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Purpose: Fast fashion brands in Asia are increasingly incorporating corporate social responsibility (CSR) into their business strategies in response to the mounting environmental and social concerns. The study aims to provide insights into the current landscape of CSR practices and communication within the Asian context through focusing on two prominent Asian brands to understand how these fashion brands articulate and convey their CSR activities on their respective websites. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a qualitative content analysis to critically evaluate the CSR communication used by Uniqlo and Shein, with the incorporation of signalling theory as a theoretical framework to discuss the observed elements on their websites. Findings: The results indicate that the two Asian fast fashion brands actively engage in CSR's environmental and social dimensions. Notably, the social dimension is more prominently expressed on both brands' websites than on other dimensions. Through a nuanced interplay of colour, imagery and keywords, these Asian fast fashion brands strategically signify their commitment to environmental stewardship and stakeholder well-being. Originality/value: This study fills a gap in the literature by examining CSR programs on Asian-owned fast fashion brands' websites through the application of signalling theory. The research contributes to the theoretical foundation of CSR communication outcome research, offering actionable insights for marketers entering the Asian fashion market to enhance brand reputation and legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the ecological awareness of Chinese consumers towards fast fashion and examine the effect of social sustainability claims on green brand image and purchase intentions in China, considering China's unique environmental policy landscape and its significant role in the global fast fashion industry. The study explores the role of altruistic values in promoting sustainability within the well-known fast fashion brand "H" and how they shape brand image, consumer satisfaction and brand equity. Design/methodology/approach: The study collected data from 257 Chinese participants and used a serial mediation model through the PROCESS macro in SPSS to analyse the correlation between green brand image, created through sustainability claims and consumer purchase intentions. The model also assessed the intermediary effects of brand image, satisfaction and equity. Findings: The findings of the research indicate a direct and positive relationship between green brand image and consumer purchase intentions, emphasising the need for clothing and textile industry marketers to strategically promote altruistic values in their sustainability efforts and highlighting the importance of ecological awareness in shaping consumer behaviour in the Chinese context. This approach enhances green satisfaction and green brand equity and ultimately leads to higher green purchase intentions. Originality/value: This study provides significant insights into the effectiveness of incorporating social sustainability claims in advertising to improve a brand's green image and influence consumer behaviour. It emphasises the importance of altruistic values in sustainability strategies, offering valuable guidelines for marketers in enhancing green satisfaction and brand equity, thereby boosting consumer purchase intentions in the context of green branding and sustainability advertising. Focussing specifically on the Chinese market, this research sheds light on the impact of ecological awareness among Chinese consumers within the fast-fashion industry. Given China's substantial role in shaping global fast-fashion production and its evolving environmental policies, this focus adds significant depth to our understanding of sustainability claims' influence within this crucial consumer base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper seeks to demonstrate the value of using social media to capture fashion trends, including the popularity of specific features of clothing, in order to improve the speed and accuracy of supply chain response in the era of fast fashion. Design/methodology/approach: This study examines the role that text mining can play to improve trend recognition in the fashion industry. Researchers used n-gram analysis to design a social media trend detection tool referred to here as the Twitter Trend Tool (3Ts). This tool was applied to a Twitter dataset to identify trends whose validity was then checked against Google Trends. Findings: The results suggest that Twitter data are trend representative and can be used to identify the apparel features that are most in demand in near real time. Originality/value: The 3Ts introduced in this research contributes to the field of fashion analytics by offering a novel method for employing big data from social media to identify consumer preferences in fashion elements and analyzes consumer preferences to improve demand planning. Practical implications: The 3Ts improves forecasting models and helps inform marketing campaigns in the apparel retail industry, especially in fast fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigates the relationships between perceived scarcity, fear of missing out (FOMO) and impulse-buying tendencies (IBT) in the fast fashion context in both scarcity and non-scarcity conditions. Additionally, this study examines whether these relationships vary depending on the type of scarcity messages: limited-quantity scarcity (LQS) and limited-time scarcity (LTS). Design/methodology/approach: We used written scenarios, and each participant was assigned to one of the experimental or control groups for LQS and LTS conditions. Using a structural modeling approach, we tested the conceptual model and analyzed the data through SmartPLS version 4. We conducted mediating and multigroup (MGA) analysis. Findings: We found that perceived scarcity directly increases IBT and that FOMO partially mediates this relationship across all samples. The MGA findings also revealed that hypothesized relationships were not significantly different across LQS and LTS groups, suggesting that the effect of scarcity messages may be context specific. Originality/value: Previous studies have yielded mixed results on the effects of different scarcity messages on consumer behavior. This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence of the direct relationship between perceived scarcity, FOMO and impulse buying in the fast fashion context. The study supports the idea that the effect of different types of scarcity messages is context specific, suggesting that the relationship between scarcity perceptions and consumer behavior may vary depending on the product category and cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aims to examine fast fashion consumers' negative in-store experiences focusing on the effect of the two store environment factors, product overload and store ambiance, on their confusion and consequent shopping avoidance behavior. Design/methodology/approach: A research model of fast fashion consumers' confusion and store avoidance behavior is proposed using the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework. A pretest and the main online survey with 281 samples are analyzed, and the structural equation modeling (SEM) is conducted to test the proposed model. Findings: The SEM results support the proposed paths statistically. Consumers' confusion, measured with the two dimensions, inefficiency and helplessness, is significantly influenced by their perceived product overload and negative perception of store ambiance in the fast fashion shopping environment. Subsequently, fast fashion consumers' confusion results in less time spent in the store. Originality/value: The study sheds light on utilitarian shopping value in the fast fashion shopping environment by focusing on the fast fashion consumers' confusion in association with overloaded information caused by too many products and store ambiance. Research limitations/implications: The study implies that improving fast fashion stores' inherent issues with too many products and store ambiance might help consumers mitigate their confusion and prevent customer attrition. However, the study includes only two factors. Future studies may include other various fast fashion store factors. Additionally, one of the dimensions of confusion, irritation, did not emerge in this study. More work is needed to investigate fast fashion consumers' confusion, such as using a multigroup analysis by age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to analyse the resilience of customer demand management post-coronavirus disease 2019, using fast fashion as an example. The paper provides insights for potential applications to micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Design/methodology/approach: Based on the qualitative analysis and an integrated Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)-decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)-fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) methodology of fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making, we explored and prioritised the enablers of resilience management for fast-fashion MSMEs. Findings: The results reveal that the highest priority enabler is maintaining customer loyalty. Other enablers are associated with e-commerce endorsement, a customer-focussed assortment of items and flexible store operations. Research limitations/implications: The study findings will enable fast-fashion MSMEs to develop effective actions and priorities in operations efforts to promote post-pandemic recovery. Originality/value: Despite the importance of the resilience project and the changing fast-fashion customer patterns, only a handful of studies have explored how resilience can be managed in this field. Thus, the findings can contribute to closing this gap in the context of operations resilience research as well as MSME operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to develop and test a methodical approach to assessing the effectiveness of business models in fast fashion. Design/methodology/approach: The approach allows one to identify the key features of companies' adaptation strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper analyzes the economic profitability of the fast-fashion industry and establishes business opportunity trends. The author identifies a set of general characteristics of business related to supply and demand before and during the pandemic crisis. The study relies on descriptive statistics and statistical processing methods, including regression analysis, arithmetic mean and the indicator of market economy dynamics. Findings: The study found that the fast-fashion business model allows companies to adapt to the new market norms because of its dual strategy: demand-driven transparency and supply-driven sustainability, within the logic of consumption. The results indicate that focus on sustainability and transparent stakeholder engagement helps companies to remain relevant in the fashion industry. Originality/value: The results of the study can be used by general managers of companies, marketers and administrative managers to select strategies and make decisions under the current and future fashion industry demands in markets at different developmental stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigates supply chain management (SCM) practices in a specific fast fashion apparel (FFA) industry. The impacts of SCM practices on competitive advantage (CA) are investigated via mediating roles of supply chain agility (SCA) and partnership quality (PQ). Resource advantage (R-A) theory, in addition to resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capability theories, is used as theoretical underpinning. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-method approach is adopted: a qualitative field study and survey research. Data from 296 apparel manufacturers in Bangladesh are analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach, involving reflective and formative, first- and second-order constructs and mediation tests using the Hayes PROCESS macro. Findings: Both SCM practices and PQ significantly affect SCA. SCM practices are found to directly enhance CA, but, counterintuitively, only marginally. Only through mediations of SCA and PQ do SCM practices enhance CA significantly. This is a departure from past research that has postulated direct effects between SCM practices and CA. Research limitations/implications: This research is confined to the FFA industry and one national setting, Bangladesh. The data analyzed is also cross-sectional, with customary limitations on the temporal dimension. Practical implications: SCM practices contribute to CA, but only through the mediation of PQ and SCA. This is an important directive to practitioners. Also, the second-order reflective measures for each construct indicate the specific SCM practices needed to maximize CA. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature on SCM practices in FFA industry, specifically the mediating roles of PQ and SCA, resulting in new, more nuanced findings that are important in dynamic business settings, driven by new theoretical perspectives incorporating R-A theory, which has hardly been utilized before in SCM research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In the last two decades, the fashion value chain traveled to developing parts of the world. To these nations, it paved a path for socio-economic development initially but lately, the aftermath has costed more. This article visualizes the gains and losses of fast fashion to these countries. Design/methodology/approach: An in-depth systematic literature review was performed to analyze the secondary data from academic journals and reports from international organizations. The authors have compiled their empirical journeys in academia, research and industry from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) based on Schon's (1983, 1990) theory of reflective practice. Further on, the article is structured using the value chain analysis (VCA) method which visualizes the aftermath of mass-producing fashion for the developed countries. Findings: In this research it was found that LMICs have made substantial economic progress in the past two decades, however at a high social and environmental cost. It is the right time to find a balance between economic development and harm caused to the citizens of these nations. Originality/value: At the moment the existing academic literature talks about unsustainable practices in the fashion sector around the world. This research precisely targets the LMICs where the aftermath is supposed to be much more severe. Further, it provides solutions and urges these nations to bring a substantial change throughout the value chain for a robust future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: When fast fashion brands launch corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, consumers may consider these brands to behave hypocritically as their business model is generally perceived as being inconsistent with sustainable practices. Built on construal level theory (CLT), this study aims to examine how the benefit appeals that are widely used in CSR initiatives affect perceived corporate hypocrisy and the CSR performance of fast fashion brands. Design/methodology/approach: This study designed an online experiment with a 2 (fashion brand: fast fashion vs. unknown) × 2 (benefit appeal: self-benefit vs other-benefit) stimulus, using a virtual label named "Eco Care" for experimental manipulation. A total number of 298 Chinese consumers participated in the experiment and they answered an online survey. Findings: It was found that the brand types (fast fashion vs unknown) and benefit appeals (self-benefit vs other benefit) did not elicit perceived corporate hypocrisy nor did them directly affect perceptions of CSR performance. However, there was a significant interaction effect of them. That is, fast fashion brand's CSR performance was judged based on how the brand framed its sustainability claims. A fast fashion brand's CSR label significantly increased hypocrisy perceptions when the label used a self-benefit appeal and the interactive effect of the fast fashion brand and the self-benefit appeal hindered the formation of a green brand image and brand purchase intentions. Originality/value: This study adds a body of knowledge to the literature by examining the relationship between benefit appeals and perceived corporate hypocrisy from the perspective of CLT. The findings can help fast fashion marketers better understand the critical role of benefit appeals by acknowledging that the misuse of communication strategies may result in unfavorable consequences, thus ruining their efforts to improve their brand's image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to test for factors affecting environmental sustainability and purchase intention in the fashion industry. Accordingly, the authors developed a framework that depicts the relationships between perceptions of social responsibility, consumer attitude, trust, purchase intention and perceived consumer effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey was conducted with an internationally diverse sample of 216 consumers. Data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Findings: The results indicated that perceptions of social responsibility directly affect consumers' attitudes towards these fashion brands, as well as trust and perceived consumer effectiveness. Also, consumers need to perceive sustainability efforts of these brands as altruistic, and trust was found to be a direct predictor of purchase intention. However, both consumer attitude and perceived consumer effectiveness did not predict purchase intention. Research limitations/implications: The survey was primarily distributed to young people. Therefore, a generalisation of the findings to other age groups might be limited. Practical implications: Practicing managers should emphasise the fact that environmental sustainability and fast fashion brands could be sustainable to increase trust among consumers. Social implications: When it comes to environmental issues, positive perceptions regarding the companies' social responsibility efforts are vital to enhance both consumers' trust towards the brands and their individual feeling of empowerment. Originality/value: This study intends to shed light on the key elements that shape consumers' attitudes and willingness to purchase green apparel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to develop a conceptual framework in which dynamic capabilities (DCs) for the creation of logistics flexibility are outlined, and elaborate it further based on empirical data from a case study at a Swedish fast fashion retailer. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual framework that aims to delineate the relationship between generic classes of DCs and logistics flexibility is proposed. Thereafter, based on a theory elaboration approach, empirical data from a case study at a Swedish fast fashion retailer is used to identify more specific DCs and further outline the characteristics of the DCs classes. Findings: The proposed framework draws on the three DC classes of sensing, seizing and reconfiguring, and how they underscore logistics range and logistics response flexibility. The framework also distinguishes between DC classes and logistics flexibility that occur at operational, structural and strategic levels. DCs for the creation of logistics flexibility at a Swedish fast fashion retailer have also been identified and described as a means to further elaborate the characteristics of the DC classes. Research limitations/implications: Current empirical data is limited to one specific company context. Practical implications: The research presents a systematic and comprehensive map of different DCs that underscore logistics flexibility, a useful tool supporting logistics development efforts regarding flexibility. Originality/value: The establishment of a more detailed DC lens, in which different classes of DCs are included, means that an improved understanding for how flexibility is created can be achieved. It helps the research to move beyond the "here and now" existence of logistics flexibility to instead focus on how logistics flexibility can be created. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines the problem of lack of historical data and inadequate consideration of factors influencing demand in the forecasting of demand for fast fashion clothing and proposes an improved Bass model for the forecasting of such a demand and the demand for new clothing products. Design/methodology/approach: From the perspective of how to solve the lack of data and improve the precision of the clothing demand forecast, this paper studies the measurement of clothing similarity and the addition of demand impact factors. Using the fuzzy clustering–rough set method, the degree of resemblance of clothing is determined, which provides a basis for the scientific utilisation of historical data of similar clothing to forecast the demand for new clothing. Besides, combining the influence of consumer preferences and seasonality on demand forecasting, an improved Bass model for a fast fashion clothing demand forecast is proposed. Finally, with a forecasting example of demand for clothing, this study also tests the validity of the method. Findings: The objective measurement method of clothing similarity in this paper solves the problem of the difficult forecasting of demand for fast fashion clothing due to a lack of sales data at the preliminary stage of the clothing launch. The improved Bass model combines, comprehensively, consumer preferences and seasonality and enhances the forecast precision of demand for fast fashion clothing. Originality/value: The paper puts forward a scientific, quantitative method for the forecasting of new clothing products using historical sales data of similar clothing, thus solving the problem of lack of sales data of the fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research critically investigates product development in the context of fast fashion online retailers who are developing "own label" fashion clothing. With a focus upon inputs, outputs, planning and management in order to comprehensively map the interplay of people, processes and the procedures of the product development process adopted. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative research method was employed. Face-to-face semi structured in depth interviews were conducted with key informants from market leading fast fashion online retailers in the UK. Findings: The major findings of this research demonstrate the disruptions in the product development process in contemporary and challenging fashion retailing and a new "circular process" model more appropriate and specific to online fast fashion businesses is presented. Research limitations/implications: The research has implications for the emerging body of theory relating to fashion product development. The research is limited to UK online fashion retailers, although their operations are global. Practical implications: The findings from this study may be useful for apparel product development for retailers considering an online and fast fashion business model. Originality/value: The emergent process model in this study may be used as a baseline for further studies to compare product development processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Consumers online interactions, posts, rating and ranking, reviews of products/attractions/restaurants and so on lead to a massive amount of data that marketers might access to improve the decision-making process, by impacting the competitive and marketing intelligence. The purpose of this paper is to develop understanding of consumers online-generated contents in terms of positive or negative comments to increase marketing intelligence. Design/methodology/approach: The research focuses on the collection of 9,652 tweets referring to three fast fashion retailers of different sizes operating in the UK market, which have been shared among consumers and between consumer and firm, and subsequently evaluated through a sentiment analysis based on machine learning. Findings: Findings provide the comparison and contrast of consumers' response toward the different retailers, while providing useful guidelines to systematically making sense of consumers' tweets and enhancing marketing intelligence. Practical implications: The research provides an effective and systemic approach to accessing the rich data set on consumers' experiences based the massive number of contents that consumers generate and share online and investigating this massive amount of data to achieve insights able to impact on retailers' marketing intelligence. Originality/value: To best of the authors' knowledge, while other authors tried to identify the effect of positive or negative online comments/posts/reviews, the present study is the first one to show how to systematically detect the positive or negative sentiments of shared tweets for improving the marketing intelligence of fast fashion retailers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how customer involvement in product development creates an emotional connection, satisfaction, and subsequent loyalty toward fast-fashion retailers across high vs low fashion-conscious consumers.Design/methodology/approach Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gain understandings of the impacts of customer involvement. To explore customers’ general perceptions of fast-fashion retailers, a focus group interview with 11 US students was conducted. Data for a hypothesis test were obtained from 306 US female consumers and analyzed through structural equational modeling.Findings The findings underscored the relational benefits of involving customers in product development and the substantial moderating impact of female customers’ fashion consciousness.Practical implications The study’s findings support that the customer-brand relationship can be solidified by proactively involving customers in product development. This is beyond benefits derived from leveraging customers’ operant resources in product innovation. Thus, apparel retailers should take such interactive opportunities to build relationships with customers. Also, involving customers in product development can be a critical way for fast-fashion retailers to establish an emotional bond with and loyalty from consumers with a low level of fashion consciousness. Thus, any digital opinion platform designed to foster customer involvement should be managed with the customer-brand relationship in mind.Originality/value This study contributes to the emerging body of literature on customer involvement in product development in fast-paced retailing by elucidating the psychological process through which their participation strengthens the customer-brand relationship manifested in emotional, evaluative, and behavioral responses to the brand, and by identifying a consumer attribute that fortifies this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents of actual purchase behavior vs satisfaction at the point of purchase and the antecedents of actual unplanned vs planned purchase behavior.Design/methodology/approach By using both survey and actual purchase data from a total of 3,300 shoppers of a Korean fast fashion brand, the multivariate regression analysis and two separate logistic regression analyses were compared to respond to the research questions.Findings The noticeable point of the findings is that the factors influencing the level of satisfaction and the probability to purchase were different. As common factors for both actual purchase and satisfaction, value for money, and affordable price are the first things that the practitioners have to keep in mind when developing a strategy for fast fashion stores. However, unplanned shoppers, who are over half of buyers, are negatively influenced by the affordable prices in their buying decisions.Practical implications The results of this study have implications for the retailers, especially those selling fast fashion products in South Korea.Originality/value The current study has merit because of its use of secondary data collected by a large marketing research company on Korean domestic fast fashion brand. In particular, the combination of the large sample survey data collected right after shopping and the actual receipt of purchase has its unique value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of the inter-relationships among brand equity dimensions in the fast fashion context. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the empirical data collected from 419 fast fashion consumers in the USA, the study investigated the inter-relationships among the various brand equity dimensions by structural equation modeling. Findings – The findings reveal that brand awareness has a significant and positive direct impact on brand personality and perceived value; brand personality has a significant and positive direct effect on perceived quality and perceived value; and brand awareness, perceived quality and perceived value have a significant and positive direct effect on brand loyalty, respectively. Originality/value – Applying the brand equity model in the fast fashion industry and surveying actual consumers, the research provides in-depth empirical evidence of the interactions among the brand equity dimensions. Since fast fashion has become a key feature of the global fashion industry over the last decade, understanding the elements of brand equity and the inter-relationships among them provides important insights to marketing practitioners to develop strategies which encourage the growth of brand equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the competitive position of the company Inditex in the period 1990-2013 as a case study, identified by academics and professionals as a successful company. The analysis has focussed on the comparison of Inditex with its competitive environment. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology used to achieve the objectives was: data envelopment analysis for the analysis of efficiency and for the second the Tobit regression to determine the factors explaining efficiency. The authors have used additional methodologies such as social networks or cluster analysis. Findings – The individual company analysis reveals that the average efficiency level by years for the period 1990-2013, is relatively high 88.8 percent. The determinants of efficiency have been; the resources of the company in terms of assets whose relationship with is U-shaped curvilinear, where the minimum value (trend change) is produced between years 2002 and 2003. The degree of internationalization of the firm, is positively related to efficiency. As the company increases its expansion, experience and skills, increases efficiency. Finally, the effect of liberalization of textile trade in 2005 had no influence on the efficiency levels. Research limitations/implications – The limitations involving the methodology, in terms of representativeness, possible generalizations and type of secondary information used, can be offset by the ability to provide good vision and establish alternatives for possible studies. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the fast-fashion retail industry literature by emphasizing the importance of the case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify both the inspiration sources used by fast fashion designers and ways the designers sort information from the sources during the product development process. Design/methodology/approach – This is a qualitative study, drawing on semi-structured interviews conducted with the members of the in-house design teams of three Australian fast fashion companies. Findings – Australian fast fashion designers rely on a combination of trend data, sales data, product analysis, and travel for design development ideas. The designers then use the consensus and embodiment methods to interpret and synthesise information from those inspiration sources. Research limitations/implications – The empirical data used in the analysis were limited by interviewing fashion designers within only three Australian companies. Originality/value – This research augments knowledge of fast fashion product development, in particular designers’ methods and approaches to product design within a volatile and competitive market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings: Fast fashion is incredibly damaging to the environment. Sustainable initiatives are key to both the survival of fast fashion brands as well as the reduction of environmental damage caused by the fashion industry. Originality/value: The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – To trace the development of the Benetton Group and describe the causes and consequences of the clothing retailer’s transition from a market-driving to a market-driven strategy. Design/methodology/approach – Presents a history of the company from its beginnings in the 1960s, listing the innovations it adopted to support rapid expansion. Describes the emergence of “fast fashion” retailers such as Zara during the 1990s and explains how and why Benetton subsequently changed its strategy. Findings – It all started with a yellow jumper. Back in the 1960s, Italian men typically wore dark-colored sweaters under a jacket. So when his friends asked if they could have a brightly colored jumper like the one his sister made for his son, Gilberto Benetton realized that they had a different value proposition from traditional companies – and the start of a business. Soon Benetton had a company producing sweaters for local independent retailers in Italy. Plans for expansion brought further innovations that were new to the clothing market of the time. Practical implications – Draws attention to the value of first-mover advantage and the need to align competitive strategy with current market conditions. Social implications – Highlights the value of Benetton’s emphasis on developing long-term relationships based on trust with suppliers and retailers. Originality/value – Questions the value of a market-driving strategy as the basis for sustaining long-term financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the strategies that fast fashion retailers use to position sustainability by applying the stimulus-organism-response model. Specifically, this study investigated how sustainability positioning strategies influenced perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) effort, price value and brand equity. Design/methodology/approach – A between-subject Web experiment was used to test the research model. Four versions of the questionnaire were developed on a commercial online survey Web site, in which the surveys were randomly distributed to participants and data were collected. Findings – The findings of this study suggest that sustainability positioning strategies can lead to the positive perceived CSR effort, thus giving support to the effectiveness of sustainability marketing for fast fashion retailers. Furthermore, purchase intentions are significantly influenced by perceived CSR effort, price value and brand equity. Originality/value – This study provides important input for practitioners by suggesting that they focus their managerial attention to sustainability and should also promote it through their positioning strategies carefully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer perceptions of a potential sustainable line extension introduced by a specific fast-fashion retailer. Following brand-extension theory, the study seeks to identify the influences of knowledge of and involvement with the cause of sustainability, as well as knowledge and affect toward brand, on the evaluation of a sustainable line extension. Design/methodology/approach - Participation was limited to those with in-store browsing experience with either Zara or H&M in the past 12 months. A self-administered online survey was developed using the written scenario approach. After several screening processes, 598 completed surveys were deemed usable for statistical analysis. Findings - Findings identified significant cause and brand effects on brand-cause fit and brand-extension fit. In turn, brand extension was significantly predicted by brand-cause fit and brand-extension fit. In addition, the results of the study indicated that consumers do view sustainable products as fitting with fast-fashion retailers, based on their previous knowledge and affect regarding the brand and the cause. Originality/value - This study sought to identify consumers' perceptions of sustainable brand extension introduced by a fast-fashion retailer. Implications for retailers included leveraging consumers' past knowledge and affect regarding the brand through marketing of the sustainable product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The emergence of the fast fashion trend has exerted a great pressure on fashion designers who are urged to consider customers' preferences in their designs and develop new products in an efficient manner. The purpose of this paper is to develop a fuzzy association rule mining (FARM) approach for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of new product development (NPD) in fast fashion. Design/methodology/approach -- The FARM identifies the hidden relationships between product styles and customer preferences. The knowledge discovered help the fashion industry design new products which are not only fashionable, but are also saleable in the market. Findings -- To evaluate the proposed approach, a case study is conducted in a Hong Kong-based fashion company in which a real-set of data are tested to generate fuzzy association rules. The results reveal that the FARM approach can provide knowledge support to the fashion industry during NPD, shorten the NPD cycle time, and increase customer satisfaction. Originality/value -- Compared with traditional association rule mining, the proposed FARM approach takes the fuzziness of data into consideration and the knowledge represented in the fuzzy rules is in a more human-understandable structure. It captures the voice of the customer into fashion product development and provides a specific solution to deal with the challenges brought by fast fashion. In addition, it helps increase the innovation and technological capability of the fashion industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore fast-fashion consumers’ post-purchase behaviours and examine relationships among fast-fashion purchase, disposing, hoarding, participation in recycling, and environmental attitudes. Design/methodology/approach – A survey questionnaire was developed and a total of 335 college students completed it in a classroom setting. Of the data collected, 274 students who purchased fast-fashions were used for this study. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data and Pearson correlations were conducted to examine relationships among the variables. Findings – Results of Pearson correlations indicated that fast-fashion purchase was positively related to disposing and hoarding, but negatively related to participation in recycling. Apparel hoarding was positively related to recycling, but no relationships were found between environmental attitudes and any of the following: fast-fashion purchase, disposing, hoarding, or participation in recycling. Practical implications – Fast-fashion suppliers should encourage consumers’ participation in recycling and should take responsibility for collecting their post-purchase products. Originality/value – This paper provides important contributions to the literature about fashion retailing/marketing and post-purchase behaviours. Although young fashion-oriented consumers easily purchase and dispose of trendy and cheap fast-fashions, little is known about their post-purchase behaviours. Findings of this study showed that fast-fashion consumers had positive attitudes towards the environment, yet they did not participate in recycling. The finding implies that fast-fashion suppliers need to develop a culture to support sustainability of consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]