I think that a less extreme, but possible, outcome could be that brands move to a partial wholesale/retail model. Its possible that brands could take some of th

I think that a less extreme, but possible, outcome could be that brands move to a partial wholesale/retail model. Its possible that brands could take some of the risk and wholesalers take a smaller margin hit but still guarantee a partial buy. My opinion is that it is more likely that the types of successful brands that exist change all-together in the long run. There are small-ish new brands that seem to be able to sustain only direct-to-consumer retail (e.g. Everlane, Warby Parker, Frank & Oak) that are taking on 100% of the risk. Maybe we see more brands like that. The differences there seem to be more agile production on a more frequent basis, with smaller production runs and more willingness to stock out.