A cursory review of domestic apparel production data from ‘Cotton Counts Its Customers’ reports by The National Cotton Council of America showed a discrepancy between the amounts of cotton utilized in domestically produced women’s apparel and that for men’s apparel. It appeared that the men’s apparel sector had a higher percentage market share of cotton than women’s apparel. For both genders, cotton’s dwindling market share was similar to that of diminishing domestic US apparel production overall. Since the majority of apparel in the U.S. is imported, import data was obtained from the United States International Trade Commission and compiled with the domestic apparel data to offer a more expansive view of cotton’s market share and its use separated by gender. The compilation of domestic and import apparel data followed the overall trend of a higher percentage of weight of cotton being used in men’s apparel than in women’s. Challenging apparel categories which may offer potential for expanded utilization with increased performance were Coats, Underwear/Nightwear, Suits, and Dresses. In an attempt to add context to the apparel market data, we explored two stages of the apparel supply chain: the first at the retail setting, the second at the consumer purchase and wear decision level. At the retail level, we investigated the availability of fiber composition information and its use as a part of the assortment offered to consumers. Two stores were selected for this exploratory phase and retail availability by gender and fiber content were physically tallied in the two retail settings. In both retail assortments, there was no emphasis of fiber composition as part of the information offered to the consumer. For the consumer wanting to find cotton apparel in these two settings, prior knowledge regarding the feel or look of cotton would seem necessary to facilitate locating cotton among the assortment of apparel. Fiber blends can offer cotton-like appearance and hand, so fiber composition tags could give consumers certainty regarding the garments they are buying. In addition to the observations above, we also noted in both stores a prevalence of cotton in men’s apparel, and a larger presence of man-made fibers in women’s apparel, which reflects the overall market situation. Finally, the second exploratory stage focused on clothing diaries and a wardrobe inventory provided by a small purposeful sample of respondents to examine the role of fiber composition, cotton in particular, in the individual’s garment purchase and daily-use decisions. The findings suggested that fiber composition was an important part of the daily garment selection process, based upon the daily activity and a set of personal beliefs about what the diary respondent felt that fiber had to offer. Similar to the market data Results, in the Clothing Diary responses males showed a greater tendency to select both 100% cotton Tops and Bottoms than did the female respondents. Overall, cotton appeared challenged by man-made and other fibers when the respondents needed to “dress up”, to attend to athletic activity, or to satisfy the need for specific functionalities such as rapid drying. / text

The main task of my thesis has been to make an analysis of consumer behaviour on apparel market. And suggest any improvements based on obtained informatik. Required informatik has been gained in Quelle clothing retail, which is located in Jemnice town. I have done over the Internet consumer research. Questionnaire was completed by a total of 300 respondents. I´ve processed results into coding format from which the graphs has been created.

Submitted by Daniele Santos (danielesantos.htl@gmail.com) on 2017-09-27T18:10:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Seju Mike - Revised Thesis Submission 27.09.17.pdf: 1322299 bytes, checksum: 5a95866783e524e5006dc5481fc7a968 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2017-09-27T19:00:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Seju Mike - Revised Thesis Submission 27.09.17.pdf: 1322299 bytes, checksum: 5a95866783e524e5006dc5481fc7a968 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-29T19:49:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Seju Mike - Revised Thesis Submission 27.09.17.pdf: 1322299 bytes, checksum: 5a95866783e524e5006dc5481fc7a968 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-05-31 / This study explores the U.S. (United States) market for clothing and apparel of African origin and design; primarily focusing on the consumer of these fashion items. It delves into the field of Marketing study with an exploratory research approach to developing a consumer profile. By reviewing current market trends and analyzing results of survey data collected for the purpose of this study, it attempts to create an initial consumer profile using demographic and behavioral characteristics. Attaining an understanding of the target consumer is a crucial factor in determining a market entry strategy for new businesses and can also provide already existing businesses with a road map to achieving their full potential. Knowing who is most likely to buy your product aids the business in crafting the most appealing brand story for their target demographic. It also provides an understanding of where they frequent and what sales channels might be most attractive. As such, the relevance of this study lies in its ability to provide a starting point of reference for African brands, designers and retailers looking to expand their reach in the U.S. market place. Results of the study revealed a predominance of female buyers between the age of 30 to 35 years of age, living within the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. with buying patterns which indicated a preference for in-person shopping experiences versus online, and a tendency to purchase bargain items while seeking authenticity in the designs purchased, with a keenness towards supporting artisans on the continent. Further research into the subject matter is recommended, and should be aimed at achieving a more robust review of quantitative data as well as an expanded scope of qualitative research.

South Korea is a country that is poor in natural resources and capital and remains behind many other nations in technological development; however, South Korea's unique development strategy has led its economy to high growth over the last three decades. During 1997, South Korea began to experience a serious financial crisis, including bankruptcies of many of its conglomerates, a drastic depreciation in the international exchange rate of the South Korean currency, and an increasing foreign debt. Currently South Korea is struggling to compete with products from both industrialized nations and newly industrializing nations. The current crisis has occurred as South Korea has been engaged in extensive market-opening. Knowledge is lacking about South Korea's intricate and rapidly changing political and economic climate. The purpose of this research was to explore and clarify the interrelated factors that have contributed to South Korea's present economic problems, especially those facing South Korea's retailing industry. The qualitative methodology of "grounded theory" was used in this study. Grounded theory is a general methodology for developing theory that is grounded in data which are systematically gathered and analyzed. Theory evolves during the research process through a continuous interplay between analysis and data collection. This research attempted to discover the factors, or themes, that have affected the South Korean economy and retailing industry. The following factors were identified: (1) foreign direct investment; (2) the price-gap between imported goods and domestic products; (3) South Korea's trade deficit; (4) perceived over-consumption of luxury items by South Korean consumers; and (5) the chaebol, or South Korean large conglomerates. The economic factors that have led to the current difficulties facing the South Korean retailing market are complicated and interwoven. South Korean retailers will have to address these factors in the future, and attempt to find solutions. It is hoped that the knowledge resulting from this will be of benefit to South Korea's attempt to compete in a global marketplace. / Master of Science

The Online Clothing Reselling Platforms (OCRPs) industry foresees ongoing significant market growth, building upon the expansion it has achieved in recent years. This trend makes it essential to understand how website usability factors affect consumer behaviour and identify practical opportunities for optimization in this specific context of e-commerce. Through empirical research, this study aims to contribute to the existing gap in the literature by analyzing the effect of usability factors on purchase intention and developing a practical usability framework that can guide designers and developers towards the successful implementation of usability factors that facilitates consumer decision-making and purchase intention.  To address the research gap, a mixed-methods multiple case study approach was utilized, combining a heuristic evaluation, a survey of 186 participants, and usability testing with six participants augmented by eye-tracking software and semi-structured interviews. The research was conducted on two key OCRPs, building upon existing knowledge of website usability factors as well as empirical findings.  The results indicate that navigability, content relevance, credibility, and simplicity are positively correlated with increased purchase intention in OCRPs. The study suggests that these four website usability factors should be prioritized when designing and developing these platforms. Based on these findings, a practical usability framework was created to provide designers and developers with actionable insights that can assist them in prioritizing and optimizing website usability to increase purchase intention. The framework lists practical guidelines per usability factor and demonstrates the factors’ interdependence. The framework is designed to further enable the growth of OCRPs by increasing purchase intention through website usability.