As time rapidly changes, failing to wait for anyone to catch up to it, the stunning and glistening views of department stores are fading into the past, slowly becoming memories of a different life. Shopping in those large department stores is just not what it used to be in the past. Consumers are discovering a decrease in variety of styles carried by these places, leading them to think it is not fun anymore to shop at department stores anymore. According to Jess Huang from McKinsey and Company, “more than 60 percent of Gen Z consumers […] distrust large corporate brand names. Being an older, well-established brand name—once a major asset—is now something of a liability.”
This phenomenon, combined with an increasingly environmentally conscious mindset and a trend of buying used and vintage clothing, marks an era of rapidly disrupted economics when it comes to fashion and retail. Today’s fashion and retail scene is constantly changing at a substantial speed, proving to be beneficial to newer, more innovative players in the market but detrimental to long-standing traditional retail corporations. There are three case studies we provide to further this view: