Creative Solutions in a Saturated Market. How Individual Players Develop Successful Digital Solutions in the Textile and Apparel Industry

The global textile industry is part of a complex market that plays an important role in the global economy: in the European Union alone the manufacturing industry, employs 1.7 million people and generates a turnover of EUR 166 billion. On the other hand, it is a highly saturated industry on a global scale, as there is an abundance of suppliers in the production process that has led to a constant demand of cheap products and a growing number of shops that sell their products online on the other hand. Due to ever decreasing prices, continuous product innovations are necessary to attract customers. In the light of the fast fashion excesses and their problems ranging from poor quality, defective recycling to human rights problems, customers in recent years are also continuously demanding better quality and sustainable production processes. In the following paper I aim to demonstrate how an individual local player from Germany with stores in Düsseldorf and Essen, can be successful in the fashion market online and in-store with the help of digital solutions alone and attracts customers with a range of special products and a highly individual marketing strategy.