The fashion industry has been dramatically transformed during the last 20 years with the introduction of fast fashion: a style of instant cutting edge fashion at affordable prices (Sheridan, Moore, & Nobbs, 2006). The term, fast fashion, describes a business model characterized by rapid supply chains, merchandising techniques and retail technology all developed to respond to increasingly fast changing consumer demands (Kim, Choo, & Yoon, 2013). In contrast to this business format, luxury fashion brands have always held a superior position in the fashion industry through their quality, limited release and pricing policies. The contemporary fashion industry is now highly competitive, with this additional pressure coming from fast fashion companies constantly delivering original and “fresh” products at affordable prices (Cholachatpinyo, Fletcher, Padgett, & Crocker, 2002). Despite the apparent price discrepancy between fast fashion and luxury fashion products, both these two fashion styles appear to cater to a consumer’s need for uniqueness. Through the consumption of fashion this uniqueness factor becomes evident in the way in which consumers convey their individual identity and self-image to society. Intuitively, as the two styles of fashion are distinctive, the type of uniqueness component desired by their consumer will differ. Therefore, we ask: “what aspects of uniqueness are motivating consumers to choose between fast fashion and luxury fashion brands?” The paper answers this important research question through evaluating (1) the predictively of fashion-brand attitude and self-congruency on fashion style preferences and (2) the moderating role of consumers’ need for uniqueness (CNFU) in these direct relationships. An online survey of 301 U.S. participants was conducted utilizing a quazi-experimental between-subjects design. All participants had experience with purchasing either fast fashion or luxury fashion clothing. Fashion-brand attitude and self-image congruency were treated as independent variable with preference for fashion style as the dependent variable. The three factors that constitute CNFU were treated as moderators. The results suggest that fashion style preference is determined more by the level of self-image congruency than positive attitudes towards fashion brands. More importantly, the different qualities of CNFU are capable of influencing individual consumers’ fashion preference within each fashion style. Collectively, the findings present strong supporting evidence that the differences in consumers’ need for uniqueness are likely to affect some fashion style preferences and not others. In particular, the majority of findings are consistent with the central argument that fashion consumers are uniqueness seekers and have their own ways of portraying their individuality to society (Workman & Caldwell, 2007). There was however inconsistent results obtained by treating CNFU as a single moderating construct, thus adding further support for Tain, Bearden and Hunter’s (2001) proposition that the consumers need for uniqueness consists of three distinct components, each specifying a unique personality trait.

Fast fashion brand marketers should develop marketing strategies that effectively satisfy the values consumers seek when purchasing fast fashion brands. This study aimed to identify the consumption value factors of fast fashion brands and to reveal the value factors that influence attitudes toward purchasing fast fashion brands. Data were gathered by surveying university students in the Seoul metropolitan area using convenience sampling. Three hundred and five questionnaires were used in the statistical analysis, which consisted of exploratory factor analysis using SPSS and confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis using AMOS. The factor analysis revealed the following six value factors: Emotional value, social value, price/value for money, durability value, eco-value, and consistency value. The fit statistic for the six-factor model was quite acceptable. Two of the six value factors, emotional value and price/value for money, positively influenced attitudes toward purchasing fast fashion brands. The overall fits of the revealed model suggested that the model fit the data well. The results suggested that fast fashion marketers need to understand the value factors that motivate consumers to purchase fast fashion brands. In addition, marketers should focus their efforts on satisfying emotional value and price/value for money in order to establish their brands in the increasingly competitive fast fashion industry.

The purpose of this study is to apply the expectancy disconfirmation model to consumer post-purchase behavior toward fast fashion brands. This study incorporated repurchase intention as a result of consumer satisfaction. It was hypothesized that consumer satisfaction, which is influenced by expectation, perceived performance, and disconfirmation, influences repurchase intention. It was also hypothesized that expectation influences performance. This study examined the brands and prices of the most recent purchases of fast fashion and also examined whether the purchases were planned or unplanned. The hypothesized path was tested and the relative influences of instrumental and symbolic performance on satisfaction were identified. Data were collected from questionnaires answered by 344 university students who were selected by convenience sampling. The results were as follows: 1) Purchased brands were, in the order of frequency of purchase, Uniqlo, Zara, H&M, and Forever21, followed by domestic brands, 8seconds, Spao, and Mixxo. The frequency of unplanned purchase was more than twice higher than planned purchase. 2) Based on expectation and performance, dissatisfactory group was larger than satisfactory group, which were 35.8% and 24.7% respectively. 3) It was revealed from the expectancy disconfirmation model analysis that expectation and performance had positive influence, but cognitive dissonance had negative influence on satisfaction. Satisfaction had significant influence on repurchase intention. The path analysis showed that all hypothesized path coefficients were significant. The results suggest some effective marketing strategies for marketers in the fast fashion industry.

The purpose of this study is to identify the antecedents of consumers' decision postponement on purchasing fast fashion brands. Ongoing search behavior, overchoice confusion, and similarity confusion were considered as antecedents. It was hypothesized that ongoing search behavior influences decision postponement both directly and indirectly through overchoice confusion and similarity confusion. Data were gathered by surveying university students in Seoul, using convenience sampling. Three hundred five questionnaires were used in the statistical analysis, which were exploratory factor analysis using SPSS and confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis using AMOS. Factor analysis proved that ongoing search behavior, overchoice confusion, similarity confusion, and decision postponement were uni-dimensions. Tests of the hypothesized path proved that ongoing search behavior influences decision postponement indirectly through overchoice confusion. In addition, similarity confusion influences decision postponement. The results suggest some confusion reduction strategies for marketers of fast fashion brands. Suggestions for future study are also discussed.

The established supply chain format has been radically changing from a three-month production to a shortened lead-time in the fashion industry. The faster pace of fashion trends, changing consumer lifestyle, and consequent demands for newness have been mainly attributed to the rapid development of high-tech information systems and mass communication. In particular, global fast-fashion leaders have become more successful by producing not as was initially planned and forecasted, but with an agility subject to customer responses. Latest customer trends are captured quickly, and production and distribution is steered to meet the response. In order to further maximize benefits and efficiency in a sustainable manner, the fast-fashion industry is seeking a production optimization model under which product attributes are defined in a short period of time, and an optimal quantity of products by style is produced. This paper aims to provide an optimal production quantity which subsequently requires an optimal parts procurement from the perspective of the supplier. This is obtained in order to minimize the cost function by identifying cost factors through an economic analysis technique. In this study, we propose a model for optimal production and its parts procurement to maximize target sales and profits by taking inventory and pricing into account.

This study examines how environmental consciousness and socially responsible clothing consumption attitude influence people's perceptions of the consequences of fast fashion. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey administered to females in their 20s to 40s, and a total of 430 surveys were used in the final analysis. The research results are as follows. First, environmental consciousness-which was conceptualized as interest in consumer effectiveness and the environment-had a positive influence on attitudes toward socially responsible clothing consumption attitude, i.e., clothing recycling and resource conservation. As the perception of consumer effectiveness was high, respondents had a tendency not to follow trends. Second, consumers with a high level of interest in the environment perceived the effect of fast fashion on the environment as serious, and they felt negatively toward personal use of fast fashion. Third, consumers with strong resource conservation behavior perceived the effect of fast fashion on the environment as serious, but those with positive attitudes toward secondhand clothing did not appear to have that perception. Finally, consumers who followed trends and those with weakly held attitudes about resource conservation felt positively toward personal use of fast fashion. The results of this research indicate that environmental consciousness is an important factor for socially responsible clothing consumption behavior. In addition, consumers with strong attitudes regarding resource conservation were more perceptive of the negative effect of fast fashion on the environment.

The purpose of this study is to identify the antecedents of the attitudes toward purchasing fast fashion brands and the frequency of purchasing fast fashion brands. As antecedents, a few brand-related variables and a consumer-related variable were considered. Perceived perishability, perceived scarcity, perceived quality, and perceived low price were included as brand-related variables and congruity between self image and fast fashion brand image was included as a consumer-related variable. It was hypothesized that both brand-related and consumer-related variables directly influence the attitudes toward purchasing fast fashion brands and then influence the frequency of purchasing fast fashion brands. Data were gathered by surveying university students in Seoul, using convenience sampling. Two hundred twenty seven questionnaires were used in the statistical analysis, exploratory factor analysis using SPSS and confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis using AMOS. The results showed that all the fit indices for the variable measures were quite acceptable. In addition, the overall fits of the model suggest that the model fits the data well. The hypothesized relationship test proved that perceived perishability, perceived quality, and congruity between self image and fast fashion brand image influence the attitudes toward purchasing fast fashion brands and then influence the frequency of purchasing fast fashion brands. The results suggest some effective marketing strategies for marketers in the fast fashion industry.

This paper proposes a computation model of the quantity supplied to optimize inventory costs for the fast fashion. The model is based on a forecasting, a store and production capacity, an assortment planning and quick response model for fast fashion retai

This paper suggests the product supply process model based on the store and production capacity, assortment planning and quick response for fast fashion retailers with BPMN. In the fast fashion industry, the standardized business process model is required