Competition and Performance of the UK Apparel Retailer Sector - Research Paper Example

The paper "Competition and Performance of the UK Apparel Retailer Sector" is a perfect example of a finance and accounting research paper. The apparel industry in the UK has matured but it plays an important role in the economic development of the country. The industry is vast and therefore has been segmented and sub-segmented in several categories. The economy is recovering slowly from the recession and this has directly affected the revenue of retailers. A large number of retailers are quitting the high street in the UK as a result of high operating cost and intensifying competition.

The environment of the apparel industry has been assessed in terms of performance and competition by evaluating three important market players, namely, Moss Bros Group Plc, JD Sports Fashion Plc and Sports Direct International Plc. Each of the companies is significantly dependent on the UK retail sectors and consequently represents the behaviour of the industry in an appropriate manner. PEST, Porter’s Five Force analysis and SWOT analysis have been performed to study the external environment while ratio analysis was considered appropriate for internal assessment.

The net outcome has been discussed from the perspective of a five-year analysis and recommendations have been provided accordingly.The UK fashion industry is witnessing high growths within a highly competitive market environment. According to the global business browser (2014d), the sales of the UK apparel retail industry increased 2% to $57.3 billion in 2013, with a compound annual growth rate of 2.2% from 2009 to 2013. Further, the industry is forecasted to grow at CAGR 4.66% for the period of 2013-2018 and reach $69.

1 billion in 2018 (Global Business Browser, 2014d). Industry poses huge business size with 190,000 registered business stores and 287,100 retail outlets across the country and 9% for the industry sales is accounted for online sales (Keynote, 2014). On the other hand, according to British Fashion Council (2014), witness fashion industry direct value growth to the UK economy at a rate of 22% from that of 2009 contributing £ 26 billion in 2014 and supports around 797,000 jobs. Fashions contribution via indirect means of supporting industry supply chains and induced spending on wages increased 23% more than in 2009 (British Fashion Council, 2014).