Humans are a greedy species and the idea of contentment by living a simplistic life with the consumption of basic needs for survival is an uncommon one. As a producer, we desire the maximum profit we can fetch out of our respective business and as a consumer fancy the most trendy and expensive commodity that we can own. Most individuals of this generation are addicted to virtual media which is a platform best known for keeping up appearances. Hence, like we previously discussed Fashion is one of the most enticing markets to attract expenditure of the pockets today after maybe food.

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Digital marketing has since its creation made it even easier for both the parties to satisfy their needs in a more comprehensive way by helping display and meeting the demands on an international level. We are now one step closer to adapting to any fashion, culture and tradition by just a few clicks on your mouse or touch screen. However, there are some dos and don’ts linked with the practice that one should be careful about while indulging in these, as there is no assurance that it wouldn’t act as a double-edged sword for both. In this chapter, we will cover the perspective of a producer, company or business associate and their appropriate behaviour and understanding of what should be done to avail a long-lasting grip on their field.

Do follow Inspiration not Duplication: The origin of a particular fashion is not exclusive. It goes through one mind and then with several filtrations and changes along the way reaches the customer. Most of the common users do not wear original style and the product reaching their hands is a creation of “inspiration” from a similar. Duplication in the fashion industry is not a new concept, in fact, fast second-hand copies are a deciding factor for ongoing trends. The purpose of this is however not only to increase name and popularity but also to provide fancy clothes and accessories at a cheaper rate. However, it is very alarming to receive copyright from any of the existing brands for accessing authority over a completely identical design. Nothing goes unnoticed when it happens to be on the internet.

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Do not leave room for negative publicity: The above point gives way to negative reputation which can often become a brand’s biggest doom. In the age of social media, people can both make and break you. Therefore, customer service behaviour is also a very important aspect of the same. One negative comment from the mouth of someone influential or maybe even ordinary can destroy the hard-earned image one has created until now. Provision of the best services is both beneficial for the buyer and seller. Do not go for either overwhelming or underwhelming production: Producing too many clothes of the same design can be boring and monotonous. What captures the attention of a buyer is variety! On the other hand, if the styles are changed too frequently preventing a potential customer from ever discovering what they might have liked, makes for a loss on both sides. Excessive production of the same style or frequent changes leads to high production cost which is something a smart businessman would surely like to cut down on.

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Do encourage authenticity: Authenticity is almost directly linked to the reputation you generate. If the customer is devoid of his desired purchase which can include false advertisement of colour, material and size, it immediately leads to customer dissatisfaction and hence negative publicity. Do not pretend to be a certain brand or its branched company in order to avoid any further legal issues and eventual shutdown. Do remember your target customer: Staying true to the target audience while also appeasing the others should be one of the priorities of any fashion brand. As much as we claim that age is just a number, a certain style or brand is always more popular in a particular generation preferably the millennial. They are the most experimenting group and encourage more variety than the rest. The older generation prefers comfort in the usual and the young are governed by the choices of someone older. Even if the brand works towards making styles for any other categories, for example, say plus-sized individuals that should be their area of expertise with more production in the same than others.

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Do not ignore or be governed by competition: Competition is always a concerning aspect of digital marketing, potential rivals can always rise up to crush the business of another with innovation and promotion that they couldn’t keep up with. However, an attempt to mimic or overindulgence in other affairs can also lead to loss of personal improvement and novelty. For example, if an additional profit is being banked from new retail of cosmetics by a rival brand, it won’t always suit with the theme of your personal business, production of such can lead to losses because of minimum purchase caused due to no relation with the brand.

While loyal customers of the brand are deeply saddened by the brand’s downfall, it is without a doubt that Forever 21 was a victim to most of the above-mentioned points. The primary reason being confessed as “retail apocalypse”. The fast-fashion empire of Forever 21 is to cease operations in 40 countries and close up to 350 stores globally. Founded by Korean couple Jin Sook and Do Won “Don” Chang, Forever 21 previously named as Fashion 21 had one simple rule that they followed for successful sales i.e. to provide trendy clothes at affordable prices.

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The Changs were the wealthiest couples with a combined net worth of $5.9 million by 2015 expanding and ever-flourishing the business they had developed such confidence around. What they didn’t anticipate was to lose their uniqueness to the greed of making more profit. The company focused on growing bigger while its contemporaries like Zara, Vero Moda, Shein, etc began to become popular due to their trendy and exclusive looks. The company now stands at an overall debt of $500 million and have filed for bankruptcy which also provides enough time to reconstruct and bounce bank in the game with equal favour as before. However, the future of their plans is still uncertain. In an age of digital marketing ignoring your rivals and only concentrating on your own uprise can also be a disadvantageous move which Forever 21 should be sure to never repeat. The smarter solution being, to avoid a complete drown in the market one has to observe the tide and in time move along with it.