A MASS CUSTOMISED CLOTHING SERVICE IMPLEMENTATION MODEL FOR A HIGH STREET STORE

It is widely accepted that current clothing manufacturing technology can potentially provide mass customised clothing. Although independent tailors. boutiques, couturist and manufacturers were expanding their business, this trend was not observed in the high street sector. There is therefore a requirement for a strategy model that draws on the success of these service providers and interprets this into a high street retailer's situation. The aim of this study was to develop an implementation model for a United Kingdom (UK) high street store-based mass customised clothing service. A series of semi-structured interviews were carried out with company representatives who were, currently or previously, offering a customised clothing service in the UK and two from Europe. Using the qualitative grounded theory approach, the data generated was analysed using the research software package QSR N6 in order to minimise bias and ensure validity of information. The investigation identified that the most common reasons that customers purchased mass customised garments were a better fit and a desire for exclusivity. It is argued that high street retailers who successfully implement a mass customisation service could expect to gain a competitive advantage, by increasing customer satisfaction and therefore loyalty. The strategy model combines the knowledge gained from informants, including discussion of the failure of some retailer’s services, and those factors that could be improved. It is concluded that retailers need to take a risk and invest in exploring the potential of mass customised clothing services for their market.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

PhD

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

De Montfort University

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• Taylor, Celia Pommona Athalinda

Licence

• https://dora.dmu.ac.uk/bitstreams/9dc6b260-4698-487a-8d0a-39d18db15c5b/download