Do you keep track of what's happening in the clothing market outside of eBay? Here's part of an interesting article about H&M, the second-largest clothing seller on the planet:
"Despite a series of widespread markdowns, clothing chain H&M is struggling to sell off $4 billion in extra merchandise — including months-old Halloween costumes and Christmas sweaters — as changing consumer tastes and increasing competition take their toll on the Swedish retailer.
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Millennials are growing up and are more interested in buying well-made clothes than in buying cheap items. There is also more competition from companies like Zara, Topshop, Uniqlo and Asos — all of which customers tend to associate with higher-quality clothing and better websites
“Millennials are looking for quality over quantity, which means they no longer want throwaway products,” Pedraza said. “They care less about fashion and more about classic and quality, neither of which H&M has been able to deliver.”
In the most recent quarter, H&M said inventory rose 7 percent to a record $4 billion. On Tuesday, the company’s website was promoting “further markdowns up to 70 percent off.” Many items were clearly months old: Halloween-themed T-shirts were selling for $3.99, while infants’ Santa outfits were discounted to $4.99.
Excess inventory has plagued a number of traditional retailers in recent years, as customers increasingly shop online and look to start-ups for more unique clothing.
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Company executives, meanwhile, say they’re planning further discounts in the second quarter, as they look to turn around H&M’s business. The company is also preparing to introduce an “off-price marketplace,” called Afound, that will sell discounted items by H&M, as well as other brands."
So you're not only competing against the thousands of other clothing sellers on eBay, you're also fighting a tidal wave of deeply discounted products from multi-billion dollar companies.
Do you still think it's a good idea to compete in that market?
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