Are customers satisfied? Study of the problems currently prevailing in the plus size women’s wear market in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Purpose Plus size clothing is becoming a fashion trend worldwide due to the body positivity movement sparked off by the growing obesity rates and fat shaming incidents reported around the world. Although the problems relating to plus size clothing in the global context have been addressed, thereby establishing certain norms in the market, none of this work has proved helpful in assessing the level of customer satisfaction in the Sri Lankan plus size market. In view of this lacuna, this paper aims to probe customer preferences and identify the problems currently prevailing in the plus size women’s wear fashion market in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered through both qualitative and quantitative methods. For this purpose, visits were made to several fashion outlets in the Colombo area offering plus size clothing to observe the available product categories, size ranges, fabrics, finishing methods and designs at each outlet. A closed-ended questionnaire survey was conducted to identify the perception of the customers on the current plus size fashion market. Semi-structured interviews with designers working at selected Sri Lankan fashion brands that catered to the plus size market were carried out to acquire an understanding of the current plus size fashion industry from the garment manufacturer’s perspective and to learn about the current construction techniques in the industry. Findings The results indicated that 55.6% of the plus size women who participated in the survey were either dissatisfied or only moderately satisfied with the current products available in the Sri Lankan market. The major cause for the dissatisfaction was the inability to find well-fitting clothes to suit their body proportions and the unavailability of trendy, fashionable clothes. Ideally, they preferred fashionable, comfortable, well-fitting and good quality garments. Unavailability of standardized sizing methods and lack of up-to-date information on the female body were identified as the main issues in the Sri Lankan plus size women’s wear market. Therefore, the necessity for a standardized size chart for plus size women based on Sri Lankan anthropometric data was emphasized by designers. Originality/value The findings will be useful for the Sri Lankan apparel producers as well as retailers as they will have a better understanding of not only the fit and aesthetic preferences but also the overall shopping preferences of plus size women. This will help them to develop marketing strategies to cater to this Sri Lankan niche market segment, as currently there is no documented information on plus size Sri Lankan women’s clothing preferences.

An exploratory study of participants’ fit perceptions of customized garments

“…Although consumers have diverse body shapes, most apparel companies developed garments according to one body shape. Seram and Kumarasiri (2020) surveyed 88 plus size women, aged 20-35 in Sri Lanka, and more than half of the participants had fit issues with RJTA 26,4 ready-to-wear garments because of various body shapes and sizing systems. Through interviewing three designers of selected brands that produce plus size garments, they discovered that none of those apparel companies used more than one fit model or mannequin to test the fit.…”

Does people-related total quality management “work” for people? An empirical study of the Sri Lankan apparel industry

“…The results revealed that PTQM practices as a whole significantly influenced job involvement but not job satisfaction, affective commitment or turnover intention of the machine operator-level employees. These findings are unique to the TQM literature and provide insights into the management of the Sri Lankan apparel organisations faced with the challenges in sustaining product quality (Dharmasiri and Ranasinghe, 2015;Fonseka and Fonseka, 2004;Wickramasinghe and Gamage, 2011;Ruwanpura and Wrigley, 2011;Seram and Kumarasiri, 2020) and in retaining their machine operator-level employees (Karunanayake and Welgama, 2016;Rajapaksha and Kappagoda, 2017;Welmilla, 2020).…”

Novo Corpo, Novo Eu: Autoimagem e Consumo de Vestuário Antes e Após Cirurgia Bariátrica

“…Então é mais por uma questão de segurança minha mesmo, porque às vezes você vê a roupa na internet... na modelo virtual fica boa e em você não fica". Assim, prevalece a preferência pelas lojas presenciais, que permitem aos consumidores a experiência de sentir os tecidos, avaliar as tonalidades e testar o caimento das peças (Seram & Kumarasiri, 2020). No Quadro 3 é possível visualizar os principais locais frequentados para adquirir roupas antes e depois da cirurgia.…”