Introduction
The footwear and apparel industry has developed over the last few years. Sportswear keeps outgrowing the overall category as it remains the best acting segment of the apparel and footwear industry for another successive year. Currently, it bears to be noted that sportswear operators are switching their focus to the female segment of the sportswear industry. In May 2015, a female only store was opened in London that caters for Europeans. There is various trends that have come about that have changed the manner in which business in the industry is conducted. The industry is divided into the external environment and the internal environment. There have been various trends in the footwear and apparel industry that are external that may pose threats while others offer opportunities to the industry.
Emerging trends and their imparts in the business environment
Regarding the political environment, there has been an increased legislation and regulation especially in with the emergence of sweatshops. The emergence of an illegal sweatshop in some countries has led to the issuance of stricter trade policies, and this has affected some of the countries. Additionally, the other trend that has emerged is the partial ownership of some of the sweatshops establishments that were created in some foreign countries by the governments in the bid to increase their foreign exchange. The economic policies have also changed immensely. Regarding the socio-demographic environment, there is a trend in the industry whereby the middle class is the major targets. This may have been as a result of the ability of the middle class to spend.
Technological trends
Technologically, there has been an increased embracement of technology whereby most of the transactions are done through the technology platforms. Additionally, there has been an increased use of point of sale applications whereby one does not need to pay cash and customers can be able to purchase what they want with a click of a button. Environmentally, there has been an increased regulation on the issue of pollutions whereby the establishments in the industry need to manage their waste disposals and be sustainable. The footwear and apparel industry has a very competitive environment and thus the prices of the products need to be of the highest quality and cheaper than those produced by other competitors. Economically, fiscal policies and monetary policies by the governments have been revised so as to allow for the development of other footwear and apparel industry establishments so that there is enough competition in the industry.
Most of the trends that have been developed over the last few years do not only pose threats to the industry, but some of the trends also offer some opportunities. Some of the opportunities that have been realized due to some of these trends include the development of other tertiary establishments that support the industry. The development of technology and especially the different social media platforms have enabled most of the establishments in the footwear and apparel industry to market themselves. This has reduced most of the advertising costs and thereby increasing the profit margins of the footwear and apparel industry.
Cultural trends
In regard to the cultural trends in the footwear and apparel industry, the development of better communication platforms has led to the spread of different cultures as people continue to travel. It has to be noted that some of the threats that have arisen include the emergence of cheaper and fake products from china that have almost the same branding as that of Adidas.
Attitudes
There are varied attitudes that people have based on them what they think about the industry. Some people have a positive attitude since the industry provides jobs for them. Social media platforms have better reviews about the industry as the increase in competition has enabled services to continuously improve, and the quality of the products that are produced are high. Some of the threats that have arisen however include competition from other rival industries that provide substitutes.
