Fisher: Well, some of their challenges are perhaps unique to apparel.
"What makes American Apparel unique is the flamboyant nature of the man and the business," says Roberts. "He flies in the face of business sense, fashion manufacturing and retailing sense.
Second, even though they have a unique product, small apparel retailers typically face a lack of the human and financial resources to undertake internationalization (Hutchinson et al. 2009).
Findings also provide understanding of the ethical concerns unique to the apparel industry – an industry that poses a high risk for negative social and environmental impacts due to the nature of its global supply chain – during the years 2001 and 2009.
MUJI from Japan, which appeals to consumers with distributing unique minimal design apparel and lifestyle products (Curry 2008), is also expanding quickly in multiple countries including the new entries to 8 Asian countries, 11 European countries, and the United States (MUJI website).
Additionally, given that the companies differed in the emphasis given to varied aspects of CSR within their CSR reporting – and that these differences seemed to reflect unique stakeholder interests – apparel companies would be well-served to identify which aspects of CSR are most important to salient stakeholders and to tailor their communications accordingly.
Create prints that make your apparel unique.
Mix and match different fabrics and designs to create your unique Lady Gaga apparel.
Given the unique characteristics of the Chinese apparel industry, (a) there is little basis for this view for apparel new ventures, and (b) there is a limited understanding on how guanxi factors into the success of these apparel new ventures.
Apparel products are unique because (a) they are evaluated for quality prior to purchase by touching or experience (Lynch et al. 2001), (b) apparel has a strong aesthetic component, therefore, the visual appearance of apparel is critical (Burke 2002), and (c) consumers express their identities and emotions through apparel products (Workman and Freeburg 2009).
