The UK market in fashion retailing is recognised as being the most concentrated in the world and companies in this sector are constantly striving to improve their market share and profitability. To do this requires a strong market position, which is developed, maintained and communicated to the target customer. This thesis explores the key issues of consumer and retailer perspectives of store positioning, how customers and retail employees perceive this image; and how image variables can be manipulated to defend or enhance market positioning. It concludes by developing a framework to indicate how image can be strategically managed. The literature review commences by setting out the historical perspective of the study of consumer behaviour and discusses a number of models, which aim to explain shopper attitude towards store and product selection. It moves on to investigate the attributes contributing to store image perception and to explore a number of methods of measuring store image. Past and current trends in retailing are examined and marketing strategies in the formation of retail image are discussed. The methodological pluralism used to obtain, generate and analyse data, is justified and results from four separate research phases. The exploratory research phase utilised qualitative methods to identify factors contributing towards store choice. In the second phase a multi-attribute model was applied to data to measure consumer and retail staff perception of store image. Furthermore, the congruence of customer and employee perception was evaluated. The third phase considered how con'sumers make store choice decisions by trading off attributes and allowed segmentation of sub-groups of customers with similar purchasing characteristics. The fourth phase used an interpretative approach to understand and compare key marketing strategies for two retailers. The conclusion highlights the issues that retailers have to manage in a fragmented market of consumers with high expectations of product quality, customer service and store environment. The research identifies that store choice factors vary not only between sectors but also significantly within sectors and shows product quality to be the prime factor. In addition, employee store image perception is acknowledged to be a useful indicator of customer purchase intention and the research emphasises the importance of companies having an organisational culture, which nurtures employee attitudes, motivation and skills to anticipate consumer behaviour and to provide quality service.

Fashion companies consistently prove to be the most prolific and successful of the international retailers. Success is attributed to small format size, single brand emphasis and economies of format replication. These factors contain the costs, and risks, of foreign market expansion. Evidence from the British fashion market attests to the aggressive expansion policies of foreign fashion retailers who, in the past decade, have disrupted the competitive equilibrium of the UK market. This study examines the motives, methods and management challenges that foreign fashion retailers face, and adopt, as they establish operations within the UK. Drawing from the wider international business and international retailing literature, seven research propositions direct the first, positivist research stage. Via a mail survey, sent to all foreign fashion retailers with stores in the UK, the study identifies that these are proactive internationalists, drawn to the UK to exploit the opportunities afforded from niche markets and brands with significant consumer appeal. The research also notes specific differences between designer, specialist and general fashion retailers in terms of motivations, entry methods, operating strategies, critical success factors and the problems they encounter. The second phase of the research is interpretivist in nature and examines the actual process of internationalising fashion retail operations within the UK from the perspective of seven case companies. The study concludes that the foreign entrants remain within the British market for reasons of exceptional profitability, reputation and consumer and competitor intelligence. The central contribution of the study resides in the identification and analysis of the facets integral to the actual process of successfully internationalising fashion retail operations; notably the incremental development of effective central and local management structures, the clear demarcation of management decision-making responsibility, and the staged development of product ranging and development, brand positioning and distribution planning policies.

M.Tech. (Fashion Design) / In January 2014, the Mail & Guardian published an article, ‘Going out of business is coming into fashion’, which claims that “South African fashion is in a state” (Witepski 2014:5). The journalist based her statement on the number of fashion designers that went out of business in the previous year (2013). Local designers, such as Tiaan Nagel, Marion and Lindie, Hip Hop, to name but a few, were all popular with both the public and the media, but just did not manage to stay afloat. Witepski (2014:5) writes that the problem with these businesses does not seem to be a lack of talent but rather a lack of business skills. Although the South African fashion sector has increased its economic profile in the last decade, the Gauteng Creative Mapping Project (GCMP) claims that a number of factors restrict its growth (Ameru & Caj 2008:190). One such issue is the sustainability of small businesses and, according to GCMP, this is an area where the government needs to lend its support

M.A.

by Lai Yuen Mei. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [175-179]). / Abstract also in Chinese. / Chapter Chapter One: --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1. --- Primary Concern of the study and Research Problems / Chapter 1.2. --- Data and Methodology / Chapter 1.3. --- Organization of chapters / Chapter Chapter Two: --- Literature Review on Industrialization and Global Commodity Chain Perspective --- p.7 / Chapter 2.1 --- Existing theoretical perspectives on industrializations and their limitations / Chapter 2.1.1. --- Free Market Explanation / Chapter 2.1.2. --- World-system economy perspective / Chapter 2.1.3. --- Statist perspective / Chapter 2.1.4. --- Historical institutional perspective / Chapter 2.2. --- The Global Commodity Chain Perspective / Chapter 2.2.1. --- Global Commodity Chain perspective / Chapter 2.2.2. --- Studies about the buyer-driven GCCs / Chapter 2.2.3. --- Strengths and limitations of the GCCs / Chapter 2.3. --- Bringing back organization to our analysis / Chapter Chapter Three: --- The historical development of Hong Kong's garment industry after the post-war period --- p.32 / Chapter 3.1. --- The industrial take-off after the post-war era / Chapter 3.2. --- Dominance of local capital and small establishments / Chapter 3.3. --- The Continuation of low-wage manufacturing in the eighties / Chapter 3.4. --- Concluding Remarks / Chapter Chapter Four: --- Product Strategy and Mode of Insertion of local manufacturers in the buyer-driven commodity chain --- p.39 / Chapter 4.1. --- General Profile of the thirteen garment factories / Chapter 4.2. --- Product Strategy of local manufacturers in doing OEM and OBM / Chapter 4.2.1. --- Shift the product line from low-end to medium or high-end / Chapter 4.2.2. --- Specialization on specific markets target / Chapter 4.2.3. --- Diversification of product lines with different price ranges / Chapter 4.3. --- Experiences of doing OBM / Chapter 4.4. --- How foreign buyers are attracted to the domestic node / Chapter 4.4.1. --- Make a perfect match in the market / Chapter 4.4.2. --- How to maintain relationship with buyers / Chapter 4.5. --- Concluding Remarks / Chapter Chapter Five: --- Interfirm Linkages in the Buyer-Driven Commodity Chain --- p.65 / Chapter 5.1. --- Local trading network as the mediator in the GCCs / Chapter 5.1.1. --- Coordinating function in order match and production stage / Chapter 5.1.2. --- Financial function of the trading houses to the factories / Chapter 5.1.3. --- Managing conflicts and contingencies between two parties / Chapter 5.2 --- Build up direct linkage with the buyers in the GCCs / Chapter 5.3. --- "Emergence of “close´ح and ""loose"" ties between local manufacturers and overseas buyers in the GCCs" / Chapter 5.3.1. --- Close-tie pattern / Chapter 5.3.2. --- Loose-tie pattern / Chapter 5.4. --- Discussion and implications on the buyer-driven governance structure / Chapter 5.5. --- Concluding Remarks / Chapter Chapter Six: --- Relocation Strategy of local manufacturers in different ties with buyers --- p.95 / Chapter 6.1. --- Relocation decisions in different pattern of ties / Chapter 6.1.1. --- Close-tie pattern with relocation / Chapter 6.1.2. --- Loose-tie pattern with relocation / Chapter 6.2. --- Intra-organizational comparison on relocation - triggering of relocation / Chapter 6.2.1. --- Pioneers in relocation - search for organizational growth / Chapter 6.2.2. --- "Late-comers in relocation - emergence of ""mimetic isomorphism""" / Chapter 6.3. --- Factories without relocation / Chapter 6.3.1. --- Support of subcontracting network in South China / Chapter 6.3.2. --- Buyers' participation in the South China's subcontracting network / Chapter 6.3.3. --- The experience of a second-tier producer in the GCCs / Chapter 6.4. --- Concluding Remarks / Chapter Chapter Seven: --- Social Outcomes after relocation in the commodity chain --- p.139 / Chapter 7.1. --- Three types of outcomes emerge within organizations - expansion or contraction? / Chapter 7.1.1. --- Relocation with horizontal expansion / Chapter 7.1.2. --- Relocation with vertical expansion / Chapter 7.1.3. --- Relocation but failed / Chapter 7.2. --- Implications on product upgrading after relocation / Chapter 7.3. --- Changes in organization of production in the Buyer-driven GCCs after restructuring process / Chapter 7.4. --- Concluding Remarks / Chapter Chapter Eight: --- Conclusion --- p.164 / Chapter 8.1. --- Rethinking the thesis of buyer-driven role in the commodity chain / Chapter 8.2. --- Forces that shape the restructuring strategy of domestic garment manufacturers / Chapter 8.3. --- Towards an organizational level analysis of industrial restructuring in Hong Kong / Chapter 8.4. --- Limitations of the study in this thesis / Chapter 8.5. --- Proposed direction for future research / Appendix / Chapter 1. --- Bibliography / Chapter 2. --- The semi-structured questions for the interview / Chapter 3. --- The title of the contact persons among the thirteen garment firms

The massive job losses and factory closures in the clothing, textiles and leather industries in almost all countries in the region. The low wages that continue in our industries, resulting in a low and, in many instances, declining standard of living of workers. The crisis which face unemployed workers who have no income, no social security net, and no immediate prospect of a job. It is a fundamental responsibility of governments in the region to work with trade unions and employers in order to develop appropriate policies to secure a future for the industries and to improve the conditions of workers.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the marketing strategies of custom clothing home-based business owners by identifying selected demographic characteristics, general business information, marketing strategies, and current and potential future marketing support from members who were custom clothier home-based business owners affiliated with the Professional Association of Custom Clothiers in the Oregon Chapter. The PACC is an organization developed to assist custom clothier home-based businesses and commercial businesses that are in fields associated with the sewing industry. There is limited research developed exploring areas focused on the marketing of custom clothier home-based businesses. The custom clothier home-based business owner acts as the research and development manager, production manager, and accountant as well as the marketer of the business Therefore, as concluded in previous studies the examination of the marketing strategies used by custom clothiers and any marketing support offered by professional organizations that assist home-based businesses, required further investigation. A self-administered mail survey questionnaire was mailed to all members of the PACC organization in order to collect data for this study. Only members who owned a custom clothier home-based business were asked to participate. The data from 45 of the returned questionnaires were identified as useable and analyzed using a Statistical Analysis System (SAS) version 7. Percents and frequencies were used to analyze the demographic characteristics, marketing strategies, and current and potential future marketing support from the PACC organization. Eighty percent of the respondents had been members of the PACC organization for three years or more. The greatest percentage of the respondents (13.33%) had owned their custom clothier business for 12 years. The majority of the respondents contribute fifty percent or less of the total household income. The respondents in the survey confirmed that word-of-mouth communication was the most effective method of promotion for the custom clothier home-based business owner. Networking was the most beneficial item of marketing support the respondents derive from membership in the PACC organization. A Likert Scale with the endpoints of "Very Beneficial and Not Very Beneficial" identified that the respondents also perceive product/service development at meetings as a very beneficial source of marketing support from the PACC organization. Future ideas for possible potential marketing support for the PACC organization included: 1) using the PACC referral service, 2) more publicity for the PACC organization, and 3) more exposure at the national level. Fisher's Exact Test was used to analyze data. Four separate two-by-two tables were developed to compare the respondents as two groups of 1) those respondents who had marketing experience and/or education to 2) those respondents who did not have marketing experience and/or education. Therefore, the column factor in the columns of the two-by-two tables was marketing experience and/or education and was indicated by the respondents on the questionnaire with a "yes" or "no" response. The row factors in each of the four separate two-by-two tables were: 1) geographic range of the clientele. 2) number of competitors in the local area. 3) requests for new fabrics, embellishments, or interfacings, and 4) satisfaction with the level of profits from the business. This investigation revealed that the proportion of the respondents who had marketing experience and/or education were inclined to have clientele outside the designated local area of a 50-mile radius within the location of the home-based business. The two-by-two table that compared the column factor of marketing experience and/or education and the row factor of satisfaction with the level of profits from the business revealed no significant differences between the two groups of respondents. Satisfaction of the business was not associated with either having marketing experience and/or education or not having marketing experience and/or education. Research investigating the marketing strategies of custom clothier home-based business owner is an important topic. The marketing of the custom clothier home-based business is often a complex process and is difficult to master and implement. / Graduation date: 2000

Thesis (M.A. in apparel, merchandising and textiles)--Washington State University, May 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-125).

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on December 18, 2009). Thesis advisor: Dr. Jung Ha-Brookshire. Includes bibliographical references.