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Part Two Apparel Industries
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Many lower-priced knockoffs are made by
copying fast-selling, higher-priced styles.
Slight changes can be made to update them
for each future season, if they stay popular.
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Retailers have an opportunity to build
an image for themselves through distinct
private label goods.
There are also several disadvantages.
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Private label manufacturing requires large
fi nancial investments. It ties up money
in production that could be used to buy
goods from other manufacturers.
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A great deal of private label manufacturing
is done overseas. Thus, there may be a long
time from making design and production
arrangements until the goods actually arrive
at the stores. This can cause problems with
fashion timing, as well as price changes, if
money exchange rates fl uctuate.
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There may be slow customer acceptance
of products until the labels are recognized.
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No markdown money is available from
manufacturers. The retailers must absorb
the losses if there are quality, fi t, or other
problems.
Retail Business Considerations
Location is an important aspect for retail
businesses. The most successful stores are con-
veniently located for their customers. Mail-order
companies send catalogs to their target market—
consumers who are most likely to buy their
goods. Internet retailers are convenient for
their customers through technology. Exposure
to the best potential customers results in the
highest volume of sales. With a continuous
fast stream of sales, a retailer can afford to use
smaller markups and offer lower prices, while
still making good profi ts.
Mass retailing has encouraged customers
to shop without help from salespeople. Most
retailers no longer wait on clients one at a time.
Instead, vast amounts of merchandise are put on
racks and shelves, in catalogs, or are available
on websites. Customers are free to view and
evaluate merchandise. Clothes are package priced.
That means that each garment, or package of
items, has an individual price marked on it.
Customers can do their shopping without asking
for help. This impersonal selling is used by
retailers to save money, since fewer salaries need
to be paid. The savings are passed on to customers
in the form of lower prices.
In most retail companies, computers record
the goods purchased as inventory and then sold
to customers. Cash registers are computerized;
allowing sales trends to be detected hourly
and daily. Central computers gather the sales
information immediately from all chain or
branch stores in the system. Weekly, monthly,
and yearly sales reports are also calculated and
analyzed.
Retailers measure an individual store’s
business in different ways by using those facts
and fi gures. They can easily calculate the pro-
ductivity of each square foot of selling space.
All retailers analyze stock turnover, fi nancial
assets, promotional efforts, and salespeople’s
activities. They also try to determine merchan-
dising success in terms of correct predictions
on goods ordered, pricing, and timing for their
customers.
Besides attending trade shows and sub-
scribing to trade publications and resident buying
services, retailers belong to other organizations.
Examples of these are the National Retail Federation
(NRF), local Chambers of Commerce, and shop-
ping mall merchant groups. STORES Magazine
is the trade publication of the NRF. Internet
Retailer and Direct Marketing (DM) News join
other trade journals in offering print or digital
editions. Daily and weekly news also comes to
subscribers via e-mail.
Types of Apparel
Retail Outlets
There are many sizes and types of apparel
retailers. Through them, manufactured goods
are sold to consumers. Specifi c retailers may fall
under more than one of the following categories.
Department Stores
Department stores offer large varieties of many
types of merchandise placed in appropriate
departments. Almost all clothing and house-
hold items are sold in a wide range of colors,
sizes, and styles. The goods are categorized
into areas such as menswear, juniors, infants,