Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine May Issue 2019 | Page 28

EVENT REVIEW HAVE YOUR SAY BREAKING NEWS Tell us your news by emailing at [email protected] To read the latest sustainability news, go to https://apparelresources.com/business-news/sustainability/  R E P O R T: L E C T R A V I P FA S H I O N E V E N T 2 0 1 9 ‘WINNING OVER THE NEW FASHION CONSUMER’ TALKS ABOUT DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF FASHION INDUSTRY A VIP fashion event themed ‘WINNING OVER THE NEW FASHION CONSUMER’ was organised on 10-11 April 2019 by Lectra in Bordeaux-Cestas (France). The 2-day event marked with over 140 visitors from all across the world which included Lectra’s customers, retail brands’ executives, technology strategists and media. It’s worth telling that Apparel Online (print vertical of Apparel Resources Group) was the only media that was invited from South Asia and south-east Asia to cover the event. Day 1 witnessed speakers focusing on the need of digitalisation of processes within apparel industry All through the event, speakers pointed out that digital transformation is a must-to-do task for both retailers and manufacturers in this era of ‘hyper- connected consumers’. Endorsing the same, the first day of the event started with a keynote presentation given by Peter Jeavons, Managing Director (Europe), First Insight.  Peter told the audience about why hyper-connected consumers are rapidly increasing and how have they driven the market with their instant gratification. He also emphasised The era is of ‘Design-Sell- Make’ concept. So apparel brands and manufacturers need to give up ‘Design-Make- Sell’ strategy if they want to cater to hyper- connected consumers. on the rising need of social media which is influencing the customers’ purchase decision. “About 37 per cent of consumers search for online reviews of a product they are looking to purchase,” said Peter. Peter further explained about why the apparel and textile industry doesn’t need new technology instead of matured technologies which are already available in the market but need to be adopted. Some of them are Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Analytics Tools and IoT. Peter gave an example of Alibaba and Amazon and enlightened the audience that if these e-commerce giants can use AI and Data Tools, then others should also use it. Audience played a vital role in the 2-day Lectra VIP Event with their sharp observation on what the speakers said 28 Apparel Online Bangladesh | MAY 2019 | www.apparelresources.com To conclude his presentation, Peter underlined that the era is of ‘Design-Sell-Make’ concept. So apparel brands and manufacturers need to give up ‘Design-Make-Sell’ strategy if they want to cater to hyper-connected consumers. He also suggested the areas where retail brands need to digitally innovate their operations. “Digital product creation, advanced analytics and insights, smart connected supply chain and foundational product technology are some areas where retailers should focus to pace up with the changing trend,” concluded Peter. The second keynote presentation was given by Craig Crawford, Mark Antoine (left), Master of Ceremony conducted interview of Céline Choussy, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Lectra