Demand and retail management in luxury fashion industries

Supply chain management is a critical issue when dealing with the fashion industry. When managing retail, Demand Management is an area that requires investigation because retail is usually the only contact point between the company and its customers. This paper focuses on two luxury fashion industries; fashion apparel and shoes, watches and jewellery. The goal is to understand how the players in these markets deal with their retail channel and the Demand Management process and to find out which are the main drivers that influence their behaviour. Management practices are analysed using the case study methodology. The findings show that a relationship exists between the company’s features, such as ( the configuration and control of the retail stores) and the products they sell (the duration of the products lifecycle) and the use of retail and Demand Management levers which have been grouped into five main families; information management; demand forecasting; assortment planning; orders and replenishments management, and demand and supply synchronization.