Arvind Lifestyle Brands Limited: From Concept to Shelf

This case introduces students to the information and material flows in the supply chain of an Indian fashion company – Arvind Lifestyle Brands Limited (ALBL), known for retailing both in-house and licensed international brands. The case deals with challenges like demand unpredictability, volatility and fads peculiar to fashion and how they influence the design of not just an efficient and responsive supply chain but also the product mix of a fashion retailer.

The case establishes the importance of various activities, from planning, design, manufacturing to distribution and retailing, in the value chain for a fashion product and thus leads the student on to understand the significance of fulfilment  in the fashion industry. The case prompts the students to think about the interactions among the stakeholders, both upstream and downstream of the value chain. It persuades them to evaluate cloud-connected solutions and the underlying technologies of blockchain in the ALBL context and how the implementation challenges can be overcome to facilitate communication between various players in the chain leading to more responsive processes. The case details the design practice of ALBL-Concept to Shelf (CTS), followed by brands under the ALBL umbrella, primarily focusing on the challenges associated with the product development or the design phase. Material flow is discussed in terms of the manufacturing, supply, and retail strategy adopted by the company. It challenges the students to think about the strategies that would enable an Indian fashion retailer to improve the competitiveness in the market and focus on the key strengths of branding and retail of the licensed brands. It also discusses the influence of e-commerce on physical retailing and design of an omni-channel supply chain. This case encompasses the complete gamut of operations of an Indian fashion retailer. It facilitates the students to think about multiple facets working in sync to improve the overall functioning and profitability of ALBL.