Fashion in the earlier days was defined by the brands one wore until recently. With the advent of numerous e-commerce companies that have started flourishing in our economy, the fashion industry has taken a new turn. The affordability factor has seized the industry with companies like Amazon and Flipkart selling quality apparels at cheap rates, leading to customers delight.
The E-commerce companies have been acting as a safe haven for the smaller business that wants to sell their produce and has been generating considerable profits for them. This cushion has been under attack due to the unforeseen pandemic that has hit the world. With supply chains being distorted and immeasurable delays taking place in the delivery of the goods, customers are distressed. Moreover, as incomes are under hold, spending has also taken a cut. This situation has led to customers buying only the essential commodities. This has hit the online fashion business and exposed their business models to an overwhelming threat. Where once companies like Amazon had its local labels as their top-selling products, they are now washed out by commodities like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, paper towels and the like.
The industry has been struggling with irregular and lack of demand for its apparel brands. With numerous ordered being cancelled due to delay and governments focus on the production and sale of necessary items only, fashion has taken a back seat. Yet, amid the temporary fall of e-commerce labels, direct-to-consumer brands have been seeing the light of the day. DTC companies are those that use their own distribution channels to deliver their products directly to the consumer without the use of a middleman. In this vulnerable environment, DTC fashion brands can take advantage of the hard-hit big giants, by re-connecting strongly with their customers through more ad spend and by promising better service. Unlike e-commerce companies, DTC brands will have innovative ideas to distribute to their customers as they do not work on a single business model.
Nevertheless, Amazon with its 150 odd private labels in fashion would be a tough task to beat. For the fashion industry, it not only serves as a place to bring affordable fashion to customers but as a place where labels can attract customer rapidly. Therefore, though the environment looks meek at the moment, once the economy opens up it would only take a short while for Amazon and the likes to get back on its feet. As the world is slowing moving to dwindling incomes and cautious spending, the industry will need to bring better and exciting offers to get close to the customer. Big giants would also have to increase their ad spent to capture the mind share of customers in the aftermath of the crisis. Supply chains would have to be strengthened further, with better investments so that delivery can be done at cheaper or free rates. Thereby in the midst of the turmoil, the fashion industry would emerge with new and innovative schemes to wake its fashion starved, pandemic stricken world.
