What all groups have in common Quick response, quality standards,

The results of the industry interviews amongst leading German fashion apparel retail and fashion apparel industry companies show a number of trends and developments which supply chain professionals believe will form the agenda for all fashion companies the coming years. Tables 7 and 8 give an overview about the cross-case analysis divided into three categories of analysis “outsourcing versus own production”, “supply chain strategies” and “future perspectives”.

Professionals mentioned an increasing uncertainty caused by changing weather and atmospheric conditions and quickly changing fashion trends which in turn decrease the reliability and accuracy of traditional forecast methods.262 _{Thus, being flexible by quickly}

responding to customer demands on the market is becoming a key trend for almost all fashion apparel companies. According to that, companies are trying to shorten all processes within the supply chain, especially the production and lead times, to quickly respond to

260 _{See interview no. 6, Appendix IV pages 49-55; Trigema (y.u.)} 261

See interview no. 10, Appendix IV pages 80-83; WeAre (y.u.)

262 _{See Fashionunited (2013); interview no. 2, Appendix IV pages 12-18; interview no. 5, Appendix IV pages}

market demands.263 In this case, the location of the production facilities is a key factor influencing the companies’ flexibility. In order to quickly respond, companies are executing different strategies. Fashion apparel companies that can be accounted to the group of vertically integrated companies are able to drastically fasten parts of their supply chain processes, while other traditional companies are working with wholesale concepts, thus not controlling all parts of their supply chain activities - aspects as the speed, the amount of collections and forecast horizons are less quick and flexible. Whereas vertically integrated fashion apparel companies are operating almost all supply chain processes on their own, management decisions are made relatively quick.264 A case study of the vertically integrated Spanish retailer Zara is given in Appendix E. As a result, especially companies that cannot be accounted to the group of vertically integrated companies are preferring so called flash or fast programmes in order to quickly respond to market needs and trends. In general, flash or fast programmes are relatively small collections that can be quickly introduced when new trends are emerging on the marketplace.265

“As you could see, fashion is getting highly dependent on the weather conditions. Retailers are getting into trouble with winter jackets already hanging in the shops while it is still warm outside.(…) The customer wants more up-to-date articles that are quickly available whenever he or she asks for them.”266

While being quick and flexible in order to be customer-oriented has been recognized as an important aspect, the main focus should be laid on the quality of the product. All respondents agreed that being fast is getting more and more important, but not at the expense of the quality of the product.267

“In my opinion, people will not spend more money on clothes in the future. We strongly belief that fashion will become more valuable. All those rubbish that can be bought for two euros, which you wash twice and then throw away, will gain decreasing attention. People

263

See interview no. 1, Appendix IV pages 1-11; interview no. 2, Appendix IV pages 12-18; interview no. 4, Appendix IV pages 31-40; interview no. 5, Appendix IV pages 41-48; interview no. 7, Appendix IV pages 56-64; interview no. 9, Appendix IV pages 69-79; interview no. 10, Appendix IV pages 80-83; interview no. 13, Appendix IV pages 101-104

264

See interview no. 5, Appendix IV pages 41-48; interview no. 9, Appendix IV pages 69-79

265 _{See interview no. 1, Appendix IV pages 1-11; interview no. 5, Appendix IV pages 41-48; interview no 9,}

Appendix IV pages 69-79

266 _{Interview no. 2, Appendix IV pages 12-18}

267 _{See interview no. 1, Appendix IV pages 1-11; interview no. 2, Appendix IV pages 12-18; interview no. 3,}

Appendix IV pages 19-30; interview no. 4, Appendix IV pages 31-40; interview no. 5, Appendix IV pages 41-48; interview no. 6, Appendix IV pages 49-55; interview no 8, Appendix IV pages 65-68; interview no. 10, Appendix IV pages 80-83; interview no. 11, Appendix IV pages 84-94

will buy more and more clothes that can be worn for a long time with a perfect fit and quality.”268

Another important aspect that developed as a result of the process of globalization is the internationalization of companies which is gaining increasing importance. Professionals mentioned the necessity of being available in several countries by creating at least an online shop for each country of delivery to strengthen their market position. A further step would be the establishment of offices, shop-in-shop concepts or (mono-brand) stores to offer additional services specified to the demands of each country.

Additionally, they mentioned a trend of companies specializing in several niche markets, such as pants, shirts or jackets.

“You will recognize an increasing amount of specialized brands. (…) Thus, there will be less brands presenting whole collections, but sub-collections such as bottoms or tops, and a specialization will take place resulting in shorter lead times.”269

Moreover, sustainable aspects and social standards along all supply chain processes were getting great attention.270 Upcoming developments in information technologies, such as ID tagging and RFID, might be supporting tools to achieve the transparency of supply chain activities. As a result, companies could easier guarantee aspects of sustainability, quality or other aspects that increase the possibility of quickly responding to market demands.271

Besides that, contacts with national and international institutions and the active participation in the fashion apparel sector were considered being important as well.272

268

Interview no. 1, Appendix IV pages 1-11

269 _{Interview no. 2, Appendix IV pages 12-18}

270 _{See interview no. 1, Appendix IV pages 1-11; interview no. 2, Appendix IV pages 12-18; interview no. 3,}

Appendix IV pages 19-30; interview no. 4, Appendix IV pages 31-40; interview no. 5, Appendix IV pages 41-48; interview no. 10, Appendix IV pages 80-83; interview no. 11, Appendix IV pages 84-94; interview no. 13, Appendix IV pages 101-104

271 _{See interview no. 9, Appendix IV pages 69-79} 272 _{See interview no. 1, Appendix IV pages 1-11}

Table 7: Cross-case analysis “outsourcing versus own production” and “future perspectives”

Table 8: Cross-case analysis “supply chain strategies”