Case Study of the Week: Sustainability vs Fast Fashion

Jan 20, 2025

Apparel and Accessories Marketing

You are to assume the role of the merchandise manager for Superior Looks, a clothing store chain for tweens and teens. The director of merchandising is considering a partnership with a popular fast fashion company and wants your opinion.

Superior Looks is a favorite among tweens and teens due to the fun layout and atmosphere of the stores and the trendy clothing. Most apparel companies that market to the younger demographics rely on fast fashion since styles change so quickly, however Superior Looks is focused on sustainability so its garments are higher quality and cost a bit more.

The most popular online clothing retailer is a company located in Singapore named Gleam. Gleam offers thousands of apparel items on its online marketplace. The fast fashion products are low quality, however, are extremely affordable for the Generation Z market. It was named the most popular brand among that demographic the past three years.

Gleam executives want to host Gleam pop-up-shops in various Superior Looks locations. This would give Gleam the opportunity to showcase its products in physical stores in North America and will bring in a large number of customers into Superior Looks stores.

The director of merchandising wants you to weigh the pros and cons of allowing Gleam to host pop-up-shops in various Superior Looks locations.

Questions?

Randi Bibiano
Competitive Events Specialist
randi@deca.org

Randi Bibiano is DECA's competitive events specialist. In this role, she conceptualizes and authors role-play scenarios for the collegiate and high school division’s competitive events programs. She also manages DECA's online competitive events and serves as a liaison to volunteer efforts at DECA's educational conferences.

Discussion Questions

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Classroom Connection

Career CLuster:

Marketing

Instructional Area(s):

Selling

Performance Indicators:

Explain the nature and scope of the selling function
Discuss motivational theories that impact buying behavior
Recognize and respond to ethical dilemmas
Explain the use of brand names in selling