Skip to main content
BoF Logo

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Why Fashion Can’t Escape the Discount Cycle

Last year, American retailers seemed to have broken their habit of relying on deep promotions, thanks to limited inventory and pent-up demand. These beneficial circumstances, experts say, may be disappearing in 2022.
Store sales
A store in Berlin. (Getty Images)

KEY INSIGHTS

Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.

Further Reading

The Myths and Realities of Retail’s New Normal

As the Omicron variant sweeps across the world, retailers are reckoning with an inescapable reality: Covid-19 is here to stay. BoF outlines the fundamental facts that should inform the industry’s next moves.

The State of Fashion 2022: Global Gains Mask Recovery Pains

The sixth annual State of Fashion report by The Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Company forecasts that the global fashion industry will find its feet again after nearly two years of disruption, though supply chain headwinds will threaten growth prospects. Download the full report to understand the 10 themes that will define the industry in the year ahead and how to navigate the currents they create.

About the author
Cathaleen Chen
Cathaleen Chen

Cathaleen Chen is Retail Editor at The Business of Fashion. She is based in New York and drives BoF’s coverage of the retail and direct-to-consumer sectors.

© 2026 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Retail
Analysis and advice from the front lines of the retail transformation.

The Industry That Eats Its Young

Small fashion labels have always been shortchanged by their wholesale partners. A wave of high-profile bankruptcies has turned a structural injustice into an existential crisis. There is a better way to do business, writes Imran Amed.


The Zara-Fication of John Galliano

Fashion’s enfant terrible is trading exclusivity for the mass market. Is it the ultimate fashion coup, or the final surrender of prestige?


view more
Latest News & Analysis
Unrivalled, world class journalism across fashion, luxury and beauty industries.

The Industry That Eats Its Young

Small fashion labels have always been shortchanged by their wholesale partners. A wave of high-profile bankruptcies has turned a structural injustice into an existential crisis. There is a better way to do business, writes Imran Amed.


The Zara-Fication of John Galliano

Fashion’s enfant terrible is trading exclusivity for the mass market. Is it the ultimate fashion coup, or the final surrender of prestige?


The Impact of War on Fashion’s Supply Chain

Textile hubs are already feeling the cascading risks of the conflict in Iran as Washington ramps up forced labour probes to revive tariffs, while decarbonisation in fashion’s factories might finally have a standard to go off of.


VIEW MORE
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON