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The purpose of this paper is to investigate market‐facing fashion industry strategic alliances in the fashion industry by studying a specific case in context of the existing literature. It has three key objectives: to explore the motives causing strategic alliance formation in the fashion industry; to understand the processes involved in the creation and management of such an alliance, and to identify factors defining the success of the alliance.

Case study methodology was employed studying an instance of market‐facing strategic alliance in the fashion sector.

It was found that while issues generic within the literature may be discerned in instances of strategic alliance in the fashion industry, industry‐specific factors, especially competence in marketing, branding and retailing, impact on the motives for alliance, partner selection and alliance implementation and alliance.

The usual limitations of any case study apply.

The paper provides an account of the motives for processes affecting and outcomes of strategic alliance in the fashion industry and promoting student, academic and practitioner understanding of the topic. The paper also provides a model for the management of such an alliance.

The paper offers insights into a contemporary phenomenon of interest to both practitioners and academics and provides detail on the motives and processes contingent to the successful management of strategic alliances within the fashion sector.

Since the concept of the flagship store format was first introduced to retailing in the 1970s, both its form and function have evolved considerably. The highest concentration of flagships can be seen in the luxury fashion market. This paper aims first to define the flagship concept in terms of its key characteristics, and second to outline the academic and industry developments, thereby charting its evolution.

Research was undertaken qualitatively due to the exploratory theory building nature of the subject area and the absence of accepted theoretical frameworks. This took the form of non participant observation and in‐depth interviews with brand representatives within seven major fashion capitals.

The research identifies essential elements of the luxury store format: its scale and size which usually exceeds functional need; it is derived and built on the twin features of exclusivity and uniqueness; it seeks to offer the customer a justification for their visit. The format evolves and adapts to find new ways of generating and communicating differentiation.

The findings provide direction for future research in the area, in particular, an opportunity to investigate how luxury flagship stores adapt in order to accommodate market conditions.

The paper delineates the characteristics of the luxury flagship store format and identifies a new characteristic of this format.

This paper aims to investigate consumers' perspectives on sustainable clothing consumption and to examine ways in which this information could influence retailers' policies.

Qualitative research was conducted using focus groups, home tasks and workshops with 99 participants. The sample represented different groups of consumers in relation to their sustainability behaviour.

Focus group participants had a limited awareness of the sustainability impacts of clothing. Where participants displayed pro‐environmental behaviour, this was not necessarily intentional, but was largely a response to other influences. The respondents' maintenance and disposal of clothes were found to be influenced mainly by existing habits and routines, which usually take precedence over awareness of sustainable practice. The research indicated that consumers could be persuaded to change their behaviour in relation to sustainability by being encouraged and enabled to reflect more on their behaviour.

This study uses qualitative research and is limited to UK consumers. Future research in this field could incorporate quantitative methods or in‐depth interviews. Academics could conduct further research and generate theories which apply to the sustainable consumption of clothing.

The findings have implications for retailers, academics and society. Retailers can develop and implement more sustainable policies and practices in relation to clothing production and consumption. There are wider implications for society and the environment in that retailers' practices can impact greatly on the sustainability of the planet's resources.

This paper's originality lies in its assessment of the implications for retailers of consumers' views on the sustainable consumption of clothing.

To explore the factors crucial to international fashion retailer success and evaluate how internationalisation could be controlled efficiently by a firm.

The study adopts a qualitative approach in the form of case studies of two international fashion retailers. This involved structured interviews with management to explore their knowledge and experiences supported by secondary research such as company and media reports.

Defines the critical success factors especially contingent to their businesses, emphasising the importance of brand management, product development and differentiation to international fashion retailers.

An exploratory study which model needs testing using quantitative methods.

Understanding of how fashion retailers successfully internationalise will increase company efficiency.

Vintage has been a growing trend in clothing recently, leading to major fashion brands launching collections inspired by vintage pieces or luxury haute‐couture houses digging into their archives to revive past designs. Yet, as this market develops, little is known about the profile of the consumer and the motivations to purchase vintage. This paper aims to explore the veracity of a number of assumptions relating to vintage consumption, equating it to the consumption of used, previously owned clothes by nostalgic prone, environmentally‐friendly or value‐conscious consumers.

A quantitative approach including structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed in this research using data collected from 103 women (screened on past second‐hand purchases). Vintage clothes were defined as pieces dating back from the 1920s to the 1980s. Second hand clothes were defined as modern used clothes.

The results show that the main antecedents to vintage consumption are fashion involvement and nostalgia proneness as well as need for uniqueness through the mediation of treasure hunting. In contrast, second‐hand consumption is directly driven by frugality. Eco‐consciousness plays an indirect role through bargain hunting. In essence, the thrill of the hunt is present for vintage and for second hand consumption. Yet, while vintage consumers shop for a unique piece with history, second‐hand consumers shop for a unique piece at a good price. Additionally, the main characteristics of vintage fashion consumers are a higher level of education and higher income whereas age is not directly related to the purchase of vintage pieces.

The paper discusses the relevance of second‐hand stores repositioning as vintage based on vintage and second‐hand consumers' profiles. Also, the need to educate consumers on the role of second‐hand consumption in a pro‐environmental lifestyle is highlighted.

The purpose of this paper is to identify how pure‐play fashion retailers can simulate attachment to their web sites (through trust, loyalty and purchase intentions) by using different communication mediums (static image, moving image, and text/image combination) to overcome the intangible nature of the online sales environment.

Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling using AMOS 16.0 are used to test 12 hypothesized relationships generated from the literature review. A sample of 688 female young fashion consumers from The University of Manchester participated in this study.

There is a clear difference in the build up of attachment when a consumer shops for products communicated via a static or moving image. Static images have direct relationships with trust and purchase intention, whereas moving images are related to building loyalty. Analysis shows that product recommendations (using a combination of text and image) are found to be directly related to developing consumer trust and loyalty towards a pure‐play fashion retailer.

Generalisation of results is limited due to the use of a student sample and the focus on the UK fashion industry. Further development of the constructs used in this study is needed to further test the conceptual model.

The study is one of the first to empirically study pure‐play fashion retailing, providing insightful and pragmatic advice by identifying which communication mediums foster trusting and loyal relationships with consumers.

The purpose of this paper is to identify how small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) fashion retailers can achieve a true understanding of customer trends to close the needs to offer gap in a highly dynamic sector.

A single case study approach is adopted in light of the limited research in this area. Data collection involved a multi‐stage and multi‐methods approach over a six month period to increase the validity of findings and the triangulation of data.

The findings of this paper highlight, first, the need for formal CRM intervention; and, second, the issues involved in the implementation of a loyalty program.

In the absence of specific knowledge in this area, a framework is developed to advance both theoretical and practical understanding of how SME fashion retailers can build and manage close customer relationships in the new economy.

The main purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of consumer behaviour with respect to (r)e‐tail borrowing, performed under different (more or less generous) delivery and return policies.

The study was designed as a randomised controlled experiment with a random sample strategy. Among the 192,482 Swedish customers who had made an order at nelly.com during the previous 12 months and were to receive the quarterly nelly.com newsletter in November 2010 by e‐mail, 4,000 were randomly selected and randomised into four groups of 1,000 in each group.

The experiment revealed certain purchase and return patterns that support the conclusion that (r)e‐tail borrowing behaviour exists in fashion e‐commerce. Evidence was also found that lenient delivery and returns policies seem to reinforce (r)e‐tail borrowing behaviour, albeit not always in expected ways.

Differences in delivery and return policies seem to impact consumer purchase and return behaviour differently depending on the type of item. Therefore a more differentiated view of how to apply them is suggested. Offering the same delivery and return policies to all types of customers and products is generally not optimal with respect to profitability.

The paper illustrates the need to consider both delivery and returns policies together with customer and product categories simultaneously when applying them in an e‐commerce context.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the retail marketing strategies of one fashion retailer as they are applied in two national markets, and to identify means by which international retailer success may be assured.

The paper is a qualitative case study.

To be a successful international fashion retailer, the ability to apply and adjust the retail marketing mix elements according to specific target‐market conditions and a wider global strategy is very important.

The paper indicates how an international fashion retailer may manipulate components of its marketing mix to be successful in diverse national markets.

The paper combines international retailing literature with retail marketing concepts to present findings of interest to commercial practitioners and offer opportunities for further research.