mass production and an increasing number of fashion seasons, which occurred in the mid-1980s. The rising position of fast fashion has triggered intense competition among different companies, in which Abercrombie & Fitch, Fast Retailing, Inc. Ltd., Forever 21, GAP Inc., HM (3) explore the opportunities and risks for major fast fashion players based on both internal and external analysis. We use both quantitative and qualitative analysis of primary and secondary sources by evaluating the annual reports of FFQ players in the past ten years. Simultaneously, we perform observation analysis of FFQ locations in Tokyo, Seoul and New York City. Our qualitative analyses are validated through casual interviews with sales personnel from Fast Retailing, Inc. Ltd., GAP Inc., HM the significant ones are from Ghemawat and Nueno (2006), Gorranson, Jonsson and Persson (2007), Gallaugher (2008),Cachon and Swinney (2011). The research conducted by Cachon and Swinney (2011) introduces the essences of fast fashion, which includes two crucial components known as quick response and enhanced design. Quick response technique is the indication of the short production and distribution lead time (Cachon and Swinney, 2011).They suggest that intense competition in the fashion industry leads to a movement from price and quality towards timing so that new designs can be quickly introduced to markets. The longer lead time may result in a gap between products and consumer's expectations, which causes discounted stocks and reduced profits. Consequently, quick response technique is necessary to facilitate the process of frequent inventory adjustment. Another important characteristic of fast fashion is enhanced design. This feature explains why companies such as H&M or ZARA can introduce highly fashionable products to meet their customers' needs. …