The Business Environment: A Case Study on a Fast Fashion Firm

Module Code: BMA4000-20

Module Title: The Business Environment

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Description

Nature of Case Study

This case study examines a fast fashion firm producing cheap trendy apparel. It is located in an industry characterized by short production cycles and the possibility of providing clients with trendy and cheap clothes. Nevertheless, the fast fashion industry has its issues, ubiquitous environmental impacts, and most importantly, issues concerning ethics in labor. Fast fashion businesses like the company under study often have very intensive and destructive methods of production and consumption wherein they use a lot of water, chemicals, and energy (Naim, 2021). Also, labor conditions including low wages and hazards are prevalent as shown in the following points below. Challenges such as these have seen companies like H&M and Levi’s incorporate recycling into their company.

Industry of Case Study

The primary activity that was performed in the case study was to analyze the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats using the SWOT analysis (Rizki, et al., 2021). It is also talked about the current competition in the fast fashion industry and learned that the competition is like Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo. Other areas of interest were the company's customer profile which consists of young, fashionable consumers who are becoming more environmentally conscious while making purchasing decisions (Mandari?, Hunjet, and Vukovi?, 2022).

Discussion on the Case Study

During the class activity, students grouped to discuss Porter’s Five Force analysis on the company, and Tuckman and Jensen on group working. Organizing the group discussions, it is moved through Tuckman’s model as it is faced the forming, storming, and norming stages to consider how the analyzed company could solve its environmental and social challenges and continue to be competitive (Etareri, 2022).

Feelings & Thinking

Specific Case Subject

On the first encounter with the case study, the senses a lot of compelling that the company is facing environmental and social challenges. It also took an interest in how the firm could stay profitable as it has begun to implement sustainable strategies into its line of production and business operations (Kahupi, et al., 2021). It as a consumer knows the ill consequences of fast fashion and therefore has lived through the pressure that is being placed on companies to act responsibly.

Solving the Challenges of Case Study

On the capability to solve the challenges presented in this case study it is felt excited and at the same time, overwhelmed. On the one hand, it was willing to look for new strategies that may help to address the need to be profitable while simultaneously helping the company become environmentally friendly. On the other hand, it felt worried if it could come up with solutions that could not threaten on its competitive edge. It is also realized that I had limited knowledge of sustainable business practices and this caused some confusion when having to decide on the best way to adopt sustainable practices in the fast fashion industry (Bocti, El Zein, and Giannini, 2021).

Business Knowledge

The more it is moved through the group discussions, it is used to start to feel confident, especially when generating ideas collectively on how to promote the company’s sustainability goals and talking about the advantages of digital media platforms like Instagram or TikTok (Corotan, 2023). It is also understood that is required to enhance my knowledge of how to introduce green practices in a manner that will not drain the institution's financial resources.

Evaluation

Positive Aspects

This is one of the most positive outcomes which relate to the efficiency of the conducted SWOT analysis. The evaluation also highlighted the key strength of the company, namely the company’s short time within which they can produce a product and the fact that their products are fairly priced, but also revealed the opportunities that are threats in the following manner that this was helpful in that, it was able to determine areas that the company could work on to enhance its efficiency, particularly in matters concerning the environment (Rand and Stummer, 2021).

Negative Aspects

The favor of sustainability was one of the evident challenges, where sustainability appeared not to have been well balanced with the costs. Most of the solutions proposed which concerned the usage of recycled materials or the implementation of eco-friendlier production processes would raise the company’s production expenses (Rahaman, et al., 2024). This put pressure on the company needed to maintain its low-price strategy and the need to incorporate sustainability at the same time.

Working Theory

There were issues with how to organize and deal with the group behavior when conducting the initial phases of the project. Something that was again beneficial was that the majority of the tasks were group-based, and this helped in increasing group cohesion. The concept of group working that was developed by Tuckman and Jensen helped to understand the kind of teamwork that was in existence. Forming and storming, there was a controversy on what extent should the organization act on sustainability, or rather profitability (Warhuus, et al., 2021).

Analysis

Decisions

It can be understood that strategic business decisions in particularly selected industries like fast fashion involve always the trade-off between short-term benefits and long-term sustainability. This idea was discussed during discussions about the company’s sustainability strategy should reflect its values and brand image (Peters, and Simaens 2020). For instance, stakeholders generating specialized products for the young consumers who normally support sustainable fashion provide the firm a competitive edge over competitors while addressing environmental issues.

The situation didn’t Work

There is a problem that did not go as planned during its implementation process and that is how it is approached pricing at the onset. One of the difficulties that is faced was to start reducing the expenses needed to maintain production while at the same time implementing eco-friendly strategies. Therefore, to overcome this problem, it was deemed necessary to carry out more extensive research for actual technologies and methods for decreasing or mitigating negative effects on the environment while non-significantly raising prices.

Strategy of Business Decision

The most problematic strategy making was in the domain major of marketing like in Instagram and TikTok as the primary mediums for marketing. These platforms are aimed at the company’s target audience of young users, who are fashion-savvy, and it is quite likely that they would be receptive to fashion-conscious clothing by the company and its efforts to become environmentally friendly but are very hard to please and catch their attention and keep it continued. The website can be used by the company to promote its environmentally conscious policies through the use of well-articulated visuals, thus improving the company’s brand and its appeal to customers in the process (Saha, Dey, and Papagiannaki, 2022).

Conclusion

Skills

It is seen that there are several ways in which it could refine its method to submitting case studies in the future such as this one. First of all, it needs to obtain a closer look at the concept of sustainable production. This would help to be in a better position to suggest how it could better manipulate the cost and sustainability constraints to better fit the company’s business model. Furthermore, it is necessary to develop the skills to evaluate the potential economic effects of sustainability projects in the future. It would also assist in making better forecasts regarding the various effects that these initiatives could have on profitability.

Working in Groups

Regarding working in groups, it is established which lacks leadership skills which is quite important when working in a group with different opinions. It is also challenging to moderate the conflict of the members during the storming phase This is true in the sense that in the future, it wants to improve its conflict-solving skills so that it can able to direct the group to a positive constructive conversation.

Action Plan

Conduct In-Depth Research on Sustainable Practices

It would start by looking at the best sustainable practices that the fast fashion company could incorporate when designing clothes while it is minimizing expenses. Such strategies could be the research of new materials, for instance, recycled fabrics and technologies helping to decrease the consumption of water and energy in the production process.

Identify stakeholders’ opinions and prepare a cost-benefit analysis for sustainability initiatives
For mitigation of risk and for understanding the revenue generation and expenditure aspects, It would prepare a well-structured cost-benefit analysis. This would assist in making certain that any new practices shall be sustainable in the sense that they value the environment and that they do not have a very severe economic or any other form of impact in the market.

Building up and enhancing the digital marketing approach

It would create a strategic approach to digital marketing which would center on, engaging and raising awareness regarding the company’s sustainability goals on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok and the video-sharing platform, YouTube. By making use of these platforms, there will be an opportunity to cultivate directly the target market while creating an eco-friendly brand identity.

Building Group Leadership Competency

For future group projects, It would ensure that to participate in leading discussions and or ensure that it was involved in the conflict-solving process. This would help guarantee that the group never focuses on the issues that may lead to disagreement with a view of finding a solution to it.

References

Bocti, M., El Zein, S.A. and Giannini, R. (2021) ‘Exploring antecedents to the attitude-behavior gap for sustainable fashion consumption in Germany’, Journal of Sustainable Marketing, 2(2), pp.27-38. http://luminousdev.s3.amazonaws.com/gallery/486321656563154.pdf

Corotan, L.M. (2023) ‘Small Businesses Use on Social Media to Advocate CSR and Relationship Outcomes Among Stakeholders’, University of Hawai'i at Manoa. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstreams/0b42a1e9-1fdb-42db-8117-d326f534c185/download

Etareri, L. (2022) ‘Fundamental stages of development through the relevance of team building’, Medicon Engineering Themes, 3(10), pp.48-56. https://themedicon.com/pdf/engineeringthemes/MCET-03-058.pdf

Kahupi, I., Hull, C.E., Okorie, O. and Millette, S. (2021) ‘Building competitive advantage with sustainable products–A case study perspective of stakeholders’, Journal of Cleaner Production, 289, p.125699. https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/124277/Building%20Competitive%20Advantage%20with%20Sustainable%20Products%20%20A%20Case%20Study%20of%20Stakeholders.pdf?sequence=1

Mandari?, D., Hunjet, A. and Vukovi?, D. (2022) ‘The impact of fashion brand sustainability on consumer purchasing decisions’, Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 15(4), p.176. https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/15/4/176/pdf

Naim, A. (2021) ‘New trends in business process management: applications of green information technologies’, British Journal of Environmental Studies, 1(1), pp.12-23. https://www.al-kindipublisher.com/index.php/bjes/article/download/2427/2154

Peters, J. and Simaens, A. (2020) ‘Integrating sustainability into corporate strategy: A case study of the textile and clothing industry’, Sustainability, 12(15), p.6125. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/15/6125/pdf

Rahaman, M.T., Pranta, A.D., Repon, M.R., Ahmed, M.S. and Islam, T. (2024) ‘Green Production and Consumption of Textiles and Apparel: Importance, Fabrication, Challenges and Future prospects’, Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, p.100280. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S219985312400074X

Rand, W. and Stummer, C. (2021) ‘Agent?based modeling of new product market diffusion: an overview of strengths and criticisms’, Annals of Operations Research, 305(1), pp.425-447. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10479-021-03944-1.pdf

Rizki, M., Ghifari, A., Hui, W.L., Permata, E.G., Siregar, M.D., Umam, M.I.H. and Harpito, H. (2021) ‘Determining Marketing Strategy At LPP TVRI Riau Using SWOT Analysis Method’, Journal of Applied Engineering and Technological Science (JAETS), 3(1), pp.10-18. https://www.journal.yrpipku.com/index.php/jaets/article/download/276/238

Saha, K., Dey, P.K. and Papagiannaki, E. (2022) ‘Implementing circular economy in the textile and clothing industry’, In Supply chain sustainability in small and medium sized enterprises (pp. 239-276). Routledge. https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/10663/2/Implementing%20circular%20economy%20in%20the%20textile%20and%20clothing%20industry.pdf

Warhuus, J.P., Günzel-Jensen, F., Robinson, S. and Neergaard, H. (2021) ‘Teaming up in entrepreneurship education: does the team formation mode matter?’, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 27(8), pp.1913-1935. https://pure.au.dk/portal/files/292329466/Warhuus_Gunzel_Jensen_Robinson_Neergaard_2021_Teaming_up_in_entrepreneurship_education.pdf

Appendix

TASK-1: SWOT Analysis

Strengths Fast production cycles mean that the organization can easily make changes where necessary, usually to fit the current trends. Promotional offers appeal to everyone in the various classes that visit the outlets to shop. There are always market opportunities for fast fashion and premium clothing brands because of the increase and immense demand for fast fashion brands.	Weaknesses Some key issues which are associated with the company’s operations include excessive consumption of water and discharge of chemicals in the process. Hazardous working conditions and meager wages: there is the possibility that people’s perception of the company would be negative, especially given the frequent reports of unsafe working conditions and low-wage unionization by employees.
Opportunities The expanding consumer base contributes to the availability of options for environmental increases in the fashion industry. With the growing population of the world with a fashion feeling, it means that the company needs to extend its operations to other markets.	Threats: Some key competitors to fast Retailing are H&M, Inditex’s Zara, and Uniqlo and these are some of the companies that are most aggressive in sustainability strategies. Attention to such consumer pressure towards ethical practice may lead to the company losing its market share if not well addressed.

TASK-2: Nearest Competitors in Fast Fashion

Zara: The brand is famous for its continuing design to retail model.

H&M: A world’s CEO with emphasis on the sustainability processes.

Uniqlo: It is Centered on the key points which are cheap and quality clothes with simplicity of cuts and prints.

Cotton On: It is also important to state that the mentioned brand is an Australian brand with an international outreach and a short time cycle of production.

TASK-3: Different Aspects of the Fast Fashion Customer

Demographic
Age: 18-35 years old.

Gender: Chiefly involves women but occasionally includes also men who go shopping.

Location: Globally particularly in places that fall under Europe, North America, and some parts of Asia with mainly focused on urban places.

Occupation: Teenagers, young adults, those in their 20’s and 30’s, fresh graduates, those starting their careers, and junior employees.

Disposable Income: Moderate trends with an inclination to spend on fashionable but cheap items.
Hobbies: The target consumers are fashion-sensitive, active social media users, embrace pop culture and are keen on social events.

Psychographic Profile

Personality Traits: The successful mobile consumer is trend-oriented, the value buyer, and the social network-savvy buyer.

Social Convictions: Therefore, there is an understanding of environmental concerns but the main focus is on the overall cost.

Socio-political Persuasions: Concerned with the environmental and social impact of clothes but not necessarily against purchasing clothes occasionally with less regard for one’s health.

TASK-4: Promotional Strategies

Sustainability Initiatives: Using the green strategy supporting recycling programs or providing lines that can be environmentally friendly can assist the company to target ethical customers fairly well.
Influencer Collaborations: The collaboration with fashion influencers or celebrities will help spread the word about the brand through word of mouth.

TASK-5: Marketing or Advertising Streams

Instagram and TikTok: Well-liked by the younger generation most especially and good for intricate or visual content which is so relevant in fashion design.

E-commerce Platforms: Websites with unique selling propositions that employ buyers’ profiling to give them suggestions to buy.

It enables direct contact with the target customer base, visibility, and cost-efficient means of communicating with the target group.

TASK-6: Social & Environmental Issues

Social Issues: Protect workers’ rights, their means of earning a living, and their working conditions through conducting supplier audits and supporting the disclosure of information by the supply chain.

Environmental Issues: Usage of sustainable fabrics such as organic cotton instead of traditional fabrics. The company can also decrease the use of water and chemicals through the adoption of environmentally friendly technologies.

TASK-7: Effect of being a Private Limited Company

Financial Reporting: Privately owned companies are not obliged to produce the consolidated financial statements annually while in most cases, have greater privacy than public ones.

Compliance: It has to abide by different legal requirements such as tax laws, environmental laws, and provision of labor rights.

Raising Capital: It is collapsed to private investors only, meaning that, capital can only be raised through equity or by borrowing but not through an offering of stocks to the public.