The PESTEL analysis shown in the appendix portrays some of the issues in the external environment that a firm manufacturing and supplying luxury men’s clothing may experience. In all six sections; political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal there are issues that the firm would face. However, some have more significance to others. Although political, technological and environmental factors would have a big affect on the firm, when looking at the three most important issues facing the firm; social, economic and legal come out on top.
Firstly, social factors play a massive part in the external environment of the firm.
For-fronting the part it plays could be, as brought up in the PESTEL analysis, the men’s clothing market is very dynamic. Fashion has its own cycle, but it very hard to understand, with items coming in and out of fashion quickly. With retailers changing stock usually at least 4 times a year (seasonal clothes) it can be very hard for a manufacturer to keep up with. Along with this rapid change, there has been seen a raise in men’s fashion consciousness, with more and more premium priced men’s clothing appearing. This portraying the difficulty the firm may have at keeping up with its competitors who have somewhat consolidated themselves in the market. However, with low barriers to entry, thus low initial capital costs to start the business, they may catch up quickly. This along with the a thorough PESTEL analysis may see the firm compete well.
Changing fashion has often been led by national social change. A recent form of social change has seen consumers become more ethically driven, with products such as the Fairtrade brand seeing a steep increase in sales, according to their website around £300m of sales annually (2007 figure). This rise in what is known as the ethical consumer has meant that attention on this front has to be sharply increased. Some companies such as the bath shop have turned