The direct-to-consumer threat to retail middlemen

THE global apparel market is worth US$1.65 trillion annually, of which 12.1 per cent is now serviced by online retailers, up from 4.4 per cent five years ago, having grown at 25 per cent annually.

While this change has been rapid and has resulted in some significant disruptions to existing business models, it has primarily focused on the last stage of the apparel industry value chain - the consumer-facing retail stage.

The advent of direct-to-consumer marketplaces has the potential to disintermediate many retail outlets completely.

In the traditional apparel model, manufacturers produce garments that are either designed in-house or made to specification by designers or retailers.

These are then supplied to wholesalers such as Nike and Adidas, or directly to retailers, such as N…