CHAP TER I

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background or the study
Consumers today are faced almost unlimited choices when it comes to their shopping needs. One
area of shopping expenditure is physically visible on the consumer everyday: shoes,clothing and
axxessories These purchases are readily apparent on each and every one of us. The question is how
consumers make these all-important choices, which are an outward expression of their personality,
taste and style.
This introduction offers a look into the history of the fashion industryand the market that developed
along with itfrom its simple beginnings to its current reign as an industry giant in its Own right.
1.2 Evolution of Fashion Industry Worldwide (Oak 2009) Throughout most of history. fashion was an
aspect of life that was enjoyed by the privileged few. In ancient times, the ruling class indulged in the
finer aspects of life such as wearing fine fabrics woven with strands of gold or jeweled headpieces. The
poor, who struggled each day to raise crops and tend animals in the pasture, clothed thentives in the
wool from their sheep and goat herds and dressed in what M; as functional for working and living their
lives. Fashion and personal sty le were not considerations of the day .
(Scranton. 2001 ) This separatkn between the lavishness of the ruling class and the functional basics of
the working class defined fitshion and dress for most of human history. A change began to occur for
women in the late 1800s '1% ith the advent of the monten's journal publishing era. Women's magazines
were very popular. The common American woman could read about the fashions coming out of Paris,
London, and New York. The magazines taught the common tt oman how to modify her clothes to more
cloMy resemble the latest fashions. Instructions on adding lace, buttons, or trims, modifying hemlines
and the like were regular fare in the women's magazines. This era began 3 filtering of fashion and st lc
throughout all groups and classes of women.
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(Blaszczyk. 2008) At this time. aomen-owned shops and boutiques began opening in the towns and cities
in the U.S. providing more fashionable clothing choices for the everyday woman. these women
proprietors were usually skilled seamstresses, dressmakers and milliners who sold fabrics, patterns.
trims and notions along with fashioning finished garments for ordinary women. In those early days.
selling fashion involved a long-term relationship between the buyer and seller. As the 1920s
approached. selling fashion became much more widespread and systematic. Fashion became integrated
into movies, advertising campaigns and retailing. Retailers and entrepreneurs noted the mass market
appeal of fashion. and an industry that was once dominated by women designers and shop owners,
gradually came to be dominated by businessmen and male designers on a large scale.
Shopping also began to emerge as an entertainment experience and visual delight as the early 20th
century U.S. retailers, such as Macy's. Gimbels, and John Wanamaker's, opened impressive department
stores with beauty and scale comparable to a cathedral. The shopping public was captivated by the
attractive displays. architectural elements, and pleasurable environment of the stores (Moss, 2007). The
latest fashions for sale in the department stores of the 1930s and 1940s could be narrowed to a
particular seasonal -look" brought to the masses by the designers of the day. Fashion was also designed
with the more adult oman in mind, while fashions for teens and children were derived from the designs
for adults.
(Godbold. 2001) The 1950s brought additional changes to the fashion scene. For the first time, Italian
designers began to gain footing in the international market. Italy had been known for its fine fabrics, but
not as a design center. In the 1950s, Italian designers began to introduce a more simplified way of
dressing women with lighter fabrics, capri pants, and undergarments that were unrestrictive
(Walkowiak, 2005). The 1960s also saw a new trend in fashion; style choices were being dictated from
the youth back up to the adults, a reverse of how things were done in the past (Steele. 2001). Designers
began designing with teens in mind, especially styles that epitomized the current pop and rock music
scene that was exploding at the time. Jeans, bell bottoms, collarless jackets. short skirts, go-go boots
and the like became commonplace.
(Scranton. 2001; Steele. 2001) The late 20th century also saw an emergence of name brand designers.
such as Calvin Klein. Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan. or Gloria Vanderbilt who created
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a particular style and developed a mass market that was label conscious, and built brand loyalty. This era
also saw fashion designed around other societal trends, such as the fitness craze, which brought
designer sneakers and workout clothes into everyday casual dress wear. (Maletn, 2008) As we approach
the close of the first decade of the 20th century, another trend has developed with the emergence of
specialty shops that cater to a particular niche market (Bolin, 2003). These designers are not looking for
mass appeal, but focus their product on a highly targeted niche. Shoe designer Jimmy Choo is an
example of one of these 20th century designers that has built a strong market niche for his high-end,
sometimes be-jeweled, stiletto shoes and sandals (Crowe, 2009). Although niche marketers may be
unknown outside their target market, their customers are usually very brand loyal. For a fashion
designer to emerge as a notable entity in the fashion world requires innovation, business acumen and
strong survival strategies
(Gorman, 2006) The fashion industry has evolved dramatically over the past 100 years from local shops
owned by seamstresses, to mammoth clothing designers and manufacturers such as the $3 billion Calvin
Klein empire (Marsh. 2003), to niche marketers such as Jimmy Choo. Throughout those years. notable
companies have experienced times of both phenomenal growth and crushing losses. The Paul Harris
chain of women's clothing stores grew from one store in a strip mall in 1954 to over 300 stores at its
peak to bankruptcy and final closing of its doors in 2001 (Paul, 2007). L.L. Bean from its early beginnings
in 1912 with one boot design by its founder has also experienced periods of growth and regression
through changing markets, yet has managed to remain a viable company for nearly 100 years
Fashion history suggests that it is a dynamic and fluid industry that evolves with the times and responds
to society's needs with anywhere from practical updates for working environments to revolutionary
style changes promoting self-expression. Yet somewhere within the broad spectrum between the
fashion extremes lives the everyday person merely seeking to dress at their personal best without
becoming a fashion victim. The challenge is to do this within the ever-changing climate of fashion and
society, which relates back to the need for personal fashion guidance.

the research %sill he using the questionnaire method to have a deep understanding or the issue. (he
questionnaire is administered to the women visiting boutiques for their attire and the owners of the
boutiques.











1.6 Purpose of the study Pre Icrencc among women visiting boutiques shops differ from one another.
This study will try to understand women preferring boutique for their attire and give a dear picture of
how consumers spend and what arc the driving factors when they decide to choose a boutique shop.
the main purposes of the study are as follows: a. To find out about the preference among women for
visiting boutiques for their attire. b. to understand the relationship of age, income and occupation with
various motivating factor with regards to their preference of boutique shop versus tailoring centre. c. lo
find out the buying behavior of women with regard to their preference of boutique shops. d. To find
out the factors designers / boutique owners keep in mind to attract more consumers.
1.7 Significance of the study The research deals with the women's people's preference of the boutiques
shop. The study is significant in the following ways: a. The research has shown the relationship between
trend, quality, location, variety, better service and hospitality with that of different age group of women
who visit boutique for their clothing most frequently, b. The research will focus on analyzing the
difTerent aspects of buying behavior of women visiting boutiques. c. The research throws light on
consumer's preference for boutiques over traditional tailoring centers. d. It also gives information about
the type of clothes people prefer from the boutiques they visit. e. the research speaks about the
measure taken by the boutique owners to remain competitive. Presently, there is an increasing trend
among girls / women visiting beautified shops/ boutiques for their apparel. Whether it be a fresher
party gown or a smart office wear, women today shop for their attire than just going into one store and
picking up whatever is available. They are not satisfied with buying their attire from any place.As a
result, providing variations in textile, ambience and location of the boutique in other words a
satisfactory store



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experience has become crucial for present day marketers. This is an effort undertaken to be able to
attract and retain consumers. Hence. the research n ill be fruitful to the boutique owlets and the apparel
retailers.
1.8 Research Questions Research question helps to indicate the purpose and motive of the research. The
research questions for the research are as follows: a. What are the factors that influence the preference
of the people for choosing any boutique shop? b. Is there a link between ages with various motivating
factors that influence the preference of the people while choosing any boutique houses? c. What is the
future scope of boutique houses in Nepalese market? d. What are the factors that have lead to the
success of boutiques in Kathmandu? e. Why are consumers driven from general tailoring centers to
boutiques? f. Can boutiques do well outside the valley? g. flow competitive is the boutique market?
1.9 Limitations of the study I he thesis is done for academic purpose. It is an outcome of author's
theoretical knowledge in the practical application. The limitations of the study are as follows: The
information collected through the survey is assumed to be correct. The thesis is done in three months
which is quite a limited time for the author. Consumers are not interested in giving their opinion about
boutique clothing. Since the population size is too big and impossible to capture, a sample of 100
respondents have been taken and that might affect results in some ways too and in some cases results
could not be generalized.



1.10 Operational Definitions and Assumptions 1.10.1 Operational Definitions Boutique: Boutique is a
small shop which sells some specialized products. It is a French word which means shop. In any boutique
one finds exclusive garments and accessories that go with the garment such as: Belts. Purses, Jewelry.
Foot ware, Stoics, I lair bands. Retail store: Of French origin, the word "retail" refers to "sale in small
quantities." Retail stores are business establishments that sell goods and merchandise to consumers or
other businesses. Customer preference: Consumer preference for a product can make or break a
company. If consumers generally like a product. it can stay around for years and sell millions of copies.
However. if consumers do not like the product. it could disappear very quickly if the company cannot
figure out how to fix the problem. Customers are informed and remaindered about the products and are
requested and persuaded to purchase their products. Such communication may be made their along the
product or well in advance of the introduction of product into the market. Such communication
becomes necessary when a new product or service is introduced in the market or an old product is
improved or it is simply to increase the sales of the products. Fashion involvement: A consumer's
perceived importance of fashion clothing.
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1.10.2 Assumptions For the significance of the test, the significance level is assumed to be 5
percentages for chi-square test making the confidence level 95 percentages. The proportion of the
sample is assumed to be 100 percentages for the calculation of the sample size. The respondent may
be biased while answering the questions. All the information is assumed to be the correct one.
1.11 Hypothesis Null Hypothesis (HO): There is no significant relationship between age and trend as a
preference factor
Altemative Hypothesis (HO: There is significant relationship between age and trend as a preference
factor


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Null Hypothesis OW: That is no significant relationship bete. een age and quality as a preference factor
Alternative Hypothesis (41): There is significant relationship between age and quality as a preference
factor Null Hypothesis OW: There is no significant relationship between age and location as a preference
factor Alternative Hypothesis (H1): There is significant relationship between age and location as a
preference factor Null Hypothesis (He): There is no significant relationship between age and more
choices as a preference factor Alternative Hypothesis (H1): There is significant relationship between age
and more choices as a preference factor Null Hypothesis (H0): There is no significant relationship
between age and better service as a preference factor Alternative Hypothesis (HO: There is significant
relationship between age and better service as a preference factor Null Hypothesis (H0): There is no
significant relationship between age and hospitality as a preference factor Alternative Hypothesis (HI):
There is significant relationship between age and hospitality as a preference factor





14istn ma. role in consumer's lifesty lc. With the growing number of boutiques. target customers tend to
be more selective.
1.5 Statement of Problem We all v.ant to look good. Wearing clothes today is just not about protection
against climatic conditions but is more of a fashion statement besides of course being comfortable and
trendy. Clothes today have become an extension of one's personality. Women today have started giving
priority to clothes that are well designed and are different or unique.
Google shows that in Kathmandu alone there are 105 boutiques spread all over the city. There may be
many more unregistered ones. This increase in number has taken place in the past 8 - 10 years only.
The apparel market as a whole is growing significantly. This has led to a competition among the apparel
houses and the boutiques. Many traditional tailoring houses have either closed down or are running in
losses. 'those financially strong have renovated their shops and are trying to be in the business.
Hence, the research gives an insight into Women visiting boutiques for their attire.