Sarah Scanlon

A company’s profit is very important to allow them to expand and develop. To achieve profit, they must be aware of new customers, retarget people who have shown interest and reward the loyalty of those who’ve bought from the brand. The market size of the fashion industry currently stands at $861.5bn and this is expected to grow by 4.3% in 2022 an increase from the usual figure of 1.7% per annum. (www.ibisworld.com. (n.d.). IBISWorld – Industry Market Research, Reports, and Statistics). 

Different sectors of the industry perform at different levels, for example, the top 20% of fashion players created 100% of economic profit whereas the bottom 20% went backwards by 18%. When looking closer at only the top 20 companies it was found they accounted for 97% of profits. (McKinsey & Company. (2017). The two faces of fashion-industry performance.) Showing that the fashion industry is highly competitive for profits and to gain customers. Influencer marketing has become a huge part of companies’ profits recently. 

When something is seen on an influencer on social media platforms it encourages viewers to buy it. This is due to them having an association with the influencer and is heightened when they have an associating factor with the influencer such as age or gender. Although the older generation has the largest amount of disposable income, the younger generation is keener to spend. A bloomburg report in 2021 has revealed that Gen Z currently has $360 billion in disposable income.(Santora, J. (2021). 25 Mind Blowing Stats on Gen Z Spending Habits. [online] Influencer Marketing Hub.)

In order to remain competitive, it’s important for brands to create loyalty from their existing clients and not lose them to competitors. In times of recession such as Covid-19 it’s important to maintain marketing and check in with clients in order to keep their business. This worked effectively throughout the pandemic by brands sending our emails to check on their customers as well as just the latest updates. The idea of art and commerce is best bridged through fashion shows. This is shown in couture fashion shows and an example of this is Balenciaga’s SS23 show. Models walked through thick mud and all guests were sprayed with the scent of mud which remained on them for a couple days in order to remind them of the show. Because it was so unusual it was talked about a lot on social media, bringing more revenue towards the brand.

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People are vital to any business as they determine, as consumers, how successful a business will be. Marketing to a wide range of people becomes increasingly more difficult as Gen Z becomes less loyal to singular brands and operates largely online. Over 40% of gen Z choose to purchase their clothing items online. (Brewis, D. (2020). What Generation Z expects from the online retail experience.) This has forced companies to adapt to people and consumer needs quickly as the generation moves on. 60% of Gen Z consumers won’t use a website if it’s slow to load (Brewis, D. (2020). Although Gen Z are huge consumers as they’re keen to stay on top of trends and enter work and increase their purchasing power, studies have shown that after Covid-19, Gen Z consumers are keener to look for quality over quantity.

(Vouge Business, April 2021-July 2021)

Since a lot of Gen Z’s decisions in purchasing is based on what they see online, businesses must account for this and start to market to consumers across social media platforms such as TikTok. By creating social media platforms, they can reach a much larger audience, through platforms like TikTok its able to find the target audience and present it to them on their feed, making it more likely for people to see the brand and buy from it. This is also cheaper than paying for advertisement, arguably better when targeting younger audiences. Gen Z are now more likely to spend than millennials so targeting them is important for a brand’s profit. (Drapers. (2022). Gen Z and Millennials 2022.) However, it’s also important for everyone to feel represented within a brand. Lounge underwear, a recently founded company in 2015 has a wide range of diversity in the attempt to empower women worldwide. They’ve also recently launched a breast cancer campaign and have begun to incorporate more of women’s insecurities such as stretch marks into their shoots to normalise it. Each piece is shown on 2 or 3 women of different ethnicities and different body types which allows for everyone to imagine themselves wearing the item. Not only a great selling point for the company but it also allows a wide range of consumers to feel that the pieces are targeted to them.

The key people skills for a fashion brand to be successful is for the consumer to feel comfortable with the brand and that their clothing is targeted to them specifically and not just one look. How the brand presents itself to consumers is very important when it comes to them making a purchase. Whether that’s how their company looks on a website or the staff that they have in store, it’s very important in consumer decisions.

(Brewis, D. (2020). What Generation Z expects from the online retail experience.)

(Drapers. (2022). Gen Z and Millennials 2022.)

(Vouge Business, April 2021-July 2021)