Ana works full-time as a first-line manager at the ‘NZ Pai Fashion Store’ in the local main shopping precinct.

Pai Fashion has a total of five retail shops in different New Zealand cities and targets professional women with relatively high levels of disposable income, who are in their 30s or early 40s.

Pai Fashion’s slogan is ‘Fashion with consciousness’. The company name is borrowed from the te Reo Maori word ‘pain’, which loosely translates to ‘good’. The stores sell only apparel from ethical fashion brands, and preferably from Aotearoa New Zealand-made sources.

The fashion industry is considered the second most polluting industry in the world after the oil industry. Especially in developing countries, where approximately 60% of the world’s fashion is manufactured, the fashion industry leaves a large environmental footprint. It takes approximately 20,000 liters of water to manufacture just one kilogram of cotton, a key input material for fashion apparel. In addition, the dying process is very polluting and harms workers who are exposed to toxic substances, and the environment (WWF 2017).

In addition, some manufacturers have less than desirable human rights records with workers being forced to produce fashion items in sweatshops in the developing world. Many consumers are not aware of the global fashion industry’s two very different faces. We all know and see the glamour runway world with fashion shows and supermodels, but are hardly exposed to media coverage showing the ugly side of manufacturing the latest fashion.

Pai Fashion sets out to make a difference and sells brands and labels only that have subscribed to ethical manufacturing processes, where harm for people and the environment is minimized. Ethical fashion has its price, however, and most apparel Pai Fashion stocks is rather expensive when compared to mainstream fashion brands sold at most retail outlets. Especially New Zealand-made apparel is pricey since manufacturers need to pay high labor costs when compared to, for example, China, India, and Bangladesh, due to the minimum wage provisions set out by the New Zealand government. New Zealand manufacturers also need to abide by strict environmental standards and health and safety provisions, which are also monitored by government authorities.

NZ Pai Fashion is owned by Cynthia and Alex Palmers, a Kiwi couple in their late 40s. Cynthia worked for many years in the fashion industry, both in retail and wholesale, before founding Pai Fashion.

Cynthia involves herself with the day-to-day operation and travels the country visiting stores, training staff, providing input into displaying merchandise and marketing material, talking to customers and staff about the company’s vision concerning ethics and sustainability, and so on.

Since the business is growing, Cynthia spends an increasing amount of time travelling internationally and domestically to suppliers of ethical fashion, going to fashion shows, and working on the supply of ethical apparel for women.

Alex is a former marketing executive, who worked for banks and insurance companies. He joined Pai Fashion only when the company opened its third store. Alex now mostly works behind the scenes and is responsible for all aspects of the company’s marketing strategies and tactics.

Alex has recently initiated the opening of an online store in addition to the five physical stores. Pai Fashion now has its own website, where customers can browse and shop online. The physical store Ana works as a supervisor handles all the logistical aspects of the online shop’s offering. In other words, when a customer buys anything online it is Ana’s duty to ensure her team dispatches the products to the customer correctly.

Ana received training from Alex on how to pack the products. The merchandise needs to be neatly packed in specially designed high-end, recyclable cardboard boxes that bear the company’s name and logo. The box also contains the latest flyers and catalog, details of the company’s online loyalty scheme, and an incentive scheme for recommending the online shop to a friend.

Ana had an opportunity to provide Alex with an idea for improvement when she received training. Alex, who never worked in retail, suggested a folding technique for the apparel that looked very neat and tidy when packed first. However, the apparel was likely to move a lot during transport, potentially causing the customer to receive wrinkled apparel when opening the package. Ana suggested a better way that ensures more stability and less movement in
the box. Alex was more than happy to accept Ana’s idea, and all apparel is now packed following the procedure suggested by Ana.

Ana spends an increasing amount of time training and monitoring her team in dealing with packing the online orders. Since the online business is picking up, Ana experienced difficulties in rostering team members for packing online purchases and requested another part-time team member to help out in the shop. Ana was a little surprised by how long it took to recruit for this part-time position. Most people they interviewed wanted a full-time position, and most
applicants who wanted to work part-time did not have the right skills set. After eight weeks they found the right person, and Ana now has a new team member who works 18 hours per week.

Each day, one team member spends approximately 2 to 3 hours packing and dispatching the online orders. Ana ensures she rotates team members to ensure that packing can be done every working day and is not impacted by annual or sick leave of team members.

Ana believes the boom in online sales is not only due to more people using smartphones and online technologies. She has witnessed more sales in the physical store as well. Pai Fashion’s merchandise is not necessarily cheap, but since many people in Ana’s hometown find good jobs these days, more people have money to spend on more expensive quality items.

Only a few customers are aware of the environmental impacts of the fashion industry and seek out certain brands that apply ethical manufacturing processes. Ana noticed that most new customers of Pai Fashion have no idea about ethical fashion or the ugly side of mainstream fashion. They enter the shop for the first time since they like the window display or connect
with the store’s name. When customers learn about the environmental implications of fashion they are mostly genuinely surprised and sometimes shocked. Many customers take flyers that outline Pai Fashion’s principles and values and attentively listen to retail staff before making a purchase. Ana, therefore, decided to talk to Alex about a social media campaign educating a
broader base of people.
Based on this case study information, complete the following eleven tasks

Task 1
Outline the shareholding model and the organizational structure of the NZ Pai Fashion Store.

Describe the impact on Ana’s role as a first-line manager.

(1 mark for a correct description of the company’s shareholding; 5 marks for a description of its impact)

Task 2
Discuss two resources that impact Ana and her role as a first-line manager in the context of the case study.

Explain how these resources impact Ana’s role.

Task 3
The case describes the NZ Pai Fashion Store’s core values and principles, and business practices.

Select two te ao Maori core values and explain how the te ao Maori values are reflected in the case study business’ operation.

Task 4
Describe how consultation factors impact Ana’s role as a first-line manager at the NZ Pai Fashion Store.

Task 5
Outline how the organization’s ethical principles impact Ana’s role as a first-line manager.

Task 6
Explain the impact of customers on the NZ Pai Fashion Store.

Task 7
Explain the impact of suppliers on the NZ Pai Fashion Store.

Task 8
Identify the labor market stage and explain the impact of the labor market in the context of the case study.

Task 9
a) Outline the impact local bodies have on New Zealand-based manufacturers of fashion apparel.

b) Discuss how local bodies impact the NZ Pai Fashion Store.

c) Outline what potential impact a local body may have on Ana’s role as a first-line manager.

Task 10
Explain how factors of the general environment impact the NZ Pai Fashion Store and Ana’s role as a first-line manager. In particular, you are required to discuss the following five factors: economic, legal/ political, technological, natural environment, and international factors. Please discuss these factors in the context of the case study.

Task 11
Provide two specific examples of legal compliance factors not mentioned in the case and explain the impact on the NZ Pai Fashion Store and/or Ana’s role as a first-line manager.