Consumer Behaviour in the UK Clothing Branch - Dissertation Example

Download file to see previous pages Fashion is the style that prevails in a society at a particular time recognized by the society. The term applies more to the clothing or attitudes of the people in the society. Fashion is a mode of dressing and behavior. In the recent world, fashion is known to affect life in society, especially the modern society we are a part of. Fashion is subject to people. It is dependent on an individual’s discretion when to apply a fashionable product and when to change it.

The fashion industry can be divided into four levels. Firstly, the primary level which consists of raw material production, textile production, and tool manufacturing. Secondly, at the secondary level, the production of fashionable clothing by designers and retailers. The third level, the retail level, includes the channels through which the fashionable products are distributed. The fourth level, the subsidiary level, includes marketing activities.

Competition and variety in the fashion industry are two vital factors affecting the entire industry and the people working in it. As the competition is tough and growing, the market for fashion products is also competitive and volatile. The complex world of fashion markets has persuaded scholars such as Jones and Han to set up a classification for the fashion markets.

THE UK FASHION INDUSTRY
Statistics indicate more than half of fashion products are women's wear at the same time as another third is in the form of men's wear (UK Fashions Facts 2009). It is believed that most of the people who buy various brands of fashion outlets in the UK are young people aged between 16 and 23.

The UK fashion industry is the most energetic and diversified in the world. It has been studied that the survival of clothing businesses in the UK is directly dependent on how it captures and maintains market share amongst the people between ages 16 and 23.

It is practical to study the vital and complex group (persons between the ages of 16 and 23) to get identify the ways to capture this market segment (Fashion Segments n.d.).

FACTS AND FIGURES OF THE UK FASHION INDUSTRY
The UK is a leading player in the fashion business. The quality, variety, and growth of the fashion products of the UK have outdone other competitors like the USA and the rest of Europe. The clothing and textile industry in the country produces products worth up to 8.5 billion pounds and employs more than 150,000 people. The high street fashion in the country is worth more than 44 billion pounds (UK Fashions Facts 2009).

Retail sales of fashion clothing exceeded 285 billion pounds in 2010 which contributed more than 8% to the GDP of the UK. There are more than 300,000 retailers in the country. On average, the UK’s households spend around 500 pounds per year on fashion clothing (UK Fashions Facts 2009).

The fashion retail or the fashion industry in the United Kingdom employs around three hundred thousand or 3 million people which constitutes almost 11 percent of the entire workforce in the country. Textile manufacturing businesses employ around 35 million people (The BFC Industry Facts & Figures 2011).

Since most of the British products are Multi-Nationals and hence many products have been exported to the outside world that makes up a good total in export numbers as well as annual revenue of the British government. That is why British fashion products are marketed all over the world. Total exports of fashion clothing worth more than 7 billion pounds and if the tourism and travel worth are included, then makeup around more than 35 billion pounds per year to the United Kingdom (UK Fashions Facts 2009). ...Download file to see next pages Read More