Fashion Industry is Prepared for Digital Transformation
MADRID , January 30, 2020 – According to a recently published report from Nextail , the wealth of analytical experience brought in by fashion companies by new CEOs has increased by 81% compared to their predecessors . The report, which examines the technical background of more than 70 CEOs who took up positions in leading fashion companies (€ 2 billion average annual turnover) last year, uncovers new trends in talent selection in the industry.
The cross-sector CEO fluctuation reached a record high in 2019. Although fashion companies changed their executives for a variety of reasons, the report indicates that in 26.4% of all cases, the key driver for CEO change is to drive growth and growth related to digital transformation.
An increase in CEOs with changing professional backgrounds shows that newcomers bring a new mix of qualifications. In the past, the expertise of CEOs in the fashion industry was mainly based on the traditional qualification patterns of the retail sector (Director of Operations, Country Manager etc.) or the area for products (Brand Director, Designer etc.). Today, new CEOs tend to have analytical experience (51.4% for new CEOs versus 28.4% for predecessors). Nextail argues that it is a natural result of the development to involve managers with the skills that meet the new data-driven requirements.
“The rise of CEOs with a stronger analytical background underpins a trend towards” data eagerness “in the fashion industry. These companies are increasingly relying on analytics and technology to drive digital transformation – a trend that we experience with our customers and within the industry as a whole. In the next three years alone, retail investment in AI is likely to triple, “said Joaquín Villalba, CEO of Nextail Labs.
The report also points out that 54.2% of new professionals in 2019 have previous experience in the companies they now lead, an increase of 18.3% over their predecessors. The opposite is the case in other sectors, because external successors are currently overtaking internal successors for the first time since 2013. This suggests a degree of caution in employing “outsiders” in the fashion industry, and shows the importance of fashion CEOs being fully operational from day one.
As per Nexttail, the fashion industry is better prepared for digital transformation than ever before; are you ready? Being an apparel business owner, you should be ready for changing trends in the industry. Customization is one such trend, and by integrating apparel design software, you could stay relevant to the evolving trends. Contact iDesigniBuy to get your custom fashion design software.
Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/consumer-products-retail-latest-news/fashion-list/
