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Can’t these brands improve the efficiency of their manufacturing chain so they can scale production with demand and not hold so much inventory? How about using
by IAmGraydon 7y ago
Can’t these brands improve the efficiency of their manufacturing chain so they can scale production with demand and not hold so much inventory? How about using machine learning to more accurately predict how much inventory is necessary?
- tgtweak 7y agoThe inventory is usually in retail locations when sold. I can't remember seeing anything in a luxury brand showroom (typically very limited catalogue also) that wasn't in stock. Buyers in this segment don't want to order and wait for it. This makes it difficult to do just-in-time production. Some is artisan produced (luxury watches being one). Machine learning has yet crack the code on what brand new high fashion style will sell best a season in advance when it is typically manufactured.
- xiphias2 7y agoMachine learning works much better on bigger data (cheaper brands), and Zara uses it for example to copy and test efficiently. That's also why luxury brands hate it so much.
- caseysoftware 7y agoIf it was a consistent, minimally customized product, not driven by trends.. probably. But fashion is ridiculously fickle. Not only is it seasonal and geographical but it can be weather-based, totally reactive to the news and trends that turn on a dime, and influenced by what that movie star wore at that huge party last night. (I've advised on a couple startups that have tried to accomplish this. The large trends are relatively straightforward and predictable, it's the frothiness/immediacy within that that becomes a mess and wholly unpredictable.)