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Part Two Apparel Industries
Imports limit retailers’ abilities to respond
quickly to market developments. Often stores
cannot reorder. There are shipping delays,
magnifi ed by customs inspections, which can
result in late merchandise arrivals. There are
quota uncertainties. Often surprises occur in the
quality of delivered goods. Communications
are diffi cult between the retailer and offshore
producers. Staff travel costs are high.
Commissionaires are hired around the world
by retailers. They are usually native to the
countries in which they reside. They know the
customs, laws, and production capabilities of
their countries. They also know the tariff quotas of
the United States. They function like an overseas
buying offi ce, often working for many fi rms.
As discussed in Chapter 6, retailers have
been encouraged by American apparel indus-
tries to seek domestic sourcing. Manufacturers
are striving for more effi cient production to give
fast response and delivery times. For retailers,
that would mean lower inventory costs and
more accuracy in buying the items that will sell
in the correct quantities. Also, reorders can be
placed more easily.
Retailers’ Future
In the future, retailers will reposition them-
selves by recognizing market changes. Retailers
will probably attract shoppers in the following
three main ways:
ä
use technology and effi ciency to satisfy
busy consumers’ necessary shopping
tasks faster, easier, and cheaper
ä
provide entertainment, along with shopping,
making consumers’ leisure time choices
easier
ä
offer unique products to satisfy out-of-the-
ordinary tastes of specifi c consumers
Technology will greatly enhance retail effi -
ciency. Shoppers will scan items themselves in
retail stores, either to purchase them or to record
them for friends and relatives to give them as
gifts. Web-based shopping will promote and sell
more products via electronics. Shopping will
be easier for consumers to do from home or
wherever they are. Technology will reduce long
checkout lines and facilitate check and credit
card processing. Small, easy-to-shop strip malls
will gain favor over huge, crowded courtyard
malls that have parking hassles and long walking
distances. One-stop shopping will offer goods
that are instantly available. Store organization
will make it easier to fi nd products quickly.
Consumers become bored with stores that
look alike and sell similar merchandise. They tend
to make more purchases if they are in a good
mood. Shoppers want socialization, recreation,
and an enjoyable escape. This shoppertainment
draws people for the entertainment value, such
as high-tech interactive computer simulations,
convenient movie theaters and restaurants, and
other amusements.
Retailers will offer more unique products
of higher quality, instead of overusing the term
sale. They will market to tiny niches of specifi c
customers identifi ed by credit card purchases
and other database information. Niche retailing
is dividing the total consumer market into
narrow target markets with specifi c tastes or
lifestyles. There is less competition in niche
markets, but also fewer customers. By clearly
understanding and focusing on their target
customers, niche retailers can operate with less
stock, make more sales, and gain higher profi ts.
In this way, small retailers will complement mass
merchandisers rather than compete against them.
They will have to stay fl exible and creative to fi l
observed gaps with innovative merchandising
methods.
The concentration of large retailers will
continue, with buyouts of smaller retail chains
resulting in fewer large corporations. They will
have more effi cient central buying and distri-
bution procedures. More private label brands
will be carried. Merchandise and shipping con-
tainers will all be marked with Universal Product
Code (UPC) bars to be scanned for instant com-
puterized inventory and sales tracking.
Nonstore formats, such as computer and
mobile commerce, direct (mail-order) marketing,
TV retailing, and computer and mobile com-
merce, will take market share from traditional
store retailers. Consumers will fi nd the desired
factors of convenience, entertainment, and unique
merchandise in these consumer-direct formats.
However, consumers will lose the experience
of actually seeing, touching, and trying on mer-
chandise. Although these experiences will be
computer simulated, customers may still return
large amounts of merchandise.