Four keys for fashion retailers to harness the opportunities that new year will bring

Being nimble, digital-first, quicker to market and customer-centric are some of the keys for fashion industry players to harness the opportunities that 2019 is expected to create.

In a recent report titled ‘The State of Fashion’ international consultancy firm McKinsey and the Business of Fashion have teamed up to bring some of the keys for fashion retailers to understand and leverage the opportunities that the new year will bring.

According to the report, 2019 will be an awakening after the reckoning of 2018—a time for fashion companies to look at opportunities and not just at surmounting challenges. Experts at McKinsey and the ‘Business of Fashion’ highlight that “the ones that will succeed will have come to terms with self-disruption.’

“Regardless of size and segment, players now need to be nimble, think digital-first, and achieve ever-faster speed to market,” summed up the study. Additionally, the report’s authors recommend retailers to take an active stance on social issues, satisfy consumer demands for radical transparency and sustainability.

The catalyst for this change resides in the ability to “have the courage to ‘self-disrupt’ their own identity and the sources of their old success to realize these changes and win new generations of customers.”