Aid Efforts By the Fashion Industry
NewBalance’s Instagram post displaying the brand’s mask design
Fashion and beauty companies in Europe and the United States have shifted from producing luxury clothing, accessories, cosmetics & fragrances to manufacturing face masks, scrubs, and hand sanitizers. As the Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the fashion industry (and the world), big companies, besides making sizeable donations, have decided to commit to aiding efforts in order to curb the spread of the virus. With these efforts, they also hope to relieve the extreme shortage of the previously mentioned medical supplies. It has certainly become a trend for fashion & beauty companies that can afford, to help in COVID-19 relief efforts.
Through these efforts, the companies aim to at least slightly relieve shortages of medical supplies by utilizing their resources. But, in a time wherein all fashion & beauty companies are heavily impacted by the dip in sales, one might wonder how these brands will profit from these efforts. At the same time the questions, “How will fashion merchants will deal with dead stock?” and, “How will this affect their supply chains?” are floating in the air.
In light of these events, bigger companies have the resources to donate funds that will go into manufacturing these items. As all these companies are producing the supplies for free and giving them to governments to distribute, there is no monetary profit coming through the door. There is, however, profit for the image of these companies. In a time where transparency and social responsibility is so important to the modern consumer, there is a huge chance the actions being taken by the fashion industry will only take them a step further in the eyes of consumers. It is well understood that these companies take corporate social responsibility seriously.
The aid efforts trends greatly impact fashion merchants. With strict community quarantine being observed, no one is shopping in-store. E-commerce has taken over during these times, but profit is still at a low for the majority of fashion and beauty brands as consumers are not concerned with buying clothes or cosmetics. This means that fashion merchants have dead stock on their hands – barely anyone is buying, and the stock is aging. Solutions for some brands, like Noah Men’s Clothing, include free worldwide shipping or discounts, but so far it looks like fashion merchants will need to find dependable solutions to deal with old stocks once stores open.
The majority of the workforce around the globe is working from home, and work from home could not be more imperative for fashion merchants. Because companies have decided to produce different products, fashion merchants would need to adjust their supply chain. They would need to contact new vendors, negotiate terms, and adjust expenses. Currently, fashion merchants truly need to adjust to the times. Overall, the trend of fashion & beauty companies fighting the spread of COVID-19 by utilizing their own resources is admirable. In my opinion, it reveals that the fashion industry will certainly continue to adapt to ever-changing circumstances. I think that the unsung heroes of this current event are fashion buyers - they have to adjust to what brands want to produce in such a short amount of time. Because surgical masks, scrubs, and hydro alcoholic gel are products that are so different from what buyers usually buy, it will be interesting to see if, in the future, sourcing for these products will play a role in what new products these luxury brands decide to produce to bounce back from the effects of the pandemic.
