Exploring replenishment in the luxury fashion Italian firms: evidence from case studies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how luxury Italian fashion companies manage the replenishment process, and how they leverage supply chain (SC) to be able to match supply and demand of fashion products. Design/methodology/approach – Literature review was the first step performed; then, a case study research has been conducted in order to have a comprehensive view of the real context of luxury Italian fashion companies concerning merchandise planning and replenishment processes. After the sample was individuated, a questionnaire has guided the interviews and then data have been collected. Analysing data has concerned a primary case analysis and then cross-case patterns have been searched. Finally, several variables coherent to the aim of the study have been pinpointed and a framework has been designed. Findings – The paper provides a characterization of the luxury Italian fashion industry concerning merchandise planning constraints and the replenishment processes. To guarantee the flex...

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