Fashion industry is one of the worst affected during covid-19 pandemic. While some fashion brands struggled to survive while others used this crisis to rework on their business model and redefined the customer value proposition. It was also observed that most of the well-performing fashion companies shared a common characteristic: a strong digital presence which helped them sail through a major dip in offline retail business.

The following are the 7 key triggers for fashion brands to develop a sustainable growth strategy:

1. Demand is unlikely to return to pre-covid levels. Given the situation, fashion brands need to accurately predict the demand by identifying high-growth categories, offer right value proposition and market to right customer segments.
2. Digitisation of business is a must and it is not only limited to just selling through e-commerce platforms. Brands need to create the right online customer experience using digital tools to offer livestreaming, virtual customer experience and much more.
3. Customer behavioural shift is a major concern in the immediate future, especially related luxury clothing and to travel retail. Brands need to identify newer revenue opportunities or introduce segments like Home-Office Wear to cater to local demands.
4. Retail store-level ROI has been adversely affected due to closure of retail stores and also because of lower footfalls post-lockdown. We may see more store closures if malls or landowners do not accommodate business impact of the pandemic. Brands need to refine their channel strategy to minimise this impact.
5. Supply chain disruption was a major concern during pandemic. Going forward, brands need to have more meaningful relationship with suppliers and vendors by bringing them closer to forge deeper relationship, better agility and more accountability.
6. The gap between big brands and small brands will widen as many smaller players will struggle to survive, thereby giving space to big brands to grow bigger. While smaller brands will struggle to survive, the mid-sized brands need to invest in branding, technology and business development to fight back the bigger brands.
7. Pandemic has greatly impacted customer behaviour and disrupted trade & economy. Companies need to learn to adopt to such scenarios in future by preparing the organization to be more agile and innovative by responding with faster & well-informed decision making using analytics and scenario planning.

The coming year is going to be tough for many fashion brands. It’s time to evolve with changing customer landscape and align with key market trends. It’s time to hone the business survival skills to manage uncertainty. It’s time to adjust to the new normal to remain relevant and to grow the business.

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