Demand and Retail Management in the Luxury Industry

Supply Chain Management is a critical issue when dealing with luxury fashion industries. In particular, when managing the retail stage, Demand Management emerges as a key area to be investigated, since retail is often the unique contact point between the company and the customer. This paper focuses on two relevant luxury fashion industries, namely fashion apparel and jewellery. The goal is to understand how the players in these markets deal with their retail channel and the Demand Management process and which are the main drivers that influence their behaviour. Management practices are analysed through a case study methodology. The findings show that a relation exists between some features of the companies and of the products they sell (namely the duration of the products lifecycle and the configuration and control of the retail stores) and the use of some retail and Demand Management levers.