PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight two important strategies (private label strategy and specialty store strategy) of the Japanese wholesale apparel market and then to clarify the characteristics of those apparel wholesalers who own or intend to establish specialty private label stores.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was carried out on 3,008 apparel wholesalers in Japan and probit regression analyses were applied to identify what types of apparel wholesalers already own or whether they intend to establish specialty private label stores.FindingsThe main findings are as follows: large‐scale apparel wholesalers tend to own specialty private label stores but these wholesalers experience a worse financial outcome; apparel wholesalers with brand strength tend to possess their own specialty stores; and apparel wholesalers, who do not currently own specialty stores, plan to strengthen their brands in order to take advantage of apparel distribution channels.Originality/valueBecause of a lack of published data, no empirical studies have investigated the effectiveness of private label or specialty store strategies developed by Japanese apparel wholesalers. The present study has sought to address this problem by conducting questionnaire surveys with all Japanese apparel wholesalers and has, therefore, been able to clarify the situation regarding survival in the apparel market by considering those apparel wholesalers that already own or intend to establish specialty private label stores.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the own brand strategies undertaken by Japanese apparel manufacturers, and illuminate the characteristics of those apparel manufacturers who adopt the SPA business model. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was sent to 4,417 apparel manufacturers in Japan of which a total of 1,211 were deemed usable (response rate of 27.47 percent). Logit regression analysis was then employed to identify factors affecting the own brand strategies adopted by Japanese apparel manufacturers. Findings The main findings are as follows: apparel manufacturers having access to external designers, and who collect information relating to consumer needs for production planning tend to have their own brands; apparel manufacturers located in Tokyo have added benefits associated with launching their own brands than those located in other cities; the size of the company behind the brand development is insignificant; and therefore, SME apparel manufacturers have equal opportunities in developing their own brands, which could flourish in the future. Research limitations/implications The present study is limited in that it focuses solely on exogenous factors. Strategic decision-making processes, typical of the distribution structures of apparel industries, influence the apparel relationship between retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. Thus, the distribution structure and the relationships require further investigation studies. Originality/value Because of a lack of published data, no empirical studies investigating the effectiveness of own brand strategies developed by Japanese apparel manufacturers currently exist. The present study aims to address this by conducting questionnaire surveys with all Japanese apparel manufacturers and then using logit regression analysis, identify the primary factors influencing own brand strategy. This study clarifies the situation regarding the survival of SMEs in the apparel market, considering only those apparel manufacturers who intend to launch their own brands.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract