Title: Exploring the effects of e-fashions on producers of high-end clothing

Authors: Alan D. Smith

Addresses: Department of Management and Marketing, Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh, PA 15219-3099, USA

Abstract: Formerly, the world of high fashion was a closed and exclusive place available to only those with the money and social connections to access it. Now internet-enabled customers have allowed reliable shipping practices to occur that allow anyone with time and money to obtain pieces from their favourite designer. While the fashion houses (companies) themselves rarely sell directly from their website, they do provide information free to anyone with an internet connection. The internet has surprisingly shaken up the hierarchy of the luxury fashion world although still accounts for a small percentage of total retail sales, and its producers must take care to choose the best strategies to adapt. Models of the transformational process and an empirical section, highlight the need for the industry to choose its strategy very carefully, especially with advances in m-commerce and web-enabled technologies.

Keywords: consignment stores; e-commerce; electronic commerce; fashion houses; luxury apparel; m-commerce; mobile commerce; sample sales; strategy; transparent marketing; high fashion; internet; e-fashions; high-end clothing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2008.015937

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2008 Vol.2 No.1, pp.90 - 104

Published online: 02 Dec 2007 *

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