The changing nature of Japanese fashion: Can quick response improve supply chain efficiency?

The offshore migration of fashion manufacturing from established markets to offshore countries, and the increasingly complex nature of fashion consumption has played a crucial role in transforming the way fashion is perceived in the contemporary world. Globalisation of the fashion industry has allowed consumers to gain easier access to the in‐vogue style at an increasingly inexpensive price. This paper explores the future direction of fashion in the industrialised economies through the experience of the Japanese fashion industry from a small manufacturers’ perspective. Empirical findings from a questionnaire survey reveal the fundamental gaps that exist between the theory and the practice, in light of the original premise that quick response (QR) could be the vehicle for a survival strategy of domestic apparel manufacturing in the industrial economies.