Introduction
It is seen that the retail merchandising industry is in a constant state of flux and fashion demands keep changing with almost every passing day. Therefore, it becomes necessary for fashion designers and providers to keep their fingers on the pulse of the merchandising market and to be on the right side of fashion trends, both current and future.
The current state of retail merchandizing
It would require all the ingenuity, resourcefulness and market savviness of fashion designers to anticipate future fashion trends and make available such modern-day fashion apparel appealing to a large section of the actual users even before they could possibly ask for it. Moreover, the market is in constant dynamics and provides volatile changes in designs, color blends and shapes of costumes over time. Yesterday’s fashion becomes obsolete in today’s market trends and tomorrow’s fashion demands may tell a totally different story. Or it could be even in terms of earlier fashions reappearing in the markets sporting a fresh new look and appeal for designers and wearers. Thus fashion trends are constantly changing over time and market demands, ushering in new technology and newer styles in attire.
“Branded merchandise and changing consumer perceptions/lifestyles make continual market monitoring essential.” (Mills).
Opportunities and solutions to be implemented
It is seen that in the context of strategic marketing with strong competitive elements, both within and across different geographical locations, whether in the US or on a global basis, it is necessary that owners of fashion retail outlets are alive to the need for closely observing their corporate brand image and the impact this is creating not only among users but also among rivals and competing businesses. Through market positioning, it is possible to be more selective in the choice of business promotional activities, designed to expand market share and introduce newer and better varieties of goods for better saleability and user benefits. While it is necessary that competitive markets need to be utilized and shares enhanced it is also necessary to ensure that market positioning is carried out with a great deal of ingenuity, resourcefulness and precision, especially in long-term business interests. “Better strategic retail positioning “results in better movement of products to high demand markets fuelling greater market demands, not only for current usage but also with an eye for future market development. (Mills, Strategic retail fashion market positioning: A comparative analysis).
Opinions of the writer
In the opinion of the writer, market domination has to be a sustained effort, not to displace rival competitors, but to provide economies of large-scale business practices and expand the markets exponentially, ensuring that healthy competition is existent and enforceable. This is especially true in a competitive elastic market where demand, supply, pricing and servicing factors are of paramount importance. In order to reap the benefits of large-scale/long-term business prospects, it is essential that quality aspects of products be maintained consistently and sustained ably, especially in a global context and internet deployed business where pricing and quality constraints could be critical. The business needs to reinvent and reorient itself to suit current market scenarios.
Conclusions
One aspect of the garment fashion trade is that investments are recouped within a short expanse of time, thus providing impetus for further investments. The only criticality would be in terms of making the right investments in the right product areas and at the right time.
Moreover, consumer trends are also to be critically evaluated since, in the long run, they could make all the difference between a mediocre business and a highly prosperous one. The choice would lie entirely with the business enterprise and its long-term selling policies and marketing practices.
Works Cited
Mills, Michael. K. Strategic Retail Fashion Market Positioning: A Comparative Analysis. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. 2007. Web.
Mills, Michael. K. Strategic retail fashion market positioning: A comparative analysis. SpringerLink. 1985. Web.