The global fashion industry has been growing steadily for quite a long time. In 2020 alone, apparel market projection exceeded $1.5 trillion. Moreover, the apparel industry is expected to increase at a CAGR of 5.5% in the next five years. There are many facets influencing this growth like Millennials inclinations towards luxury apparels, upsurge of pop-culture and definitely the popularity of fast fashion.
However, everything is not filled with a bed of roses. There are a lot of challenges professional in the industry have to tackle. Moreover, we need to have a reality check. Is the fashion industry truly growing at its potential rate or efficiency is being lost in the process?
Today we dive deep into this topic and discuss the top five challenges in the fashion industry.
Ever Changing Consumer Preference:
Shift in consumer taste and sentiment is a big issue that the industry has to be aware of. Purchasing patterns seems to change with every twitter post of Kim Kardishan and as such it is very crucial for professionals to always keep an eye on the facets influencing consumer sentiment.
Sourcing Challenges:
Increased cost of procuring raw materials drives the price of products which in turn decreases demand. This trend of increasing cost has been evident for a long time. However, new technologies and methods can be crucial for solving this problem. Enabling automation in the industry can be a game changer.
Eco-Friendly Industry:
The fashion industry is the second largest polluter of the environment which is only second to oil industry. The industry pollutes the environment in different way, for instance, only 15% of the fabrics are recycled, 1.5 trillion liters of water is used and many more. This begs question of environmental responsibility and awareness. Thus, ensuring sustainability will attract consumers while at the same time preserve the ecosystem.
Gaps in Fashion Houses:
Infrastructural shortcoming must be prevented to ensure profitable operation. Poor infrastructure in developing countries hold back progress while at the same time takes lives during accidents. In particularly Bangladesh, this problem subsists because the nearest sea port is 1866 nautical miles away situated in Singapore. But even so, it is possible to increase efficiency by following prudent quantitative models.
Managing Labor Force:
Considering the variable overhead, labor cost is a definite problem in the industry. For that reason, most manufacturing hubs are found eastward in the globe. Countries like Bangladesh, China, Vietnam offers cheap labors but even so, it is important to manage labor properly. Poor labor management can create a lot of negative facets which will ultimately decrease goodwill, productivity and efficiency.
There are many more challenges an apparel professional will face but by large these five hurdles are very crucial to overcome. If you are someone who is investing your time in this industry, be sure to look at these problems individually and find prudent solutions. In some cases, it is best to seek help from organization who excels in such analysis. Only by solving these problems prudently, it is possible to be a profitable figure in the industry.
