Big challenges and opportunities

Products of international fashion brands sold in one country are often from different regions in the world, which causes inconsistencies in product quality control. In addition, inadequate localization also generates substandard products.

For instance, domestic and international markets have different criteria for fabric, which leads to substandard products. However, customers still flock to international fashion brands because they believe there are no "fatal problems".

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However, that doesn't mean international fashion brands don't have issues. The quality problems that affect international brands are caused by a lack of supervision. Also, a gap between Chinese standards and the global sourcing and production model still exists.

Notwithstanding the popularity of international brands in China, especially in the initial market stage, once there is a "fatal problem" with material, brand image and customer loyalty will suffer. Even cheap and affordable international fashion brands will be regarded as low-quality and low-priced.

The fourth difficulty is a huge industry talent gap. A survey from RMG Marketing Research Center shows that the ages of fashion brand practitioners tend to be quite young. Most have a good education background, especially in the luxury field. However, the fashion industry still suffers from a serious lack of talent.

Although the fashion industry is a seemingly shiny and glamorous field, nearly 30 percent of practitioners regard their job pompous and rhetorical. Moreover, many professional managers find it difficult to advance when they reach a certain seniority level. What I mentioned above eventually resulted in the talent gap between the domestic and international fashion industries. Recruiters and headhunting firms have become the main recruitment channel in the fashion industry.

The China Talent Flow Survey 2013 conducted by RMG Selection reveals that approximately 70 percent of recruiting phone calls are from recruiters and headhunters in the fast-moving consumer goods and retail industry.

International brands must choose the right development strategy to succeed in the Chinese market, where both opportunities and challenges exist.

The author is fast-moving consumer goods consultant at RMG Selection. His views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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