As more fashion brands and retailers explore “brand fulfilment” – whereby a brand delivers an order placed on a retailer’s website – Drapers explores the pros and pitfalls of the collaborative concept.
Traditionally, if a shopper places an order for a pair of branded sneakers on Foot Locker’s website, the product would be delivered – and possibly eventually returned – via the retailer’s own distribution and fulfilment centres. Today, under the concept of “brand fulfilment”, that has changed. Now, certain brands collaborate with Foot Locker and deliver product directly to the shopper on its behalf.
As macroeconomic challenges put yet more pressure on both fashion brands and retailers, and customer demands continue to evolve and grow, smart businesses such as Foot Locker are finding new ways to collaborate with partners to deliver more products, remove fulfilment friction and exceed shopper expectations.
The concept of brand fulfilment is on the rise across fashion retail, and Next, Asos and The Very Group are just some retailers to have launched their own versions throughout 2022.
But how exactly does it work? What is “drop ship”? What are the benefits of “targeted range expansion”? And should all businesses be looking into new marketplace-type models?
Here we explore the different elements of brand fulfilment and investigate the pros, cons and tips for optimising the concept with Philip Hall, managing director of Europe at ecommerce expert Rithum.
Read the full article from Drapers here.