A Reflective Analysis of Fast Fashion Industry: Identifying Opportunities and Strategies for Success

Module code:	BMA4000-20
Module title:	The Business Environment
Assignment:	A2: Individual Reflective Performance Report (Based on Business Case Study given on Moodle)
Word count:	1500 (+/- 10%)
Contribution to module mark:	40% of overall grade

Assessment type:	Individual Reflective Performance Report
Weight:	40%

Submission deadline:

7th October 2024 at 23:59

Student Name:

Student ID:

Executive Summary

The report included a brief description of self-reflection using Gibb’s Reflective Cycle to reflect upon my previous learning experience and identify potential career opportunities in future aspects. Besides, I faced certain obstructions due to a lack of time management skills and poor writing ability to complete the assignment within the given deadline. Further, the theoretical approach of Tuckman and Jensen has been highlighted to align with practical examples. The assignment has been executed based on a case study on the fast fashion industry with an organisational example of Van Mildert. Lastly, certain strategies were provided to develop the internal substructure of the business and take necessary measurements to attain success.

Introduction

From an individual perception, self-reflection is an approach to reviewing one's own skills and abilities and reflecting upon areas of improvement through actions or words (Hashim et al., 2023). The portfolio will discuss a self-reflection based on my overall experiences while researching the fast fashion industry. Besides, certain negative aspects will also be identified to asses my strengths and evaluate areas of weakness to enhance employability assets. Lastly, some strategies will be presented to resolve personal conflicts among my team members and encourage them to work dedicatedly for higher efficiency levels.

Gibbs Reflective Cycle

It was first developed in 1988 by Graham Gibbs to provide a structural way of learning from past experiences (Adeani, Febriani and Syafryadin, 2020). This model also offers a strategic framework to examine previous learning involvements and allow them to plan accordingly to create a cyclic nature for individual learners. The reflective model includes 6 major stages such as description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan. Thus, a learner can describe their feelings and emotions through actions to analyse the positive and negative impacts on their career development in the long pathway.

1. Description

Assessing my overall work experience, it can be described that I have conducted a descriptive-type research study to collect both statistical and non-numeric data from external resources. Besides, it includes a wider range of market information and company background to analyse the present situation of the fast fashion industry. I have the potential to work as a team and encourage others to execute the task within the given deadline. While attending the class assessment, I was quite active in focusing on each of the detailed studies and identifying the key opportunities for my career enhancement. However, I lack effective research skills to find suitable information through secondary resources including books, articles, journals and so on to increase its accuracy levels. Thus, I should attend online workshops and courses to improve my research skills and ask for professional help to gain competitive advantages. Applying the group development model of Tuckman and Jensen would help to simplify the way of observing in order to recognise the process of team improvement. It has major stages comprising forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning (Hamid et al., 2023). Therefore, I can form a team to lead them and storm their individual abilities to share common goals for better academic performance.

2. Feelings

Fast fashion is a truly vast and interesting trend in the world of fashion which has really caught my interest. When learning and exploring the world of fast fashion I have been able to get a lot of insights on different aspects of style and design. Therefore, I was overwhelmed while attending research work as it helped me to improve my team management ability and communicate with other team members to understand their basic requirements. Besides, critical thinking and problem-solving skills are also crucial for an individual to resolve internal conflicts and identify potential job opportunities (Maksum, Widiana and Marini, 2021). However, I faced obstructions while solving research problems and failed to think out of the box to make informed decisions further. I lacked time management skills to attend the research and was unable to finish the task within the given timeline. This implies a negative impression on my career growth which might lead to high work stress and lose the confidence level to create face value in the classroom. Lastly, I feel that I was enough equipped with external resources and industrial knowledge to assess the current scenario of Van Mildert in the fast fashion sector.

3. Evaluation

I was quite confident about my decision to conduct thorough research and deliver quality approaches to meet the reader’s expectations in the long run. Effective research work helps to acknowledge societal issues and find relevant solutions to make innovative changes in the learning environment (Hendriarto et al., 2021). However, I should improve my research skills and think critically to build strong professional relations with peers and classmates. Attending a research study on the fast fashion industry is a positive side of the portfolio to evaluate the business environment of Van Mildert and collect information through the company’s website. Lack of emotional intelligence skills and poor critical thinking ability affected my professional characteristics to analyse industrial data as it is quite a trendy topic among future researchers (Papoutsi, Drigas and Skianis, 2021). However, a low financial capability and limited resource accessibility might have a negative impact on the research work to adapt modern tools or equipment and execute the task within the assigned deadline. Analysing Tuckman and Jensen’s group working theory, I have formed a group to lead them properly and enable them to improve their potential abilities to perform well in the classroom. It also helped me to create face value among other teammates and get easy access to resources for higher efficiency levels.

4. Analysis

During the research study, I have established a strategic goal and vision to execute the task properly and maintain transparency among other teammates to increase efficiency levels. It helped me to analyse each perspective thoroughly and create a wider range of career opportunities within the future scope of the selected assignment topic. However, I faced challenges while finishing the study as I possessed a lack of writing skills which can be improved by more practising and taking online self-assessment tests. It also has some negative sides including a limited future research scope and a lack of in-depth research due to time constraints. Analysing each area of Business and Management, it can be depicted that I have a strong grasp of marketing and management functions to create public awareness and foster innovative skills or knowledge.

It also engages people to understand the effective activities of a company to promote its objectives globally and raise high business standards to attain competitive growth. However, some of the teammates faced challenges in analysing the role of marketing and internal management functions in the field of Business and Marketing to deduce better research findings. From an individual perspective, operations and business environment are also crucial factors for industrial practices to run the supply chain distributions globally and create domination in society (Hilton and Platt, 2020). Lastly, I have not applied any theoretical concepts such as Porter’s or Mintzberg’s theory to align with practical examples.

5. Conclusion

Based on the above findings, it can be depicted that I have effective communication and team management skills to form strong coordination with other learners and increase consistency levels. However, I need to improve my career performance through training and development for better job opportunities in the long run. To acknowledge these types of case studies, I should enhance my research skills and develop the critical-thinking ability to think minutely before making any vital decisions. I also need to acquire sufficient resources and industrial knowledge to meet the reader’s expectations in future aspects. The theoretical concept of Tuckman and Jensen’s group working theory was also discussed briefly to align with practical examples to maintain a high quality of the research work. Lastly, some strategies were identified to develop the internal substructure and make innovative changes to increase the profitability ratio in the long pathway.

6. Action Plan

Step 1-

At first, Van Mildert can raise funding from various resources such as bank loans, marketing campaigns and crowdfunding to invest in its internal operations and meet market requirements.

Step 2-

The organisation should hire skilled labourers with sufficient industrial knowledge and professional abilities to face any hurdles and develop its internal infrastructure to assist in positive results (Bilan et al., 2020).

Step 3-

After that, it can expand its supply chain distributions globally and provide top-notch services or products to grab the attention of local societies for profit maximisation.

Step 4-

The company is facing a lack of resource capability and limited funding options which can be mitigated by participating in a collaborative work approach with other renowned brands in the fast fashion market.

Step 5-

Furthermore, Van Mildert can open new offline stores and enter the e-commerce marketplace to reach a wider range of local people and insist them to purchase its products for higher productivity levels.

Step 6-

Lastly, the business should participate in various sustainable activities to perform effective Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices to raise social awareness among local customers to attain positive outcomes.

Conclusion

It can be summarised that Gibb's Reflective Cycle helped me to describe my feelings and past experiences while conducting research work on the fast fashion industry. Besides, I have the potential to communicate with others and understand the actual requirements to build a strong foundation in the classroom. However, I faced obstructions during the research time to find suitable information from reliable resources and maintain consistency among others. Lastly, an action plan was prepared to improve my professional qualities and take important actions to resolve personal conflicts for better learning experiences.

Reference List

Adeani, I.S., Febriani, R.B. and Syafryadin, S. (2020) Using GIBBS’reflective cycle in making reflections of literary analysis. Indonesian EFL Journal, 6(2), pp.139-148.

Beckett, A. (2024) The cost of living crisis has made the UK a poorer, more anxious nation – and worse is yet to come. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/26/cost-of-living-crisis-uk-prices

Bilan, Y., Mishchuk, H., Roshchyk, I. and Joshi, O. (2020) Hiring and retaining skilled employees in SMEs: problems in human resource practices and links with organizational success. Business: Theory and Practice, 21(2), pp.780-791.

Codes.co.uk (2024) Van Mildert discount codes and vouchers. Available at: https://www.codes.co.uk/van-mildert (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Crumbie, A. (2024) What is fast fashion and why is it a problem?. Available at: https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/fashion-clothing/what-fast-fashion-why-it-problem (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Facebook (2024) Van Mildert. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/VanMildertclothing/ (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Hamid, S., Hussain, D.K., Yaakob, A.F. and Rahmat, N.H. (2023) A Study of Relationship of Factors in Tuckman Model.

Hashim, S.N.A., Yaacob, A., Suryani, I., Asraf, R.M., Bahador, Z. and Supian, N. (2023) Exploring the Use of Gibbs' Reflective Model in Enhancing In-Service ESL Teachers' Reflective Writing. Arab World English Journal, 14(2).

Hendriarto, P., Mursidi, A., Kalbuana, N., Aini, N. and Aslan, A. (2021) Understanding the Implications of Research Skills Development Framework for Indonesian Academic Outcomes Improvement. Jurnal Iqra': Kajian Ilmu Pendidikan, 6(2), pp.51-60

Hilton, R.W. and Platt, D.E. (2020) Managerial accounting: creating value in a dynamic business environment. McGraw-Hill.

Indeed (2024) Van Mildert Employee Reviews. Available at: https://uk.indeed.com/cmp/Van-Mildert/reviews?fcountry=ALL (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Indeed (2024) Van Mildert Pay & benefits reviews. Available at: https://uk.indeed.com/cmp/Van-Mildert/reviews?ftopic=paybenefits (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Instagram (2024) vanmildertclothing. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/vanmildertclothing/?hl=en (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Maksum, A., Widiana, I.W. and Marini, A. (2021) Path Analysis of Self-Regulation, Social Skills, Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Ability on Social Studies Learning Outcomes. International Journal of Instruction, 14(3), pp.613-628.

Papoutsi, C., Drigas, A. and Skianis, C. (2021) Virtual and augmented reality for developing emotional intelligence skills. Int. J. Recent Contrib. Eng. Sci. IT (IJES), 9(3), pp.35-53.

Paris Good Fashion (2021) Why Fast Fashion Still Has Gen-Z’s Heart? #262. Available at: https://parisgoodfashion.fr/en/news/why-fast-fashion-still-has-gen-zs-heart-262/#:~:text=Sustainable%20Fashion%20for%20All%3F,applied%20from%20regular%20flash%20sales. (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Rocket Reach (2024) Van Mildert Information. Available at: https://rocketreach.co/van-mildert-profile_b4b9457afb1a3732 (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Statista (2023) Fashion segment e-commerce users UK 2021, by gender. Available at: https://www.statista.com/forecasts/480950/clothes-and-accessories-e-commerce-users-by-age-and-gender-digital-market-outlook-uk#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20slightly%20more%20than,%2C%20and%20bags%20%26%20accessories%20online. (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Statista (2024) ASOS total revenue in the United Kingdom (UK) 2013-2023. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/500721/asos-revenue-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/ (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Statista (2024) Characteristics of generations in the UK 2022. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1389926/uk-characteristics-of-generations/ (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Statista (2024) Number of people employed in the UK 1992-2022, by generation. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1393584/employment-figures-uk-by-generation/ (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Statista (2024) Sales of the Inditex Group worldwide by brand 2013-2023. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/456505/sales-inditex-group-worldwide-by-format/ (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Zoominfo (2024) Van Mildert. Available at: https://www.zoominfo.com/c/van-mildert/347588184 (Accessed: 30 September 2024).

Appendix – Case Study: Fast Fashion

1. Conduct a SWOT analysis

Strengths Van Mildert provides top-notch products and services in both men’s and women’s sections to reach a wider range of customer segments. It is also considered as one of the strongest and most visionary fashion retailers in the UK to offer products at reasonable prices (Rocket Reach, 2024).	Weaknesses The company faced certain challenges due to increasing market demands and lowering manufacturing levels that failed to meet market requirements. It has been negatively reviewed by its past workers due to inflexible work-life balance and poor managerial facilities (Indeed, 2024).
Opportunities The organisation could raise money from bank loans and social marketing campaigns to develop internal infrastructure. Besides, it can collaborate with other renowned companies for knowledge and resource-sharing in future aspects.	Threats The rising cost of living crisis in the UK might be a great threat for businesses to run their operations in the competitive market (Beckett, 2024). There are various fast fashion retailers present in the country including Zara, H&M, ASOS and many more to create obstructions for Van Mildert.

Table 1: SWOT Analysis

(Source: Created by the learner)

2. Identify who the nearest competitors are

Competitors	Aims and objectives	Revenue stream/ sales
Zara	Provide superior quality products to customers Fastest delivery and customer satisfaction	26 Billion euros in 2023 (Statista, 2024)
ASOS	Become the world’s number one fast fashion destination Unique products and inclusive practices	1.55 Billion British pounds in 2023 (Statista, 2024)

Table 2: Competitive analysis

(Source: Created by the learner)

3. Find out who are the current customers are by researching different aspects of the fast fashion market:

What are the demographics of your customers?

The age group from 12 to 27 (Generation Z) mostly prefers fast fashion over eco-friendly products as it is quite cheap and stylish in nature (Paris Good Fashion, 2021). Besides, Gen Z people grew up in a world full of social media, fast fashion and economic uncertainty. In recent years, about 55.3% of females mostly prefer fashion e-commerce in the UK to buy fast fashion clothes (Statista, 2023). About 4.3 Million Generation Z were employed in the country which shows a moderate employability growth as compared to other generations (Statista, 2024). The average annual income of Gen Z was recorded at about 36,370 British pounds per household as of 2022. Lastly, they are quite talented with popular hobbies including reading, campaigning, video streaming and so on.

What is the psychographic profile of your customers?

In a survey, about 38% of people said that Generation Z got easily offended and were not able to work hard to get a better future ahead (Statista, 2024). Moreover, they are more likely to buy products based on online advertising and influencer marketing with a progressive mindset in favour of gender equality and human rights.

4. Mention 2 ways the company plans to promote itself to customers

Van Mildert has an official Instagram page with 10.4K to promote itself and grab customer’s attention to seek new market opportunities (Instagram, 2024). In addition, it has launched a new Van Mildert Affiliate programme for all the leading independent fashion retailers in the UK to enhance their presence in both high-street and online marketing. This also engages people to stay connected with the company and increases loyalty towards the brand for higher productivity growth.

5. Which marketing/advertising streams does the company plan to use

Van Mildert provides exclusive offerings with 90% off on every women’s outlet item and about 80% discount on men’s section as well (Codes.co.uk, 2024). Besides, the company has an official Facebook page with 10K online followers to spread positivity and stay connected with its regular customers to provide the necessary information in future aspects (Facebook, 2024). Therefore, it can also enter a new market segment through various promotional strategies including video conferencing and mobile advertising to increase its brand value among local customers. Mobile advertisement has been selected as it helps in personalised services and provides easy accessibility of resources to engage with its target audiences.

6. How does the company plan to tackle its social and environmental issues?

There are various social and environmental issues caused by the fast fashion segment due to over-production and excessive waste to meet high market demands at low prices (Crumbie, 2024). Although the overall production cost is low, textile employees and the environment are paying a high price to compensate for the rising global destruction and lead to labour exploitation. Therefore, the company provides sufficient wages and effective career opportunities for labourers to survive in competitive circumstances (Indeed, 2024). Lastly, it has been working on its business model to improve the environmental condition of fast fashion and control over harmful gas emissions.

7. Finally explain how being a private limited company (Ltd.)

Being a Private Limited Company (Ltd), it requires capital to expand its operations and invest in new projects. The main shareholder of Van Mildert is RGCF which helps to raise funding from external resources and reinforce the organisation's growing position in the existing market. It has acquired an overall revenue of $5.5 Million to enter new market segments and enhance managerial functions (Zoominfo, 2024). It includes an effective management team with the founder and co-founder and is owned by brothers named Eric and Cyril Williams.