The new era of global eternal peak trading — driven
by a year-round succession of blockbuster shopping festivals such as Eid,
Chinese New Year and Diwali — demands a step change in the way production,
retail and distribution are managed across the luxury retail industry.
For many brands and retailers this high tempo
of operations and unprecedented level of complexity can present a seemingly
insurmountable challenge, but the reality remains that brands and retailers
will only make the most of the huge global opportunities offered by eternal
peak trading, and expand profitably, if they are equipped with a new and unique
set of omnichannel tools.
Those brands capable of creating a digitized central
pool of business information will be able to optimize visibility and manage
their systems in real-time across multiple regional supply chains
globally. This is a critical step
towards streamlining business flows, improving business opportunities and speed-to-market
in multiple regions globally.
The
complexity of multiple trans-national value chains makes it imperative that
brands and retailers can access a single view of the truth if they are to successfully
optimise their operations across all their channels. To maximise efficiency and
profit margins, this view must be in real-time and include the complete global
value chain covering stock, customer and order with all functions integrated,
including production, logistics and retail functions such as merchandising and
promotions.
This kind of
granular real-time single view can only be achieved with market-leading
technology and those companies who invest wisely will gain a significant
competitive advantage over their peers who fail to embrace omnichannel digital
transformation.
A single
view of the truth also gives brands and retailers the real-time insight to
react with speed and agility to changing market trends, customer behaviour and
increasing cost pressures. This approach liberates brands and retailers to seize
new opportunities wherever in the world they arise — China’s Singles Day,
Ramadan, Diwali or Les Soldes d’Hiver in France — and on whatever channel.
The reaction
of luxury brand’s to Singles Day 2018 is a great example of this. Luxury label
Burberry, for example, released a limited number of wool scarves with its
signature logo (priced at $661) ahead of the sales festival on its Tmall
flagship store. All items were sold out on the first day of the pre-order period.
Italian fashion house Versace, meanwhile released a special hoodie with its
signature tiger head (priced at $402) on Tmall. Moschino and Tiffany also
collaborated with Alibaba’s Tmall to target Chinese luxury shoppers for the
first time this year.
In the new era of eternal peak trading brands and retailers still need to pursue the conventional goals, of knowing their customer and ensuring the right products are in the right place at the right time, but the sheer extent of global commerce and the pressure placed on systems by eternal peak trading mean that any inefficiencies are amplified exponentially, with a similar negative impact on profit margins.
To optimise operations, unlock real omnichannel value, capitalise on the new era of eternal peak sales and expand globally, brands and retailers need a holistic way of managing and making sense of this complex picture — digitally and in real time while also solving the cultural, linguistic, regulatory and logistical challenges presented by international expansion.
Find out how Dedagroup Stealth’s solutions can give your fashion or luxury brand the omnichannel capabilities it needs to capitalise on the new era of global eternal peak trading.
