Comparing Competitive Priorities of Slow Fashion and Fast Fashion Operations of Large Retailers in an Emerging Economy

The purpose of this study was to compare the competitive priorities of the slow and fast fashion retail operations of large retailers in an emerging economy. The study embraces the six largest Brazilian companies operating both fast and slow fashion businesses. The methodological path comprises a qualitative phase, in which four experts review the competitive priorities in fashion supply chains. Then follows a quantitative phase, in which the practitioners, supported by AHP, the analytical hierarchy process, weight the fast fashion and slow fashion supply chain priorities. Finally, the study compares the two sets of priorities by considering the uncertainty in the judgment. The most relevant priorities in slow fashion are price and quality, whereas those in fast fashion are customer relationships and flexibility. This study proposes guidelines for simultaneously managing these two strategies. In slow fashion, companies should reduce costs and improve quality by implementing online process controls. In fast fashion, companies should decrease lot sizes, increase the variety of mixes and assortments, and strengthen ties with customers. The main novelty of this study is the evidence that retailers operating fast and slow fashion must simultaneously manage two different strategies to achieve different priorities. In addition, some novel procedures are adopted to mitigate the uncertainty in the judgments.