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The authors’ innovation is specially constructed sleepwear – which the authors have dubbed “Janus Sleepwear” – for the treatment of sleep disturbance caused by thermal dysregulation, a problem most often seen in women. The authors have designed and tested a simple and comfortable garment with lateralized thermal properties that promotes either thermal conduction or thermal insulation depending upon body position. This innovation will allow sleepers to auto-regulate proximal skin temperature through subtle movements during brief transient arousals, preserving overall sleep architecture. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The authors have constructed several prototypes of sleepwear with lateralized thermal properties and conducted small-scale piloting of the garment. Volunteers wore the special sleepwear while awake and performed a series of controlled body position changes. Temperature at several proximal anatomical sites was monitored using temperature sensors known as iButtons.

Janus Sleepwear can facilitate more rapid cooling, compared to control sleepwear, when the conductive side faces the ambient environment and can maintain temperature with less loss of heat when the insulating side faces the ambient environment.

Thermoregulation plays a key role in promoting and maintaining sleep. Thermal dysregulation and sleep disturbance most commonly occur in women. Sensitivity to ambient temperature stressors suggests it may prove beneficial for such women to maintain as narrow a temperature range as possible during sleep. A person wearing Janus Sleepwear will be able to effectively “steer” her body in response to subjective and subconscious perceptions of thermal discomfort to maintain optimal conditions while asleep.

The purpose of this case is to expose readers to the dilemma of expanding domestically or internationally and simultaneously taking key decisions while expanding the business to the international markets. It could be a foundational case for understanding international expansion and growth strategies.

After the case analysis, students would be able to:

• understand the potential of the domestic market and the factors affecting the international expansion;

• evaluate the various methods to enter an international market;

• identify the challenges of expanding a business into emerging markets such as India;

• analyze the various growth and expansion strategies in an emerging market such as India; and

• assess the online promotion strategies in an emerging market.

NIVA, The Satin Collection, is a manufacturer and distributor of a luxury collection of silk and satin products. Founded in 2020, NIVA is based in Dubai with more than 1,000 customers. The products include silk bedding, silk sleepwear, fashion accessories and reusable satin masks, and they are made-to-order, custom-made and tailored locally in Dubai. Currently, all the operations are run and managed by the company’s founder, Purva. The only operation which is outsourced is the stitching process. The company is completely operating online and is currently promoting products only through social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

Purva is planning to expand her business. The two options are extending her existing operations in the UAE and expanding to other emerging markets, starting with India. Purva needs to decide on a suitable internationalization strategy to decide whether it is the right decision to enter the Indian market, including an entry and promotion strategy in her target market. In addition, she needs to decide whether to continue with NIVA’s current business model in India. There might also be additional possible challenges for NIVA in entering the Indian market.

Postgraduate MBA students, other graduate-level management programs and undergraduate-level students.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 5: International Business.

The case is based on interviews in 2022 with the founder of Shape, Monoshita Ayruani, supplemented by classroom testing and secondary sources such as textbooks, journals, newspapers and other pertinent sources such as reports produced by marketing and consulting firms.

Shape is a private limited company operating in Bangladesh, a country in South Asia. Bangladesh is a fast-developing country where the people (the vast majority of whom are young) are practical and forward thinking, conservative, yet also generally tolerant. Its CEO is Monoshita Ayruani, who has had several years of experience in a PR and Marketing agency before starting Shape. It produces and sells “innerwear” or undergarments, which are their staple products, as well as clothing, bath products, sleepwear and various other products targeted at women. Starting off as an online business in 2019, it was about to find its footing in the market when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The problem faced by Shape at the beginning was that digital marketing was not resulting in word of mouth for the product, as undergarments were considered too “taboo” to talk or share about with most people. The second problem faced was the sudden protests about Westernised clothing and culture in 2022, which may potentially threaten the company.

This case would be well suited for an undergraduate or graduate-level Marketing or Strategic Management course that exposes students to the challenges of promoting a new brand and marketing taboo products imported from abroad, in a largely conservative and culturally sensitive market, and preventing a potential crisis when protests break out. The case also touches on international supply chain problems, so may also be taught in an International Business course. The level of difficulty is intermediate as the problems are nuanced.

The case is intended to assist students to:1. understand the customer’s purchase decision with reference to channel values;2. evaluate and assess the channel strategy using conventional and digital channels; and3. design the channel strategy for start-ups in emerging markets.

The subject area for this teaching case was marketing management. The teaching case could be used for the undergraduation and graduation levels of students. The case was about the marketing channel strategy of a small start-up boutique called Chirmi in India, with the theory of consumption values explained. In this case, primary data was taken directly from Chirmi, whereas secondary data for market analysis was taken from various reports, articles and other sources. Because the owner provided the records and documentation, the account was therefore substantiated by the collected first-hand information. The case uses quantitative methods to make students understand the channel arithmetic and consumption values of all the channels used by Chirmi.

In the course of core marketing classes at the undergraduate and graduate levels, this case may be used. The case addresses the channel structure, including wholesaling, retailing and e-commerce. Distribution channel management, the theory of consumption values and e-commerce marketing management are explained. Evaluation of channel strategy, design, implementation and management is emphasized.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 8: Marketing.

After completion of the case study, the students will be able to illustrate issues in offline marketing and strategy for an in-store business, familiarize students with the challenges involved in the decision-making in integrating online and offline marketing strategies, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of online and offline marketing and motivate students to apply marketing strategies to real-world business situations

Deepa Kumar, the founder of Yashram Lifestyle, had successfully built a niche brand with a strong online presence in the lingerie industry. Yashram Lifestyle was known for its innovative products and commitment to addressing the real-life vulnerabilities faced by women at different stages of life. With a vision to be a one-stop destination for all intimate and practical needs of women and girls, Yashram had introduced unique products such as period panties, starter bras, incontinence underwear and hygiene panties. On the contrary, Kumar acknowledged that offline marketing strategies, such as pop-up stores, collaborations with physical retailers and participation in industry events, could provide valuable insights into customer preferences, enhance brand visibility and foster direct customer engagement. Offline channels might also enable Yashram Lifestyle to better understand the market dynamics and further drive product innovation. However, owing to the associated costs, logistics and potential risks, Kumar was apprehensive about venturing into offline marketing. She wondered whether Yashram Lifestyle had the necessary assets and expertise to successfully scale up its operations while making these alternate decisions. Furthermore, she questioned herself whether offline marketing efforts would be worth the investment and whether they could lead to substantial growth and increased market share for Yashram Lifestyle.

The purpose of this case study is to provoke critical thought among undergraduate and postgraduate business and management students about Kumar’s potential course of action for Yashram Lifestyle to engage in offline marketing. It applies to the implementation of marketing strategy.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

The purpose of this paper is to confirm empirically the existence of a US apparel import intermediary (AII) identity crisis, and to provide a detailed descriptive profile of AIIs, differentiating them from apparel firms not primarily engaged in importing activities.

A survey study was conducted using a national sample of US AIIs. Based on these firms' executives' responses, a firm identity issue was analyzed and a detailed profile of these firms' business characteristics was developed, using frequency comparisons.

The study confirmed that US AIIs are currently experiencing an identity crisis, as nearly half of the study respondents misclassified themselves as apparel manufacturers or other business types, suggesting a significant distortion in US Economic Census data. The study also provided a descriptive profile of US AIIs, including geographic location and other business operation characteristics.

Three fourths of the survey respondents were located in the state of New York. Whether most US AIIs truly reside in New York cannot be known with certainty. Generalization of the study findings to a greater population should be cautious.

Confirmation of an AII identity crisis suggests both aggregate and individual firm‐level impacts on import activities. The study offers a new term, “intermediary”, to replace the US Census Bureau term “wholesaler” to accurately reflect the industry's transformation.

The study provides the first empirical support for a US AII identity crisis. The detailed profile of US AIIs offers industry data not available prior to this study.

The emoji, is it an endearing image to add to your text messages and email, or is it an increasingly important type of electronic data? According to a 2013 article by Jeff Blagdon, the idea of using some sort of symbol in electronic communication has been with us for about two decades. Japanese in origin, the earliest symbols of this type were developed in the era of pagers and old-style cell phones and were commonly called emoticons.

As devices developed a greater capacity to display graphical elements these keystroke representations were replaced with Unicode characters which display on our electronic devices, which we now call emoji. This instalment of the data deluge will look at the emoji as a form of data and explore how and why their ubiquity may create new opportunities for libraries.

Some readers, as well as the author of this column, may be tempted to scoff at the idea that the emoji is anything more than a form of shorthand for use in electronic communications or cutesy decorations.

One night she showed up at the class, and the instructor wrote on the board, “Computers in school libraries: A new tool or a flash in the pan?” He went on to warn school librarians to not be dazed by this “new computer phase” which he felt distracted both teachers and students from the real work of teaching and learning. He felt that if there were computers in schools, they only belonged in the mathematics classroom and that, even in that context, they only had limited application.

Ann Taylor was founded in 1954, and its classic black dress and woman's power suit were staples for years. In 1995 Ann Taylor LOFT was launched to appeal to a more casual, costconscious consumer. Under Kay Krill's leadership, the division began to outperform the original flagship. When Krill was promoted to President/CEO of Ann Taylor Stores Corporation in 2005, she was challenged with rebuilding the Ann Taylor brand - (i.e., meeting the “wardrobing needs of the updated classic consumer”) while maintaining the image and market share of LOFT. By mid-2008, an additional problem appeared: the macroeconomic climate was posing considerable uncertainty, especially for retail businesses. Krill was firmly committed to long-term growth. However, given the 2008 situation, what could she do to unleash what she believed was the firm's “significant untapped potential”?

To identify dimensions of evaluative criteria used when purchasing casual apparel and casual home furnishings and to determine which evaluative criteria served as predictors of brand extension purchase behavior of these products.

A mailed self‐administered survey sent to a randomized sample of 739 female consumers residing in three metropolitan areas in a southwest state in the USA resulted in a response rate of 32.7 percent. Purchase frequency of 15 brands that extended across apparel and home furnishings and the importance of 17 evaluative criteria were measured using 7‐point Likert‐type scales. Principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation and path analysis using LISREL 8 were performed.

Image, quality, color/style, and design/beauty of fashion products are important criteria when purchasing extended brands of casual apparel and home furnishings. Image of fashion products was the strongest predictor when brands were extended from apparel to home furnishings products.

This study was limited to female consumers living in urban areas in one state in the USA and to casual apparel and home furnishings fashion product categories.

Suggests retailers focus on brand or store image when extending brand from apparel to home furnishings and merchandise multiple product categories to increase sales across product categories.

Little research on brand extension of fashion products exists yet this is a growing strategic area of fashion product development and merchandising. This study addresses the need to examine consumer behavior associated with fashion brand extension.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify the salient effects of apparel evaluativ1e cues in order to enrich our understanding of consumer preferences and behaviour in two different socio-cultural contexts – Canada from the west and China of the east.

Online and paper questionnaires were used to collect data from Canada and China. Based on the prior research, 14 hypotheses were developed, and SPSS statistical analyses were used for this study.

According to the findings, Canadian and Chinese participants used price as an indicator of product quality and/or monetary sacrifice. Overall, the consumers from both countries were more concerned about the garment fit and style than brand name and country of origin. It is imperative for fashion practitioners to prioritise their resources and focus more on product research/design and prototype development. Fit, comfort and fabric were strongly correlated except in the “fit and comfort” of the Canadian sample. In addition, durability, ease of care and wardrobe coordination play a relatively less significant clothing evaluative role than many other product cues.

There are relatively few research studies have focussed on apparel consumer behaviour, and the salient impact of product-evaluative cues – particularly from a cross-national perspective. This study covers a wide array of important evaluative cues, and provides meaningful insights to both fashion academicians and practitioners. This is one of the few studies provide an in-depth and comprehensive report on the role and effects of apparel product cues.