DOMINIQUE JACOMET: INTERVIEW IN « LE MONDE »
On the publication of the latest issue of « Mode de Recherche » on the consequences of the economic crisis
September 21st 2009
 Dominique Jacomet, Director General of the Institut français de la mode, was interviewed by Le Monde (25.09.09, with a front-page start) on the publication of Number 12 of Mode de Recherche that analyses the current economic crisis and its long-term effects on the fashion, luxury and creative industries. In an interview given to Nicole Vulser of « Le Monde », Dominique Jacomet explains how the recession has modified consumer behavior and analyzes the post-recession period and the growing importance of emerging economies. “Textiles and fashion have fared better than other sectors such as household appliances for example” explained Dominique Jacomet about the French market, adding that globalization is a blessing for French fashion industries who “have 40% turnover in exports (8 points up from ten years ago)”. “We are entering a period where the benefits of globalization could, unlike other sectors, outweigh the problems it brings”, the DG of the IFM went on to say. Read the interview online The economic and financial crisis, though it is exceptionally serious, has not hit the textile/garment sector as badly as the 1974 and 1981 recessions. Consumption has not collapsed, in particular in terms of fashion items. Fashion spending has resisted the recession quite well and consumers have not had to give up on shopping. However, « the question for fashion and garment retailers and companies is whether or not household spending will continue to resist and where consumer behavior is heading », according to Dominique Jacomet, who insists on demographic transformations (ageing population) and ecological transformations (increasing rarity of energy sources), to underline that « only innovation will enable Western European countries to maintain their living standards ». Danièle Clutier analyses the recession through the detailed examination of speeches and thoughts from world experts such as researchers from Harvard or Wharton and the big-name consulting groups like BCG, Bain, Nielsen and McKinsey. Her analysis shows that international experts are unanimous in thinking that this drop in consumption is not an isolated, one-off event but the manifestation of a sea-change that can be seen as a calling into question of the consumer society in general according to cases and individuals. Beware of generally accepted ideas: paradoxically, we have seen that green consumption and ethical consumption are not faring as well as would be expected. Consumers seem to be behaving “responsibly” (making products last, consuming less, recycling etc.), than investing in so-called “ethical” products. Franck Delpal provides an article on the evolution of the luxury sector through the economic crisis. He notes in particular “an evident correlation between the weight of Asia in terms of company turnovers and its resistance to the recession” and underlines that companies that control the value chain from beginning to end (from production to distribution), are still making high profits. In addition, companies that deal mainly in fashion and leather goods are faring better than those who deal in watches and jewelry. In an article on China, India and Brazil as « growth areas », Mehdi Tritar notes that the economic situation in China remains satisfactory for fashion and luxury industries. The LVMH group has had a two-figure growth in sales in China during the third trimester of 2008. Rich countries at the heart of a major demographic transformation are weakened by the recession while emerging countries, buoyed up by a younger population seem unscathed. In an interview with Olivier Assouly (IFM/Research), Françoise Benhamou ponders that question of the impact of the internet on fashion consumption. Taking the statement “cultural consumption is not suffering significantly in this recession” as a starting point, what conclusions can we come to about fashion? Even though the two fields have their own identities, they both present two examples of “addictive consumption” in a good way: “the more music you listen to, the more you like it. This idea appears in fashion also, as it can be an addiction, with real preferences”. So, fashion is naturally interested in the Internet as a booster that enables “to better appraise the tastes of individuals, to stick to trends and, as such, to increase addictive behavior”. One thing is certain: “certain sectors of the economy are going to disappear in front of our eyes. At the moment we have no economic model that we could say will replace the previous one while improving it”. Fashion consumption : a revelatory crisis? Are we moving to a new norm of fashion consumption? The recession seen from elsewhere The luxury crisis? China, India, Brazil: unavoidable growth areas Interview : Françoise Benhamou (by Olivier Assouly)
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