Apparel retailing industry

But what does sustainable mean for the apparel retail industry Sustainability is a word that elicits a multitude of definitions and explanations depending on your point of view and even your geographic location. The broad range of definitions for sustainability is a reflection of the fact that sustainability is incredibly complex, where interdependencies can often be hidden or misunderstood, and where just measuring sustainability can be difficult and confusing, particularly when considering ethical and social issues. 

Distribution refers to the steps taken to move and store a product from the supplier stage to a customer stage in the supply chain. Distribution occurs between every pair of stages in the supply chain. Raw materials and components are moved from suppliers to manufacturers, whereas finished products are moved from the manufacturer to the end consumer. Distribution is a key driver of the overall profitability of a firm because it affects both the supply chain cost and the customer value directly. In the apparel retail industry, for example, distribution affects about 35 percent of the revenue (including its influence on markdowns and lost sales). In India, the outbound distribution cost of cement is about 30 percent of the cost of producing and selling it. 

The aim of this chapter is to explore the notion of sustainability from a retail perspective and to gain a better understanding of what the statement sustainable apparel retail actually means for an industry that has global impacts social, environmental, and ethical. In this chapter, the terms retail and retailers will be used to refer to both clothing retailers and clothing brands. 

The interpretation of what sustainability means is very much determined by personal views of the intrinsic value of nature and by current social norms, by the culture and structure of organizations, and in the instrumental values that business applies to natural resources, to mention just a few influencing factors. Furthermore, for the retail industry, like many other industries, the interpretation and definition of apparel retail... 

In preparation for this book, we looked at industry peer groups in automotive, apparel, high-tech and electronics, chemical, consumer products, and retail industries. In this data, we do not see another company that outpaced its peer group as fast as P G did revenue/ employee and EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes)/employee over the last 20 years. We also do not see another leader within a peer group that demonstrated the capability to drive growth while... 

Scenario Fueled by an expanding population of recreational runners, manufacturers and retailers in the running equipment and apparel industry have introduced many innovative solutions aimed at both short- and long-distance runners. Let s see how Random Stimulus could help a company in this realm generate new ideas. 

Consider a coordination agreement in which the retailer pays w for each unit purchased as well as r per unit of leftover unused capacity. Such contracts are termed take-or-pay contracts and are found commonly in many Just-In-Time contexts. For example, it is reported ([52]) that Toyota guarantees that its actual orders will deviate by no more than 10% around forecasted offtakes and will pay for any deviations. In the transportation industry, Reynolds commits to minimum volumes to carriers and will pay if observed demand falls short of these minimum volumes. Eppen and Iyer [29] describe a backup agreement in the apparel industry, which consists of a payment of w per unit taken and a payment of per unit not taken. 

Individual retailers have attempted to resolve many of the sustainability challenges facing the industry, and some have made great strides toward a more sustainable model. However, all are faced with the same fundamental issues intrinsic to the traditional apparel business model, a model based on a fragmented, globalized supply network, where there is a lack of transparency and traceability. 

As individual brands these fundamental issues may seem insurmountable however, in spite of the highly competitive nature of the retail apparel market, a growing group of responsible retailers are tackling these issues together. These retailers have recognized the interdependencies of their businesses within the supply chain and how the development of a more sustainable model is beneficial to individual organizations as well as the industry as a whole. 

Bullwhip effect was first observed by Procter and Gamble (P G) in the sale of baby diapers (Lee et al., 1997). Even though diaper sales at the retailers were stable over time, wholesale orders to factories surged up and down, swinging widely over time. Thus, there was very little imcertainty in the end-customer demand, but a very high uncertainty in the orders to factories and suppliers. Similar phenomenon was also observed by HP, apparel manufacturers, and the grocery industry. 

Size Stream, a company specialized in 3D depth-sensor-based body scanners, now can produce color body scans in addition to general scanning used for apparel PD such as body-measurement extraction, size standards development, and avatar creation. These body scanners aiso provide a great service to the custom clothing industry. Dr Bruner (August 14,2014, pers. comm.) believes that the affordable price of scanners today will enable the retail sector and brands to better fit... 

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