Tom Branna, Editorial Director02.14.21
The beauty and fashion industries are closely linked; what happens on the runway often impacts color cosmetics collections for the following season. Of course, brands like Chanel, Christian Dior and others have straddled both businesses for decades. But a recent study by McKinsey suggests that post-pandemic, the fashion industry faces many of the challenges that are being addressed by FMCG companies including seemingly disparate businesses like household cleaning and laundry.
For example, fashion executives are determined to reduce overstock. According to McKinsey, even before COVID-19, the fashion industry’s excessive inventories and widespread markdowns proliferated to the point that just 60% of garments were sold at full price, creating billions of dollars of lost revenues and margins. The situation worsened during the pandemic, and few retailers were immune. The overstock issue will only get worse if companies fail to adapt to consumers’ new “less is more” mindset—which includes a preference for longer-lasting, higher-quality, sustainably produced goods, says McKinsey. Fashion executives are responding to these new pressures by putting SKU reduction high on the agenda. Other plans for reducing overstocks include tapping into improved customer-insights analytics and reducing product-development lead times—both are issues in the household and personal products industry. According to McKinsey, some fashion houses are breaking away from a seasonal fashion calendar—will seasonal color cosmetics palettes follow suit?
Here's a look at what's keeping fashion executives up at night and how they plan to tackle key issues.
For example, fashion executives are determined to reduce overstock. According to McKinsey, even before COVID-19, the fashion industry’s excessive inventories and widespread markdowns proliferated to the point that just 60% of garments were sold at full price, creating billions of dollars of lost revenues and margins. The situation worsened during the pandemic, and few retailers were immune. The overstock issue will only get worse if companies fail to adapt to consumers’ new “less is more” mindset—which includes a preference for longer-lasting, higher-quality, sustainably produced goods, says McKinsey. Fashion executives are responding to these new pressures by putting SKU reduction high on the agenda. Other plans for reducing overstocks include tapping into improved customer-insights analytics and reducing product-development lead times—both are issues in the household and personal products industry. According to McKinsey, some fashion houses are breaking away from a seasonal fashion calendar—will seasonal color cosmetics palettes follow suit?
Here's a look at what's keeping fashion executives up at night and how they plan to tackle key issues.