Fashion Industry

The decline of the department store has been ongoing for a number of years. I agree with the general statement that department stores in struggling in part because they have facing a more competitive environment. Not only do department stores compete against each other, but they also must compete against discount stores, specialty stores and category killers. In essence, the department store is a generalist in an environment full of specialists. The department store must find ways to innovate its business model in order to succeed in the future.

Competition has taken its toll on department stores. Department stores essentially thrive in an era when there was a certain degree of information asymmetry for consumers, as they were relatively unable to comparison shop beyond more than a few stores. Consumers may have been price sensitive, but their price awareness was not as acute as it is today. Moreover,...
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