Retail management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Retail management - Essay Example The fashion industry today is marked by short life-cycles, high volatility, low predictability and high impulse purchasing (Christopher, Lowson & Peck, 2004). The fashion retail industry in UK is turbulent as the fashion conscious consumers expect and thrive for constant change. Added to the changing consumer preferences are the factors like globalization and the technological changes that have truly revolutionized the UK fashion retailing industry. The fashion retail market is split into number of segments – luxury, high street and supermarket/out-of-town discounter (Bruce & Daly, 2006). With the supermarkets having entered the clothing sector, the fashion retail has been redefined. It enables the time-starved consumers to purchase cheap clothing instead of visiting high street. The cheap chic revolution has turned the UK fashion market upside down (Mesure, 2007). With the rise of the discount retail store the number of garments purchased by women each has doubled. Various reasons have been accounted for this changing trend – shift of production to the Far East, the weak US dollar and the abolition of textile quotas have driven down prices even in chains like Asda and M&S. The phenomenon of disposable fashion rules – â€Å"buy it, wear it, and chuck it† is the mantra that the fashion conscious follow in the 21st century. Consumers expect low prices, and increasing incomes are the key to increased ec onomic activity. According to Jones and Hayes (2002), clothing and fashion purchase decisions are based on want rather than need (cited by Priest 2005). It depends upon how the consumer wants to be perceived. Competition is fierce and the market is characterized by excessive discounting. Even top socio-economic groups are price-savvy. Decreased consumer spending has a negative impact on the retailers. Besides, cost of retail space has gone up and rents have risen. According to a research by This is Money, people shop at both the top and bottom ends of