Browsing by Author "Midgley, David F."
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Item Open Access Fashion Dynamics Research Unit: A study of male fashion(Cranfield School of Management, 1973-07) Midgley, David F.Report No. 6 outlines the methodology to be used in the manipulation of the large amounts of sales and style data available to the research team. Details are included of both the coding scheme used to convert verbal information into quantitative data, and of the principal computer programs to be used in analysing this data. Throughout attention is directed to the prime practical aim of the research - the improvement of sales forecasting - and to that end various proposals are made. The most important of these is contained in Section 10, where some tentative suggestions for a "model" management information system are put forward.Item Open Access A study of male fashion: A preliminary assessment of industry practice(Cranfield School of Management, 1972-02) Midgley, David F.A From 20+ interviews with retailers, manufacturers, and other members of the menswear industry, the following major points have been extracted. 1 Selection of garments and demand forecasting is carried out by a single function - a merchandise function. 2 Style and colour are selected on the basis of experienced judgement. 3 Influence on colours is perceived as predominantly from the Continent, whilst design influence is mainly from the London high fashion and boutique industry. 4 Demand estimation is achieved by extrapolation of past sales trends, sometimes coupled with trials of new styles in selected outlets. 5 Forecasting demand is seen as a problem, the more fashionable the market the greater the problem. 6 Most retailers sell both to a fashionable and a conventional. mass market 7 Within these markets the consumers are seen as: (i) becoming more fashion conscious, particularly the young; and (ii) wearing more casual and informal garments. 8 B The evidence gathered on these points supports the contention that the fashion process is similar. to the theory of the diffusion of ililovation. The supporting evidence falls in two main categories. 1 Styles originate and filter into the mass market in a manner consistent with the tenets of diffusion theory. The characteristics of consumers in the various market segments match those of the various categories embodied in the theory. C In short, this small study encourages us to continue along the line of research described in Report No 1.Item Open Access A study of male fashion: Progress to date(Cranfield school of Management, 1973-06-06) Midgley, David F.This document represents a progress report on the first two years of the male fashion study, detailing both practical aspects and the research team’s present thinking on the subject. It outlines the evolution of the original fashion diffusion hypothesis into the hypothesis of “parallel diffusion”, a conceptualization thought to more adequately describe consumer and market behaviour in this field. Section 2 contains a discussion of the relevant literature, Section 3 describes the results of some small scale consumer research and Section 4 advances the new research hypothesis. Section 5 sketches out the projected development of the research in the future.