Retail Management in Fashion Industry - Coursework Example

Retail Management Retail Management in Fashion Industry Introduction International fashion industry is the most dynamic market in the world. Consumer preferences are changing in matter of minutes. In this competitive arena of quality and convenience, globalization is causing the level of competition to grow, because the customer choices are increasingly converging towards international standards in fashion. This growing internationalization in customer preferences is placing a premium on offering latest international fashion products in a local market setting. On the other end, print and electronic media is bombarding customers with information about latest fashions around the world; therefore, garmentists usually cannot react effectively towards changing demands consequently, they lose market share (Boyd & Bresser, 2008). Fashion businesses, in order to fulfill dynamic market needs are hiring market experts and researchers, who help them in forecasting the future demand patterns in various markets. In parallel, fashion firms are offering online purchasing facility to customers. The main reason behind this strategic decision is to offer convenient buying. This paper focuses on providing a logical strategic path for Zalora to compete in the market of online fashion stores in Singapore. Zalora is eying to replicate the success of online fashion stores of England and America in Singapore. The newly formed firm is also looking to cover 30% of entire market. However, in order to achieve this objective, Zalora needs to manage its operations according to the culture of the area in which it is operating. Singaporeans generate their major portion of revenue from tourism, but the tourism industry witnessed a significant level of decline in recent years prominently, due to shrinking buying power of people interested in tourism worldwide. This trend played a significant role in jolting tourism industry in Singapore. Because of this reason, per capita income in Singapore is witnessing a consistent downturn during past few years. Singapore does not have a fully developed online retailing and buying culture therefore, Zalora could convert its business idea into a notable success, through intensive online and offline marketing campaigns with an emphasis on product quality along with reasonable pricing and convenience. At the same time, internet is transforming into a rapidly growing marketplace with a substantial number of customers and competitors therefore, Zalora needs to improve on efficiency in order to compete effectively on internet (Piercy, 2009). Furthermore, it is suggested for Zalora, to integrate its internal operations with its external ones, with an ample amount of emphasis on timeliness of product delivery. Competition is intensifying in emerging fashion markets, due to overwhelming saturation of those in developed nations. Notably internet is a cheaper mean of initiating a business in retail sector (Shemwell & Aun, 1999). Therefore, growing number of businesses are entering the fashion market of Singapore through the channel of internet. Fashion industry is all about reading the shifting customer preferences in advance. However, for this purpose Zalora’s management is in need of highly trained and accomplished market researchers who have the ability to determine the future market demand. Zalora’s most pressing business need is to manage its inventory effectively to nullify the possibility of a stock out because; it is the greatest cause of trailing market share (Bookbinder, Gumus, & Jewkes, 2010). On the other hand, effective customer relationship management is at the heart of every successful business (Persson, 2011). As Dell is custom designing its products according to the specific needs of the customers. A similar strategy could prove ideal for Zalora as well because, none of the competitor is able to offer the luxury of self-designing in the market of fashion in Singapore. Additionally, it is evident that Zalora’s business model is based on internet, therefore it is in need of highly trained customer representatives, for this purpose it is highly recommended to arrange professional trainings for the customer relationship officers, so that they will be well prepared to take on their jobs in the organizational setup of Zalora. In parallel, acquisition of good to excellent quality delivery vans is also suggested, with the purpose of smoothing the process of product delivery. Evidently, in Singapore online buying is not a norm, in contrary with the condition in US, therefore, Zalora should invest heavily in its marketing activities, so that its brand image can be established (Ren, Hu, Hu, & Huasson, 2011). However, an appropriate advertising design for Zalora is e marketing, because of its focus on online consumers. The ideal channels in this regard are electronic banners on facebook and other social media sites. In parallel to other activities, Zalora needs to manage its various product lines independently, so that each product could support its overall growth in sales and profitability. On the strategic front, planning with participative decision making is also required (Gooner, Morgan, & Perreault, 2011), because it will make every employee feel as an important asset for the organization therefore, he or she will work with his or her full potential to achieve the strategic goals for Zalora. Along with strategic goal setting, application of SPSS as an analysis tool is critical in order to, predict future sales for the organization. At the same instance, it is important to use this software to quantify the impact of several factors on future demand (Bata, Beard, Egri, & Morris, 2011). Hereby, it is imperative to note that Singapore fashion market is not committed towards innovation. In the light of this information, Zalora should focus on capturing limited number of consumers initially. Nevertheless, commitment towards quality is the ultimate road to success in every field of life. Therefore, Zalora should commit towards maintaining high quality of products to achieve its goal of attracting and retaining customers. Q.2 Online retailing is a solution to counteract the increasing transaction costs. As the costs drop for an organization, in parallel, customer expectations increase. In the light of this argument, the primal objective of a fashion store is to provide items, which will beautify customers’ lives. Professional dress designers believe that, it is clothing, which fundamentally differentiates humans from other organisms. However, the major challenge Zalora is facing emanates from the need to satisfy the customer. As online shopping facilities provide a feature of home delivery, which is the most valued feature regarding customer contentment. Therefore, Zalora needs to enhance its delivery system. On the other front, the organization in focus should concentrate on providing casual dressing products particularly in Singapore, because, this country is a well established resort and tourist attraction therefore, people come here with an agenda of relaxation, due to this trend, they require easy and soft clothes to put on as well. In Singapore, the online fashion stores are nonexistent, because customers tend to try the clothes and other accessories physically before making a purchase decision; therefore, Zalora has to provide this service electronically, through integrating a highly sophisticated computer program, which can search the inventory, through matching the physical dimensions of an individual. This paper recommends Zalora to initiate its business at a limited level through offering jewelry and other related items at first. In this way, the organization will not commit to the new market on a vast scale therefore; roll back can be relatively simple in case of a failure. Zalora needs to devise a marketing strategy encompassing steps to expand tourism, through launching a moment of revitalization of tourist resorts in Singapore. At the same time, Zalora ought to offer price concession to the tourists visiting Singapore and other adjacent area, in order to increase sales. Conclusion This paper analyzed the market condition that Zalora is facing in Singapore. Fundamentally, Singaporean customers are price sensitive therefore, it would be best for Zalora to offer low priced products with reasonable quality during the initial days. On the other side, it is recommended to divide the market in various segments, based on the nationality of the customers, which will assist Zalora to deal them according to their psychological and cultural needs. The major problem Zalora has to tackle, is based on the culture of personal retailing in the country therefore, the new fashion firm should focus on increasing the market visibility, through intensive marketing with featured support for tourism, which is the primary industry in Singapore. However, a limited scope launch is an ideal strategy to nullify the possibility of the failure in a new market. Furthermore, market research is turning out to be a norm in fashion industry because, it is a fast moving market that is why, hiring market analysts to figure out the prevailing and future preferences of customers is recommended. Managing inventory is considered as one of the most important aspects of business activity because, through efficient management of this sector Zalora could minimize the possibility of a stock out, which is the most common reason for losing market share. The ideal target market for Zalora constitutes of tourists visiting the country from different parts of the world therefore, Zalora has to deal them with cultural sensitivity, which can result in growth of the business. This paper concludes based on the above literature that there is a significant possibility of success for Zalora in Singapore. However, internal efficiency should be considered as a source of competitive advantage in the market, but in order to attain this advantage an ideal level of integration is required within various departments of the firm. Thus, every department should help and support other ones in successfully pursuing organizational goals. References Bata, S., Beard, J., Egri, E., & Morris, D. (2011). Retail revenue management: applying data-driven analytics to the merchandise line of business. Journal of Business and Retail Management Research 5(2), pp. 43-54. Bookbinder, J., Gumus, M., & Jewkes, E. (2010). Calculating the benefits of vendor managed inventory in a manufacturer-retailer system. International Journal of Production Research 48(19), pp. 5549-5571. Boyd, J., & Bresser, R. (2008). Performance Implications of Delayed Competitive Respones: Evidence from US Retail Industry. Strategic Management Journal 29, pp. 1077–1096. Gooner, R., Morgan, N., & Perreault, W. (2011). 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