Format decisions and sourcing strategies in clothing retailing: how product/process innovation affects the buyer-seller relationship

The main aim of the paper is to analyse the implications emerging from the relationship between retailers and their suppliers (textile manufacturers and clothing manufacturers) operating at different levels in the clothing-textile pipeline, in a situation influenced by a number of factors of change. The analysis starts by highlighting the strong relation between different production management models and the distributor’s capacity for retail format innovation. In this context, the paper supports evidence on the changing status of interaction between the buyer (clothing retailer) and the seller (textile and/or clothing manufacturers). The paper provides a theoretical background on negotiation, drawing a distinction between “styles” and “strategies” in manufacturer-retailer interaction. It introduces evidence concerning the nature of negotiation processes in relation to the new sourcing strategies of the clothing retailer, seeking to identify which orientation, whether “transactional” or “relational”, prevails in the interaction. The paper concludes with some research hypotheses and final remarks.