The shift toward offering greater personalization doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. In fact, Edouard Macquin, president of Lectra Americas, said personalization and the on-demand economy is core to what’s driving fashion apparel and retailtoday.
Here, Macquin shares his insights into this trend, and how Lectra is responding with new platforms to help brands gain a competitive edge.
WWD: The fashion apparel industry has gone through some remarkable changes in the past decade. What’s driving this change?
Edouard Macquin: The fashion industry is part of the greater seismic shift toward products tailored to individual tastes and preferences. We see this across media, for instance. What is unique to the fashion industry, though, as opposed to a streaming TV service, is that we are delivering a physical product to consumers. This is also where the challenge lies.
Today, we are doing things that were simply not possible even a few years ago in terms of personalization and the fast delivery of high-quality, on-demand goods with a consistent fit. Staying at the technological cutting edge is going to be a major determiner of success for brands, as the demand for on-demand is only going to grow.
WWD: What role does technology and innovation play in this change?
E.M.: For a retail brand to allow customers an on-demand option requires fundamental technological changes across the supply chain. The old technology that supported the supply-driven fashion market is simply not flexible enough to deliver on-demand fashion and apparel quickly, consistently, efficiently or sustainably — especially given the fast-fashion model that was previously dominant.
Rather than flood the market with goods, the brands that can create the most flexible and efficient models to deliver products of consistent fit and high quality are going to be the most successful as the demand for personalization in fashion continues to grow. The technological solutions available to brands, and having the experts who can implement them most effectively, will ultimately drive better, more innovative products with faster turnaround times from when customers click the order button to when they receive their new items.
WWD: In that time, Lectra itself has evolved. How has the company responded to these market disruptions and demands for innovation and greater sustainability?
E.M.: Similar to how the fashion industry is responding to and driving consumer demand for personalization, at Lectra, we are both responding to market demands and proactively helping to drive the shift to more innovative and sustainable solutions. The on-demand revolution is not a trend, really; it is a long-term change in the way customers interact with brands. It is more of a conversation, and a major part of that conversation is understanding that consumers are smarter and more well-informed than perhaps ever before on a mass scale.
Fashion consumers want to know how their products are made and where the materials come from. They are informed about the carbon footprint of manufacturing and the social impact of the supply chain. So, in addition to delivering high-quality, personalized products quickly and consistently, technology also needs to offer brands transparency and control across the product life-cycle.
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按需技术应对时装市场变化(WWD)
提供更大的个性化转变似乎并不会很快放缓。事实上，Lectra Americas 总裁 Edouard Macquin 表示，
个性化和按需经济是当今推动时尚服装和零售业发展的核心。
在这里，Macquin 分享了他对这一趋势的见解，以及 Lectra 如何利用新平台做出响应，以帮助品牌获得
竞争优势。
WWD：在过去的十年中，时尚服装行业发生了一些显着的变化。是什么促使这一变化？
Edouard Macquin：时装行业是朝着面向个人品味和喜好量身定制的产品转变的一部分。例如，我们在
各种媒体上都看到了这一点。与流媒体电视服务相反，时装行业的独特之处在于我们向消费者提供了实物
产品。这也是挑战所在。
今天，我们正在做一些几年前甚至都无法做到的事情，像是个性化和快速交付高质量，按需定制的商品。
保持技术领先地位将成为品牌成功的主要决定因素，因为按需需求只会不断增长。
WWD：技术和创新在这种变化中扮演什么角色？
E.M .：要让零售品牌允许客户按需选择，就需要在整个供应链中进行根本性的技术变革。支持供应驱动型
时尚市场的旧技术根本不够灵活，无法快速、一致、高效或可持续地交付按需时尚和服装，尤其是考虑到
以前占主导地位的快速时尚模式。
随着时尚对个性化需求的不断增长，可以创建最灵活、最高效的模型来交付一致合身和高质量产品的品牌
将会最成功地投放市场。品牌可用的技术解决方案，并拥有能够最有效地实施这些解决方案的专家，最终
将开发出更好、更具创新性的产品，并具有从客户单击订购按钮到收到新商品的更快的周转时间。
WWD：那时候，Lectra 本身就在发展。公司如何应对这些市场扰乱以及对创新和更大可持续性的需求？
E.M .：在 Lectra，和时尚行业响应并推动消费者对个性化的需求一样，我们既响应市场需求，又积极帮助
推动向更创新和可持续解决方案的转变。实际上，按需革命不是趋势。客户与品牌互动的方式是一项长期
的变革。它更像是一场对话，而对话的主要部分是要理解，消费者比以往任何时候都更聪明，更了解情况。
追求时尚的消费者想知道材料及其制品是由哪里来的。他们可以知道制造业的碳足迹和供应链的社会影响。
因此，除了快速、一致地提供高质量、个性化的产品外，技术还需要在整个产品生命周期中为品牌提供透
明度和控制力。
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