The Fragmentation Stages In The Fashion Industry

The fragmentation stage is also known as the infancy or the embryonic stage of the industry life cycle. This is where early adopters of new products, technology or processes are carving out a niche market and developing products and services in response to an identified need. We have to note that there is little to no competition unless similar companies have identified the same opportunity. Companies involved in this stage are typically active in sourcing investment capital to execute their business plans. Profits are not yet created because the industry is new to the market and revenue is usually reinvested in business expansion. Growing the industry awareness and positioning the product is the primary promotional focus at this stage. For

Research and development funds are allocated to shape products according to consumer needs and demands. This results in product standardization and product positioning to capitalize on key differentiating factors. The goal of marketing efforts at this stage is to differentiate a company’s offerings from other competitors within the industry. The duration of the shake out stage, like all the other stages, depends on the particular industry or product line under study. In the fashion industry there is a fairly short product life cycle because trends and tastes change regularly and move almost immediately into the next stages of maturity and decline. Because many new product introductions fail, the shake out stage may be short or relatively nonexistent for some products. However, for other products the shake out stage may be longer due to frequent product upgrades and enhancements that forestall movement into maturity5. The computer industry today is an example of an industry with a long shake out stage owing to upgrades in hardware, services, and add-on products and features. As the product gets more and more acceptance in the industry, more and more new entrants are likely to join the industry leading to aggressive competition. Finally, it is the survival of the fittest. Only those who survive the shake out stage can move to the

The probability of companies in India rescuing their products sinking in the maturity phase of their life cycle and reverse spinning them to the shake out phase is comparatively very high. This is called reverse positioning and here the consumers do not want products with endless features. Once the product is returned to the shake out phase, the industry tends to supplement the stripped down product with a carefully selected feature found in the higher version of the product in the maturity phase. This unconventional combination allows the toned down product with special feature to assume a new competitive position and enables it to stabilize backwards from maturity into the shake out stage in the industry life cycle. While a mature product is well established in the market and is likely to be part of every investor portfolio, it is equally likely to have a declining share in it may be due to the fact that when a new product assures a higher return for the same amount of risk as a mature one the latter seems to be less attractive for investors. The evolution of new products with huge reach also forces established products into