Research and development in apparel industry is ongoingprocess. Every now and then, we encounter new developments, innovations,improvements in existing processes, which are in terms of fabric, style,stitching details, patterns, prints and their designs, but cycle of fashionkeeps on revolving and always repeats after certain period.


Fashion trends moves in the direction from west to east.Trends which are in the western countries (USA, UK, France and Italy), will be the future trends in east and other countries. In other terms, we can callthem fashion trendsetters.


Trends are in terms of styling, detailing and patterns,which is the invention of their dexterous designers and trend readers. Innovationsand research done in terms of fabric and accessories in China, India, and Hong Kong shall be the basis of styling and patterns of trendsetters. Eventuallycall them supporters/active participants of the trends.


Nevertheless, we can segregate the whole apparel and fashionworld in three categories.

  1. Fashion and trend-setter countries
  2. Retailing, Marketing and merchandising specialist countries
  3. Sourcing, Production and process oriented countries


1. Fashion and trendsetter countries are France, Italy, UK and USA. We find lots of excellent designers, designing institutes, fashionstores, boutiques, and renowned brands. Like- Chanel, Armani, Hugo Boss, GAP, A&F, Valentino etc.


2. Marketing and Merchandising specialist countries are USA, UK, Hong Kong & India. They have the best concepts of marketing, retailing andmerchandising in their own areas. Due to presence of the best fashionmerchandising schools, they have good command over their retailing andmarketing skills, India and Hong Kong are the emerging markets nowadays interms of their retailing plans and encouragement to satisfy the domesticdemand. Like- Macys, Wal-Mart, Target, GAP, A&F, Nordstrom, Reebok,Nike, Sainsbury, Lifestyle, Wills lifestyle, Max. etc.


3. Sourcing, Production and process-oriented countries are China, India, Vietnam & Bangladesh. They are export & process oriented countries due to lessexpensive labor, cheap raw material and govt. encouragement to exports. Theyare the best in to their own areas of specialization. Like- LinFung, MustGarments, Lenny Fashions, GI, Orient Craft etc.


There are many other countries, which are the part ofabove-mentioned categories like Spain, Germany, Pakistan, Canada, Brazil, Thailand etc. Nevertheless, they cover only a small part of these categories.


However, buyers study the trends very carefully,understanding the concepts of behavior of consumers, their presence, theiraesthetic sense etc. Generally, when we get into this concept, we find thatNorth American buyers travel to European markets to grab the idea of fashiontrends, stories, themes and color combinations. After studying the market, theyapply the same to prepare their style packages, to get the prices and costingfrom vendors. It applies the same to European buyers; visit the America or Retail outlets of US based brands to sense the market trends.


Many Italian/US brands emphasis to colors and hand feelswith their basic patterns. Brands like UCB, American eagle are the examples ofthese outfits. However, it is presumed thinking that, It is not the color, butalso the hand feel, which sells the garment into the market. Colors are theirto tempt the customers to pull them in the showroom, it is the hand feel andprice, which ultimately satisfy their aesthetic desires and psychological needs.


Behavior is a quite personal term to be used, but theirbehavior always depends on the behavior of their customers and competitors. Allbuyer look for, all kind of resorts to launch their product first, withimproved innovations in market, to fetch the sales profit. This is the natureof business, first come first profit. Who reaches the destination first, is thewinner of the game?


About the Author


The author is student of Post Graduate in InternationalBusiness at George Brown College, Canada.


The authorexpresses his views on Buying Behavior of Buyers