Supply Chain Strategy in the Luxury Fashion Industry

The purpose of this paper is to investigate what types of Supply Chain Strategies (SCS) are implemented within luxury fashion companies, according to the drivers that regulate competitiveness in this sector (brand positioning, distribution channel, type and line of product). The literature review is the first step performed. Thereafter, a case study research has been conducted in order to attain a comprehensive view of the real context of Italian luxury fashion companies regarding SCS. After the case study sample, composed of six companies, was selected, a questionnaire has been then developed to guide the interviews, after which the data was collected. From the data, a primary case analysis was conducted, from which cross-case patterns were also researched. The paper provides a characterization of the SCS in the luxury fashion industry. From the results obtained, it is possible to state that companies involved in the case study adopted different SCS within the same company according to the drivers that regulate competitiveness in this sector. As a result, the product line is shown to be the only driver that affected the alignment between the expected and implemented SCS, respectively. The carry over line of product is not aligned with the expected SCS. In contrast, the seasonal line is always aligned with the expected SCS regardless of the type of product.