IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/zag/market/v30y2018i1p93-108.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Early Days of Swatch: Birth of the Fast Fashion Watch Business Model

Author

Listed:
  • Nikola Drašković

    (Rochester Institute of Technology Croatia)

  • Milivoj Marković

    (Rochester Institute of Technology Croatia)

  • Christian Petersen

    (Insight Design Guide)

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the application of the fast fashion business model outside the apparel industry. The study reviews the business history of Swatch and investigates its business model at the time when the brand was introduced to the market. Swatch repositioned the watch as an accessory or a fashion item, rather than a timepiece, initiating a dramatic strategic shift within a rigid and traditional Swiss watch industry.Design/Methodology/Approach – Due to the limited availability of studies researching applications of the fast fashion business model outside the apparel industry, this study is explorative in its nature and utilizes the case study method. The data necessary for developing a case study originates from secondary sources and from a series of in-depth interviews.Findings and implications – Swatch developed a completely new business model to the watch industry. As the case analysis discusses, this model consisted of several elements commonly related to the fast fashion business model. This extended the fast fashion model across the traditional boundaries of the apparel industry. Limitations – Due to a focus on one case study, which assumes industry specific factors, generalization of findings are limited. Originality – Fast fashion related research is primarily focused on the apparel industry, as the environment in which the model was originally developed. This study extends fast fashion as a concept with valid applications outside its traditional industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikola Drašković & Milivoj Marković & Christian Petersen, 2018. "The Early Days of Swatch: Birth of the Fast Fashion Watch Business Model," Tržište/Market, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, vol. 30(1), pages 93-108.
    • Handle: RePEc:zag:market:v:30:y:2018:i:1:p:93-108
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/296945
    Download Restriction: None
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Costa, Camila & Carneiro, Jorge & Goldszmidt, Rafael, 2016. "A contingent approach to country-of-origin effects on foreign products evaluation: Interaction of facets of country image with product classes," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 1066-1075.
    2. Jonathan W. Palmer & M. Lynne Markus, 2000. "The Performance Impacts of Quick Response and Strategic Alignment in Specialty Retailing," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 11(3), pages 241-259, September.
    3. Bin Shen, 2014. "Sustainable Fashion Supply Chain: Lessons from H&M," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(9), pages 1-14, September.
    4. Gilles Garel, 2015. "Lessons in Creativity from the Innovative Design of the Swatch," Post-Print hal-02424312, HAL.
    5. Donzé, Pierre-Yves, 2011. "The comeback of the Swiss watch industry on the world market: a business history of the Swatch Group (1983-2010)," MPRA Paper 30736, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Choi, Tsan-Ming, 2013. "Local sourcing and fashion quick response system: The impacts of carbon footprint tax," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 43-54.
    7. Suh, YongGu & Hur, JungYun & Davies, Gary, 2016. "Cultural appropriation and the country of origin effect," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 2721-2730.
    8. Nebahat Tokatli, 2008. "Global sourcing: insights from the global clothing industry—the case of Zara, a fast fashion retailer," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(1), pages 21-38, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dong, Ciwei & Liu, Qingyu & Shen, Bin, 2019. "To be or not to be green? Strategic investment for green product development in a supply chain," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 193-227.
    2. Alexandra-Codruta POPESCU (BÎZOI), 2015. "On The Sustainability Of Fast Fashion Supply Chains – A Comparison Between The Sustainability Of Inditex And H&M’S Supply Chains," Management and Marketing Journal, University of Craiova, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 0(2), pages 333-352, November.
    3. Xiutian Shi & Xiaoli Zhang & Ciwei Dong & Subin Wen, 2018. "Economic Performance and Emission Reduction of Supply Chains in Different Power Structures: Perspective of Sustainable Investment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-16, April.
    4. Tsan-Ming Choi & Yongjian Li, 2015. "Sustainability in Fashion Business Operations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-7, November.
    5. Yanping Cheng & Yunjuan Kuang & Xiutian Shi & Ciwei Dong, 2018. "Sustainable Investment in a Supply Chain in the Big Data Era: An Information Updating Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18, February.
    6. Cai, Ya-Jun & Choi, Tsan-Ming, 2020. "A United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals perspective for sustainable textile and apparel supply chain management," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    7. Shashi & Piera Centobelli & Roberto Cerchione & Amit Mittal, 2021. "Managing sustainability in luxury industry to pursue circular economy strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 432-462, January.
    8. Liu, Steven Y.H. & Napier, Elizabeth & Runfola, Andrea & Cavusgil, S. Tamer, 2020. "MNE-NGO partnerships for sustainability and social responsibility in the global fast-fashion industry: A loose-coupling perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    9. Wang, Mingzheng & Liu, Junling & Chan, Hau-Ling & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Yue, Xiaohang, 2016. "Effects of carbon tariffs trading policy on duopoly market entry decisions and price competition: Insights from textile firms of developing countries," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 181(PB), pages 470-484.
    10. Tsan-Ming Choi & Ya-Jun Cai, 2020. "Impacts of lead time reduction on fabric sourcing in apparel production with yield and environmental considerations," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 290(1), pages 521-542, July.
    11. Xiutian Shi & Yuan Qian & Ciwei Dong, 2017. "Economic and Environmental Performance of Fashion Supply Chain: The Joint Effect of Power Structure and Sustainable Investment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-22, June.
    12. Shen, Bin & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Chan, Hau-Ling, 2019. "Selling green first or not? A Bayesian analysis with service levels and environmental impact considerations in the Big Data Era," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 412-420.
    13. Hsu, Chia-Lin & Chang, Chi-Ya & Yansritakul, Chutinart, 2017. "Exploring purchase intention of green skincare products using the theory of planned behavior: Testing the moderating effects of country of origin and price sensitivity," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 145-152.
    14. Huigang Liang & Nianxin Wang & Yajiong Xue & Shilun Ge, 2017. "Unraveling the Alignment Paradox: How Does Business—IT Alignment Shape Organizational Agility?," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 28(4), pages 863-879, December.
    15. Choi, Tsan-Ming & Chow, Pui-Sze & Lee, Chang Hwan & Shen, Bin, 2018. "Used intimate apparel collection programs: A game-theoretic analytical study," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 44-62.
    16. Fu Jia & Yan Jiang, 2018. "Sustainable Global Sourcing: A Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-26, February.
    17. John R. Bryson & Vida Vanchan, 2020. "COVID‐19 and Alternative Conceptualisations of Value and Risk in GPN Research," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 111(3), pages 530-542, July.
    18. Lect. Alexandra-Codru?a Popescu (Bîzoi) Ph. D, 2015. "Fast Fashion And Sustainable Supply Chain Management," Revista Tinerilor Economisti (The Young Economists Journal), University of Craiova, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 1(24), pages 29-40, APRIL.
    19. Yen Sheng Tsai & Wei-Hsi Hung, 2023. "A low-cost intelligent tracking system for clothing manufacturers," Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 473-491, February.
    20. Cai, Ya-Jun & Chen, Yue & Siqin, Tana & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Chung, Sai-Ho, 2019. "Pay upfront or pay later? Fixed royal payment in sustainable fashion brand franchising," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 95-105.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zag:market:v:30:y:2018:i:1:p:93-108. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tanja Komarac (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/fefzghr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.