Fashion retailers including Arvind Fashions, Trent, Blackberrys, and Madura Fashion & Lifestyle are presenting collections almost every month these days. That’s down from the typical six-monthly cycle and in response to consumers’ more frequent demands for newer styles. While the concept of a quick rollout to market is not new to the fashion world with global brands Zara and Uniqlo leading the way, in India retailers are catching up with this trend.
A recent study by Vector Consulting, a consultancy which works with retailers and garment companies, and NielsenIQ notes that now 11% of the collections have crunched timelines to 3-5 months, with 2% bringing down the lead time to under three months. That compares with the earlier timelines when 39% of apparel collections took 6-9 months in terms of rollout to market.
ALSO READBizongo ramps up logistics arm to boost platform play
Experts and top executives say that retailers could speed up more collections as they cater to consumers’ needs. A growing base of Gen Z consumers, that is active on Instagram, wants to fast replicate designs and styles trending on social media. Time, therefore, is of essence for both brands and consumers.
Kulin Lalbhai, vice-chairman and executive director, Arvind, believes the concept of having something new every time you walk into a store or when you browse online is becoming very important in the world of fashion today. “Retailers such as us have also moved away from a wholesale distribution model to a direct distribution model. While wholesale distribution gave us room to do only two seasons a year, with direct distribution we have greater control over what we can bring to the market, helping us crunch lead times and launch more collections a year,” Lalbhai said.
P Venkatesalu, MD of Trent, says that the retailer has been able to crunch manufacturing timelines by at least 20% by focusing on its ecosystem to deliver fast. “The whole ecosystem is coming together now a lot more than they did earlier. The apparel industry in my view is moving in the right direction in terms of being more agile and efficient,” he said.
Retailers today are breaking down their collections into core and dynamic products, ensuring there is a constant supply of core products or garments into stores to ensure sales remain unaffected.
» Read More
