Being on trend is no longer a guarantee of success in today’s fashion market. Social media allows consumers to identify, purchase, and share trends globally in minutes. This rapid pace results in quick sell-outs for popular items and stagnant sales for less desirable ones, even with significant discounts. The traditional fashion product development model is simply too slow to keep up with today’s fashion demands. Top performing brands leverage consumer insights early in the design process and can have products ready for purchase in weeks rather than months.
Fashion has become a winner-takes-all market where established brands struggle to compete with agile newcomers. Over the past decade, the majority of fashion companies have barely broken even, while the top 20 percent have captured all industry profits. These successful brands are more diversified, weathering changes in categories, channels, and consumer preferences. They also excel in core operational functions. Key differentiators for top performers include utilizing data analytics early in the design process and prioritizing speed to market. Leading companies can deliver products in under six to eight weeks, compared to the industry average of over 40 weeks.
While most fashion companies acknowledge the need for speed and data-driven decisions, few effectively leverage insights across their business. Many rely on single data sources like sell-through data or product rankings. Top performing companies, however, employ a sophisticated model based on understanding consumer desires, incorporating past sales data, and responding quickly to emerging trends.
The future of fashion relies on anticipating consumer wants. Leveraging predictive analytics and artificial intelligence, a next-generation model could enable near real-time design and delivery. Fashion companies can leverage online data sources like search data, social media trends, competitor analysis, and product ratings to gain deeper insights into consumer preferences. Digitally native brands excel in harnessing these data sources due to their digital platforms and data science expertise. The broader fashion industry must follow suit to remain competitive.
Successful brands have not only reduced time to market but also recognize that different products require varying supply chain speeds. Leading companies segment their product lines into categories with corresponding supply chain timelines: long cycle for basics, shorter cycle for core seasonal collections, express cycle for new in-season products, read-and-react model for untested products, and a test model for high-risk items.
Digitizing concept, design, and sampling processes can significantly reduce lead times. While this shift may challenge traditional practices, it’s crucial for staying competitive in today’s fashion landscape. Adopting an agile approach, similar to that used in technology development, can facilitate a faster, more iterative process. By focusing on doing and refining rather than extensive planning, companies can quickly demonstrate the effectiveness of a rapid, consumer-focused approach. This success can then inspire wider organizational adoption of a faster, more insightful process.
