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Editor: Jose Daniel.
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Editor’s Letter
Survival of the Fastest
Few would dispute that technology—information technology, if you
may—is moving at such a frenzied pace, developments are not easy
to keep track of. What compounds matters is that developments are
taking place all the time at various levels, in innumerable directions,
and through varied means. What these taken together can mean
for a particular industry is true only at a point in time. What was
considered futuristic even at the turn of the millennium is old hat now,
relegated to the footnotes of history.
To insist that those who are quick in industry to adapt to emerging
technologies are more likely to survive, is a given. There is no need
even to insist on such a contention; it is a fait accompli. What is,
however, interesting to note is the list of monoliths or one-time giants
who have rendered themselves obsolete.
Take the example of Kodak. The company, founded in April 1880 by
George Eastman, ruled the film world for more than a century. But
it was slow to adapt to digital, leave alone foresee how the world
would change. It was still slower to understand how phones would
change the way people would take photographs. It was removed
from Standard & Poor’s S&P 500 index in December 2010, and fell
behind. In January 2012, Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection, and
the following month announced that it would stop making digital
cameras. It was only in May this year that the company released its
first smartphone, Ektra. It now merits only a Wikipedia entry.
Yet, it is not just a question of adapting oneself to technology; it
is also one of technology itself and tech companies by extension
taking over different industries, one by one. The first to become tech
for all practical purposes was telecommunications, but more for
the very nature of its operations and existence. Today, tech giants
control telecommunications, and telecom giants are as good as
tech companies. However, the first industry to be taken over by tech
was the media and entertainment industry, particularly the news
media sector. Media executives and also journalists were lethargic in
responding, and the result is that news organisations are just another
group of stakeholders screaming for attention in the Babel called
social media. Worse, no one cares.
So, can what happened to the media and entertainment industry also
happen to textiles and apparel? Already, there is increasing influence
of technology on fashion, with most developments being flat-out
collaborations. But, can tech companies take over, at least in the
sense of driving the industry? There have been enough studies in the
recent past which indicate that among all sectors, fashion has been
among the slowest to go the tech way. What is certain is that textiles-
apparel companies that make digitalisation the way of doing things
are likely to forge ahead; others will go the Kodak way.
RICHA BANSAL
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