Yme Universe is a multi-brand store in Oslo with more than 90 different brands, such as Adidas, Nike and Ganni. Their product range consists of clothing, shoes and accessories for women, men and children.In addition to this, Yme also offers art, books, magazines and niche perfumes(Paleet.no, 2020). Yme Universe opened their store in 2014 (Yme, 2020), which focuses on luxury brands and street fashion (Aspeli, 2019). One of their central target groups is members of Generation Z.
There are several microtrends that interest the target group and may influence their consumption preferences at Yme Universe. I notice that vintage clothes have been an increasingly important trend in recent years. This development is driven by webpages and apps that make it easier to buy and sell vintage clothes. For example, the recycling app, Tise, currently has more than 900,000 users (Hegnar, 2020).
Another growing trend is fashion subscription services. Streaming movies and music have been common for some time, but other products, such as razors, make-up, and fashion, have also been offered as subscriptions and gained interest. Several companies are now developing new concepts based on subscriptions, as they see that this is a simple, practical and flexible solution for the customer. For example, the Norwegian company, Fjong, launched a clothing subscription earlier this year that makes it possible to rent clothes and develop increasing focus on reuse (Bugge, 2020).
Other trends of interest could be the “capsule wardrobe”trend. People with an interest in the capsule wardrobe will seek to limit the number of garments in their wardrobe and buy high-quality basic garments to reduce their consumption. My short-term trend forecast shows an increasing trend for subscription services related to fashion in Norway, which will increase the focus on vintage and long-lasting fashion.
The microtrends described in my short-term trend forecast align well with the idea of slow fashion. Slow fashion is still at an early stage of its lifecycle, and will gradually increase over a longer period, as both political and economic initiators are required before this trend will have a broad impact on the market. However, several businesses have already begun to pay more attention to these developments because of younger generations’ interest in sustainability.
Slow fashion is a reaction to fast fashion, and will increase as the fast fashion market decreases. Yme sell high quality products. However, the slow fashion trend will require Yme to be careful and considerate when they select who they should collaborate with. As an omni-channel retailer, they can fully embrace, develop and support a circular business model. Offering a fashion subscription service can also be a possible avenue for Yme to develop their business in addition to regular sales. Slow fashion products represent a higher price. If slow fashion is offered as a subscription service, it might entice GenerationZ to invest in the product in order to secure both a sustainable private economy and the future of the environment.