RFID Item-Level Tagging in Fashion and Apparel

One-Size-Fits-All Solution for Retailer Business Process Improvement

Research Report

Item-level tagging in the fashion apparel and footwear market has experienced record growth in 2009 as end-users strive to adopt technologies that help them become more efficient and remain competitive in the wake of economic downturn. Through years of extensive pilot testing, the industry has established a quick, demonstrable ROI case and key business metrics for deployment. While installations at Marks and Spencer and American Apparel currently represent the largest contributors to market growth, hundreds of companies are now in various stages of implementation. With a number of major deployments planned for late 2009 and early 2010, item-level tagging in fashion apparel and footwear is on the cusp of becoming a major application for RFID.

This study quantifies the potential for deployments of item-level tagging in the fashion apparel and footwear sector over the next five years and identifies some of the main forces currently driving market growth. Other key topics discussed include recent technological and product innovation, results and benefits reported from recent pilot tests and full-scale deployments, key vendor evaluation criteria, and market opportunity by geographic region.

Table of Contents

  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Market Developments
    • 2.1. Item-Level RFID Emerges as a Competitive Advantage
    • 2.2. A Significant Volume Opportunity
    • 2.3. Industry Challenges
    • 2.4. Key Retailer Deployments
      • 2.4.1. American Apparel
      • 2.4.2. Charles Vögele
      • 2.4.3. Falabella (Latin America)
      • 2.4.4. Marks & Spencer
      • 2.4.5. Bloomingdales
      • 2.4.6. New Balance
      • 2.4.7. Jones Apparel Group (Nine West)
      • 2.4.8. G&P; Net SpA
      • 2.4.9. Serge Blanco
  • 3. Market Sizing and Forecasts
  • 4. Benefits of Adoption
    • 4.1. Quick ROI
    • 4.2. Minimal Roadblocks to Implementation
    • 4.3. Discussion of Benefits
      • 4.3.1. Reduced Labor Costs
      • 4.3.2. Increased Sales and Profit Margins
      • 4.3.3. Reduced Out-of-Stocks
      • 4.3.4. Reduced Shrinkage and Anti-Counterfeiting
  • 5. Vendor Evaluation Criteria
    • 5.1. Financial Stability
    • 5.2. Platform Flexibility
    • 5.3. Scalability
  • 6. Shoe Market To Follow in the Footsteps of Apparel?
    • 6.1. Footwear Market Dynamics
      • 6.1.1. Unique Inventory Visibility Requirements
    • 6.2. Additional Benefits of Item-Level RFID
  • 7. Technology Trends
    • 7.1. Magic Mirrors
    • 7.2. "Smart Surfaces" and "Live Shelves"
    • 7.3. Price Optimization Tags (aka RFID-enabled Electronic Shelf Labels/Tags)
    • 7.4. HF versus UHF
  • 8. Strategic Recommendations:
    • 8.1. Remember Lessons From The Barcode Industry
    • 8.2. Develop Partner-Based End-To-End Solutions:
    • 8.3. Build Highly Functional, Best-of-Breed Products
    • 8.4. Aggressive Partner Collaboration Communication

Tables

  1. Item-Level RFID Systems Revenues in Fashion Apparel and Footwear Market Segmented by Product Category), World Market, Forecast: 2009 to 2014 ($ Millions)
  2. Passive UHF RFID Transponder Shipments in Fashion Apparel and Footwear Market, World Market, Forecast: 2009 to 2014 (Millions)
  3. Proven Business Benefits Leveraging RFID at the Item-Level in Fashion Apparel and Footwear