Date of Award

6-2019

Document Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Managerial Economics

First Advisor

Eshragh Motahar

Keywords

Fashion, Cluster Economies, External Economies, Economies of Scale, Economics

Abstract

New York, Paris, London, and Milan have long established themselves as fashion capitals of the world. These cities have become cluster economies with numerous connections, resources, and buyers close at hand. For this reason, firms often establish themselves in these cities to take full advantage of cluster economies and increase their chances of survival. Thus, a large number of leading international fashion firms reside in these cities. This thesis uses the finances and international market presence of these fashion companies as benchmark values for what it means for another company to be “successful” at becoming a major player in the industry. By doing a comparative analysis of the growth and profitability of companies based in one of the current fashion capitals and companies based in emerging fashion industries, it was found that a new company does not need the perceived benefits of cluster economies to become a leading firm in the global fashion industry. Companies in the emerging fashion industries of Sweden, Canada, Japan, Germany, and Portland, Oregon have become world-renowned fashion brands in their respective locations. This conclusion gives further insight into whether any new cities or countries have a chance at becoming another major global fashion hub. Since individual firms have been so successful, an “infant” fashion industry should be able to overcome the established advantages in current fashion capitals and become a major player in the global industry with strong growth and operational strategies at the firm and industry-level.

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