McKinsey har just släppt sin rapport The State of Fashion 2020, en läsvärd och matig sammanställning av modesegmentets möjligheter och utmaningar på den globala arenan.
Man ser på det hela taget stora utmaningar i segmentet – man pratar både om utmaningar utifrån ekonomisk osäkerhet, handelskrig och förändrade konsumentbeteenden och pekar på en minskad tillväxttakt.
“This slowdown will stem from consumers being increasingly cautious amid broader macroeconomic uncertainty, political upheaval across the globe and the continued threat of trade wars. This year has already been tough, and economic gains continue to flow to a select small group of players, while the middle is increas- ingly squeezed and the share of companies actively destroying value grows.”
De marknader där tillväxten sker i med högre hastighet är t ex Brasilien och Nigeria, där en starkt växande medelklass påverkar konsumtionen som helhet.
Man sammanfattar sina iakttagelser i tio punkter:
1. On high alert – Brexit, handelskrig och risk för global recession gör att det generellt sett finns en ökad pessimism om förutsättningarna totalt sett.
55 percent of respondents in the BoF-McKinsey annual executive survey expect conditions for the industry to worsen in the next year.
2. Beyond China – Kina är fortfarande en viktig marknad och har de senaste 10 åren stått för 38% av tillväxten i världen. Nu har inhemska modevarumärken fått upp farten och gör det svårare att skapa tillväxt utifrån att konkurrensen ökat, samtidigt som tillväxten i ekonomin minskar. Dessa etablerar snabbt i den fysiska världen och som jag skrivit i flera tidigare artiklar är fysisk retail en starkt kanal för att skapa kännedom och tänkbarhet.
Some international mass-market brands have struggled to compete against established Chinese brick-and-mortar players, some of which have thousands of outlets. Physical retail still plays an important role — 85 percent of shoppers engage with both online and offline touchpoints, compared with 80 percent in 2017.
3. Next Gen Social – Fallande räckvidd och engagemang på sociala plattformar gör det dyrare och svårare att nå konsumenterna.
Global consumer-goods giant P&G discovered that people spent less than two seconds on average looking at its ads on mobile feeds — and that those ads appeared too often. Chief brand officer Marc Pritchard explained in the Wall Street Journal, “We’re trying to reduce the amount of times we reach the same person over and over again.”
“Connect with your audience in different ways on different platforms, adapt your strategy [and] tactics to the user behaviours on various platforms and you will be rewarded for your effort.”
4. In the neighborhood – mer lokal handel tack vara fler mindre koncept. Jag skrev häromdagen om möjligheten att skapa högre räckvidd och förtäta butiksnätet med mindre enheter för högre effekt.
Consumer demand for convenience and immediacy
is prompting retailers to complement existing brick- and-mortar networks with smaller format stores that meet customers where they are and reduce friction in the customer journey. The winning formula will feature in-store experiences and localised assortments in neighbourhoods and suburbs beyond the main shopping thoroughfares.
5. Sustainability first – starkt fokus på hållbarhet förändrar branschens förutsättningar.
There remains a pervasive lack of consumer trust, amid accusations in some quarters of fashion industry greenwashing using sustainability as a marketing strategy without a significant positive impact on the environment.
6. Materials revolution – nya material skapar nya förutsättningar och krav på produktionen.
Today’s spirit of innovation is reflected in a growing lexicon of synthetic and re-engineered fibres. Bio-fabricated leather, biodegradable textiles, closed-loop recycling and e-textiles are buzzwords that are fast entering the manufactur- ing mainstream. Moreover, they are contributing to an enhanced design palette and a range of new commercial opportunities.
7. Inclusive culture – personal och kunder ställer krav på äkta inkludering.
Consumers and employees are putting increasing pressure on fashion companies to become proactive advocates of diversity and inclusion, rather than being reactive laggards.
8. Cross-border Challenges – ökad konkurrens när asiatiska varumärken går globalt.
Established fashion brands and retailers will face growing competition from new Asian challengers, as manufacturers and SMEs step out of their traditional roles and sell directly to global consumers. Expect greater competition from hitherto unknown players in the Asian supply chain who design popular items to sell at affordable prices using cross-border e-commerce platforms.
9. Unconventional Conventions – ökat fokus på B2C.
Traditional trade shows must respond to the increase of direct-to-consumer activity, shorter fashion cycles and digitisation by embracing new roles and fine- tuning their target audience. In a bid to differentiate themselves — or even just to survive — more of these events will add B2C attractions or launch new services and experiences to improve relationships with their traditional B2B audience.
10. Digital recalibration – ett välkommet uppvaknande – gärna digitalt men också lönsamt.
“This change in investor behaviour may mark the end of the frenzy for unicorn private companies that have great growth potential but are currently unprofitable and burn a large amount of cash every year, requiring ongoing financing.”
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