Investigative Reporting

The Year Ahead: Learning to Live with the Virus

7 December 2020 • By BoF Team and McKinsey & Company

The Year Ahead: Learning to Live with the Virus

Amid unprecedented levels of uncertainty, companies must rewire their operating models to enable flexibility and faster decision-making, while balancing speed and discipline in pursuit of innovation.

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The Year Ahead: Diminished Demand Is Here to Stay

7 December 2020 • By BoF Team and McKinsey & Company

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The Year Ahead: Diminished Demand Is Here to Stay

With consumer demand for fashion unlikely to bounce back in 2021, companies should seize new opportunities and double down on outperforming categories, channels and territories.

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The Year Ahead: The Digital Sprint Will Have Winners and Losers

7 December 2020 • By BoF Team and McKinsey & Company

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The Year Ahead: The Digital Sprint Will Have Winners and Losers

The pandemic has accelerated digital adoption. Successful fashion players must optimise their online experience and channel mix while finding persuasive ways to integrate human touch.

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The Year Ahead: Consumers to Seek Justice in the Supply Chain

7 December 2020 • By BoF Team and McKinsey & Company

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The Year Ahead: Consumers to Seek Justice in the Supply Chain

With low-level workers throughout fashion’s global supply chain facing the sharp end of the crisis, consumers will increasingly expect companies to offer them more dignity, security and justice.

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The Year Ahead: Travel Disruption Will Redraw the Fashion Map

7 December 2020 • By BoF Team and McKinsey & Company

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The Year Ahead: Travel Disruption Will Redraw the Fashion Map

With international tourism remaining subdued throughout 2021, companies will need to better engage with local consumers and make strategic investments in markets witnessing a stronger recovery.

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The Year Ahead: Less Is More for Both Consumers and Brands

7 December 2020 • By BoF Team and McKinsey & Company

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The Year Ahead: Less Is More for Both Consumers and Brands

Consumers are rethinking how much they buy, while brands are realising that simply stocking more products does not drive better financial results. Winning companies must reduce complexity and inventory levels by taking a more focused and responsive approach to their assortment.

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The Year Ahead: Fashion Is Set for a Surge in M&A

7 December 2020 • By BoF Team and McKinsey & Company

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The Year Ahead: Fashion Is Set for a Surge in M&A

As the gap widens between the best-performing companies and the rest, M&A activity will increase as leaders manoeuvre to take market share, unlock new opportunities and expand capabilities.

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The Year Ahead: Keep Your Suppliers Close

7 December 2020 • By BoF Team and McKinsey & Company

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The Year Ahead: Keep Your Suppliers Close

To mitigate future ruptures, fashion players must move away from transactional relationships with suppliers in favour of deeper partnerships that bring greater agility and accountability.

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The Year Ahead: Rethinking Retail ROI

7 December 2020 • By BoF Team and McKinsey & Company

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The Year Ahead: Rethinking Retail ROI

Amplified by a potential power shift from landlords to retailers and the need to seamlessly embed digital, companies will need to make tough choices to improve their return on investments.

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The Year Ahead: The WFH Revolution Will Rewire the Workplace

7 December 2020 • By BoF Team and McKinsey & Company

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The Year Ahead: The WFH Revolution Will Rewire the Workplace

Companies should refine their blends of remote and on-premises work, invest in reskilling talent and instil a greater sense of shared purpose and belonging in employees.

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