Does price reflect emotional,structural or performance quality?

Three denim jeans products from the same manufacturer with differentiated pricing and labels (antiqued, sandblasted, and stonewashed) were used to determine the relationship between price and quality. Both qualitative and quantitative procedures were used to analyse the garments. All three jeans were made of twill weave with 3 × 1 repeat. Both structural and performance characteristics were compared using standardized tests. Analysis of variance was used to compare the selected structural and performance characteristics among the three jeans products. Tukey’s HSD tests were used for post hoc multiple comparisons for three jeans. The findings revealed that despite the fact that all three jeans products were from the same store, and that the fabrics used the same weave, degree and direction of twist, the jeans differed significantly for several structural and performance characteristics. Several possibilities for future research were explored.     

日本纺织服装产业升级及中日比较

日本纺织服装产业在面临本币升值、劳动力成本上升和贸易摩擦的内外升级压力下,通过产业转移、产品创新、淘汰落后产能,发展技术纺织品和时尚产业,提高了产品的附加值,完成了对纺织服装产业的改造。中国纺织服装产业虽然面临着与日本当年相似的升级压力,但也存在着相异特征如大国、区域发展不平衡、经济实力、制造业的核心竞争力、创新和产业政策的有效性等不如当年的日本。通过分析日本的纺织服装产业的调整过程和经验教训,并对中日纺织服装产业升级进行比较,本文提出了相应的政策建议。     

An assessment of organic apparel,environmental beliefs and consumer preferences via fashion innovativeness

The topic of organic apparel has been widely discussed among academics and practitioners in recent years. While numerous studies have been done on the topic, few studies to date have assessed the topic of fashion innovativeness and its influence on attitudes towards organic apparel. In addition, an evaluation of consumer preferences for organic apparel from a conjoint analysis perspective has not been implemented. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to identify which organic apparel attributes are most important to high fashion innovativeness and low fashion innovativeness groups. Furthermore, the variables of environmental beliefs and attitudes towards purchasing organic apparel were assessed. An online survey was developed to measure the variables, including a full profile discrete choice design used to measure attribute preferences for t‐shirts. The data were analyzed using a multinomial logit model and desirability indices. The results indicated that the low fashion innovativeness group preferred organic and eco‐friendly apparel more than the high fashion innovativeness group. In addition, when examining high fashion innovativeness and low fashion innovativeness groups overall, the preferred t‐shirt was Dri‐Fit, Cotton Jersey Knit, Made In America, Eco‐Friendly and $25.00. However, when examining high fashion innovativeness and low fashion innovativeness groups separately for the preferred t‐shirt, differences appeared in Sustainable. The results suggest that high fashion innovativeness and low fashion innovativeness groups may desire different organic apparel attributes when considering organic apparel.     

浅谈网络环境下服装零售新模式及策略

作为代表未来贸易方式发展方向的一种新型商业模式,电子商务是在计算机技术、网络技术以及以数据库的基础上发展起来的。传统零售商开展电子商务面对的最重要问题往往是如何将线下的资产与电子商务进行整合,本文就传统服装零售业发展电子商务的新策略进行了探讨,分别对产品、价格、渠道及促销新策略进行分析总结。     

Causal relationship between apparel exports and macroeconomic factors

Apparel exports make a significant contribution to economic growth in major apparel exporting economies such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. This study aims to investigate the causal relationship between apparel export growth and its determinants such as GDP growth, infrastructure, financial development, foreign direct investment (FDI) and labour productivity using panel data from 11 major apparel exporting countries for the period 1996 to 2013. The results confirm a long-run equilibrium association among the variables and reveal that GDP growth, infrastructure, financial development, FDI, and labour productivity have a significant positive influence on apparel export growth. Furthermore, the heterogeneous panel non-causality test results suggest that GDP growth, infrastructure and labour productivity contribute to apparel export growth in the short-run. These findings have several policy implications for the governments of the countries under study.     

Labor Regulations,Employment and Wages: Evidence from India's Apparel Sector

While India is among the world's largest producers and exporters of apparel products, the sector has not performed to its potential. This study analyzes why this might be so from the perspective of the structure of production in the sector, the most striking aspect of which is a firm size distribution heavily dominated by small firms. Using nationally representative firm‐level and labor force survey data, we argue that the dominance of firms operating at scales too small to apply modern production and management technologies is one proximate reason for India's relative underperformance. Further, we note that India's labor regulations and the associated enforcement regime are important policy drivers of Indian firms' tendency to avoid placing “too many workers under one roof”.     

Mobile Commerce Website Success: Antecedents of Consumer Satisfaction and Purchase Intention

With the rapid development of apparel mobile commerce in the United States, more companies view mobile commerce as a new source of competitive advantage. Despite the importance of apparel mobile website quality and its effect on consumer satisfaction and future purchase stimulus, extant research has paid little attention to these topics. This study proposes a website quality–consumer satisfaction–purchase intention research model based on the self-regulatory process theory. Six dimensions of apparel mobile website quality—website visual appeal, apparel visual appeal, brand trust, website information quality, website response time, and website security—were investigated. In all, 293 eligible responses were collected via an online survey. Multiple regression analysis was utilized to test the proposed relationships. Results reveal that website information quality, website visual appeal, apparel visual appeal, and website security positively affect consumer satisfaction toward apparel mobile commerce websites, while website response time and brand trust show insignificant impacts on consumer satisfaction. With higher satisfaction on an apparel mobile commerce website, consumers are more likely to purchase apparel through the website.     

Understanding consumers’ perception of clothing quality: a multidimensional approach

The purpose of this study was to explore how consumers evaluate clothing quality. The researchers used a questionnaire based on responses from previous clothing quality research. It included statements to assess consumers’ use of informational cues to evaluate clothing quality and their expectations of high‐quality garments. A total of 146 students completed the questionnaire. An analysis of the data indicated that 75% of the informational cues and 36% of the expectations of a high‐quality garment were used by the respondents when considering the quality of a garment. The results of this study support the multidimensional nature of consumers’ perception of clothing quality using both informational cues and consumers’ expectations of high‐quality garments.     

Asian firms and the restructuring of global value chains

Asian trans-national garment manufacturers are transforming the structure of global value chains in the apparel industry. Recent studies show such first tier suppliers undertaking a greater range of functional activities. In many cases, these firms originate from the so-called ‘Rising Power’ economies, particularly ‘Greater China’ and South Asia. We argue that such, transnational, Asian firms can play a pivotal and strategic role in shaping the geography and organisational restructuring of the global value chain. Drawing on secondary sources and primary research we illustrate how such firms manage complex international production linkages, and ensure the incorporation of Jordan into the global garment industry. The paper contributes to the understanding of the role of these firms and how their behaviour is driven by complex dynamics linked to their own business strategies, their linkages with buyers, and their ability to exploit production and trade opportunities while maintaining high levels of global locational flexibility.