“Fashion forecasters have always been used but they’re more accessible now because of the technology,” says a Marks & Spencer exec. “They are important, not always to lead but to re-evaluate and help confirm you’re on the right track.”
Forecasters claim to save their clients travel expenses, the cost of freelancers paid to photograph trendy people, and time spent trawling the vast cache of fashion data on the Internet. “We can’t get rid of risk but we can mitigate risk,” says the CEO of the forecasting firm Stylesight.
“Forecasters take the information and package it in a way that speaks the language of the retailers and manufacturers. Then it’s our job to decide what makes sense for our business; we have to filter it again,” says Kohl’s VP. “Fashion moves so quickly. Companies like Stylesight, which are updated every day, are really useful in order to make sure we have the right information. They offer us an industry eye on all of the information, broken down by print, color and classification like sweaters of woven tops.”
Retailers say the information forecasters provide has become an important part of how they tap consumers, who spend less, shop online more and demand the latest outfits in increasingly tight time frames.
Discussion questions:
1. Why do large retailers like Macy’s and Kohl’s need forecasts of fashion demands?
2. What forecasting techniques discussed in Chapter 4 can be applied to this problem?