Apparel Retailers

Global clothier Gap Inc this week became the latest apparel retailer to identify the factories which produce its garments, helping shed light on how the world's clothing is made. But other brands now identifying factories include H&M, Nike, Levis and Adidas. Gap Inc revealed the names and street addresses of suppliers in countries such as China, Bangladesh, Egypt, Cambodia, Guatemala, India and Indonesia. 

Human Rights Watch, a human rights agency, welcomed Gap's disclosures as a boon to transparency in the apparel industry.Activists have targeted the highly profitable "fast-fashion" industry, which churns out new low-cost garments daily or weekly to maximize sales volumes, calling on retailers to improve labour and environmental conditions at supplier factories in the impoverished developing world.

Gap markets its apparel under brands including Old Navy, Athleta, and Banana Republic as well as The Gap in more than 3,700 stores around the world.

Hidesign, a brand that has become synonymous with high-quality leather accessories such as bags, belts, and wallets,is an exemplary retailer that has seen its revenue grow from Rs.11.3 crore in fiscal year ended March 31, 2010 to Rs.97.72 crore in fiscal year ended March 31, 2014. The brand now mulls opening up seven new stores. The accessories market has evolved and shifted base from functionality to being a prime attraction. From handbags to sunglasses to shoes to even hair ornaments, the accessories industry works in tandem with the apparel industry.

Hidesign bags are made of the best vegetable tanned leathers, coupled with solid brass metal hardware – a complete ‘Make in India’ initiative. The retailer features its own leather tanneries and a loyal set of artisans that understand the brand ethos.

Hidesign was born out of the need to be distinct from the uniformity and synthetic flatness of the mass market.Every Hidesign product is uniquely handcrafted. There is no mass manufacture at Hidesign.

Strong gender lines in kids items solidified in the 1980s as a way to boost sales.Pink for girls and blue for boys may have been a way to get parents to buy more because their sons and daughters were less likely to share clothes or toys. But things are changing, in part driven by consumers and sometimes kids themselves. Some girls want T-shirts with "Star Wars" characters, and some boys want to wear pink with the recent splurge of gender neutral clothing.Lands’ End, Target and Zara are among major retailers mixing up offerings with gender-neutral options.

After receiving a barrage of complaints last year from parents of girls incensed about its separation of toys by gender, Target has broken down those barriers. The retailer recently launched a gender-neutral line of home goods, dubbed Pillow-Fort (though it’s just starting to blur the lines in apparel). 

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The entire retail industry is at such a juncture when retailers are devising out new methods and IT applications to cater to the surging demands. Macy, a renowned apparel retailer, post devastating sales has chalked out a strategic IT plan, recognizing that the future of the stores is dependent on customer interest and that technological innovation may create renewed interest in shopping in stores.The retailer has introduced mobile AI tool in 10 of its stores which will give customers answers to questions they may have about the store they are shopping in.

The mobile AI tool at Macy’s comes in two varieties, one that encourages self-service and another that will allow a customer to summon a sales associate for help. While the customer will use a mobile device in the initial test stage, a mobile app is in preparation. Developed by IBM Watson, the new mobile tool make the sales force more efficient and less burdened with questions about location of merchandise or bathrooms. 

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Strange yet true that the Swedish fast fashion retailer recorded its worst sales growth for three years as the fashion retail industry was hit by the strength of the dollar. What;s more interesting is that H&M buys much of its materials in dollars and the currency's strength has been pushing up costs at the high street chain.

Measured in local currencies, H&M's sales in the UK were one per cent higher, and seven per cent higher in the US, but sales were flat in Germany, which is the clothing store's biggest market.

The company further divulging the strategy stated that it is going to expand by opening around 425 new outlets this business year, as well as expanding for the first time into Puerto Rico, New Zealand and Cyprus amidst losses.

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