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Companies are pursuing niche markets to combat competitive pressures from low-cost producers of textiles and apparel. These small, customer-need centered markets provide economic competitiveness opportunities through increased market share and profitability (Parrish, 2003).

To further understand niche marketing strategies and expand the Parrish Niche Strategy Model (2003), competitive analyses are conducted using secondary data. The analyses covered companies in each sector (fiber/yarn, textile, apparel, and retail) of the supply chain.

The purpose of the analyses is to understand competitive positions and strategies of companies competing with niche products in the bottomweight market. This market is chosen because it represents a significant consumption market in the United States where domestic textile manufacturers still have a presence. The results indicate that growth rates are higher for downstream companies, although a larger number of upstream companies are privately held. Companies in all sectors of the supply chain are found to be utilizing supply chain and brand management strategies.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the growing trend of the use of private labeling as a competitive strategy among fashion retailers. Specifically, how retailers differentiate and create niche markets within their own private label merchandise is examined. The study focuses on how retailers develop and expand their private label portfolios, while minimizing the risk of cannibalization.

The research methodology is an in‐depth case study design that is used to gather information from a selected sample of those retailers that participate in apparel private label product development.

Results indicate a strong use of a niche marketing strategy by retailers in the development and implementation phase of private labels. The strategy resulted in increased profits and market share.

The study is significant because it provides a framework for a globally competitive strategy that retailers can utilize in order to develop specialized, niche markets within their private label merchandise, while minimizing the risk of cannibalization.

There is a void in the current research literature relative to the use of a niche market strategy as a competitive strategy by the fashion retail industry, particularly when related to the development and marketing of private label merchandise.

Due to the highly competitive nature of an increasingly global market, textile and apparel firms are being challenged to leverage and enhance their core competencies in order to maintain and potentially increase market share. A strategy being explored is increasing supply chain efficiencies with the goal of reducing costs and improving customer service levels. This research seeks to explore such supply chain strategies which are currently being used into addition to the product costing and outsourcing decision analysis. Executives within the fiber and yarn, textile, apparel and retail industries are quantitatively and qualitatively interviewed in order to examine these issues.

Results show that firms are using a blended sourcing strategy in order to minimize risk and leverage manufacturing capabilities. Quality, cost and reliability of delivery are all indicated as important in terms of sourcing criteria. The results provide insight into the decision process and a framework for increasing efficiency resulting in increased international competitiveness.

The purpose of this study is to examine how the textile and apparel industry can utilize a niche market strategy in order to compete with lower priced imports.

The research design used for this study was an in‐depth case study method. The sample consisted of selected companies from the fiber, textile, apparel, and auxiliary sectors who are considered leaders in the US textile and apparel industry.

Results indicated that firms can approach a niche strategy from either a market or a product perspective. Findings also indicated variables that are used by firms for both approaches. The most important factor in which a firm needs to focus is understanding the consumer.

Because of the limited sample size of US textile and apparel firms, the results can only be generalized to those companies that participated in the study and not the entire textile and apparel industry.

This research study showed that a niche strategy is a promising global competitive strategy for the textile and apparel industry that can be used to compete with lower priced imports.

This study clarifies not only how a niche market/product is defined by the industry, but also how firms can implement and maintain a successful niche strategy.

To examine how companies in the maturity stage of the product life cycle can implement and maintain a successful niche market strategy to increase competitiveness in the face of new competition, with particular reference to the global textile industry.

Responsible executives in eight firms in the textile and apparel/clothing sector in the USA were interviewed face‐to‐face or by telephone, or completed an online questionnaire. The sample contains leaders in the industry.

Research results suggest that niche marketing is an effective strategy for countering price competition in a mature industry and can use a niche market strategy. They identify key success factors, the most important factor of which was found to be a thorough understanding of the targeted consumers. It is concluded that the marketing mix plays a more important part than is generally suggested in the literature, by communicating non‐price product attributes to the niche market.

The small sample limits generalization beyond the companies that participated in the study and comparable firms in the US textile and apparel/clothing industry.

This research study shows, within its limitations, that niche marketing is a promising global competitive strategy for mature industries. The study proposes practical guidelines for putting it into practice.

This study generally confirms the literature, but comes to some original further conclusions.

With the present transient status of many countries’ economies, the international textile industry faces considerable challenges. There are many uncertainties surrounding the global textile market, exacerbated by the foreboding that in 2005, quotas will be eliminated, resulting in “free” trade flows. There is no doubt that manufacturers who have created niche markets will be better positioned to compete in the global marketplace and achieve higher margins for products while yielding greater profitability. This paper is an introduction of a larger study that will examine how niche market definitions are being recast, owing to changing global patterns. This paper addresses what role niche markets will play in 2005. Specific objectives are: to give a broad overview of various trade theories, including classical, neo‐classical, post‐neo‐classical, and modern, in order to determine what, theoretically, the future holds for the US textile and apparel industry. Specifically, focus will be given to the issue of specialization as a result of trade; to explain how the specialization advocated by trade economists relates to niche markets in the US textile and apparel industry; to illustrate how traditional marketing methods differ from niche marketing; and to examine what role niche markets will play in the US textile and apparel industry in 2005. The results of this research study will aid in the formulation of a business strategy that can by utilized to capitalize on niche markets and will provide a research framework for global textile researchers.

The Affordable Care Act is transforming health care practice nationwide through emphasis on population health and prevention. Health care organizations are increasingly required to address population health needs. However, they may be ill equipped to answer that call.

This study identified ways that health care organizations might better integrate public and population health efforts to better respond to this new emphasis on population health. Employing semi-structured key informant interviews, barriers to and facilitators of integration were explored and implications for health care and public health leaders were developed.

Participants (n = 17) – including senior hospital executives, group practice administrators, and health department officials – identified strategies for health care and public health leaders to more effectively integrate in order to achieve better performance and population health gains. These strategies and their implications are discussed.

The results of this study provide important value to health care administrators leading efforts to integrate population and public health.

While evidence-based parenting interventions (EBPIs) are proven effective at addressing numerous emotional and behavioral health challenges for children and youth, and reduce rates of child maltreatment, they are often not well implemented in the real-world settings. Even with the state-of-the art training, many practitioners do not deliver the intervention, or do so at a reduced capacity. The purpose of this paper is to examine system-contextual implementation factors that predict timely initiation of use of an EBPI (i.e. within the first six months following training). A secondary purpose is to document additional impacts of training.

Repeated measures were used to collect predictors and the dependent variable. The relationship between participant characteristics and use of the Triple P program was estimated using exact logistic regression.

The results from 37 practitioners across three communities indicated approximately 54 percent delivered the intervention with at least one family within the first six months following training. Practitioner self-efficacy immediately following training and general attitudes toward evidence-based practices were the most significant predictors of timely use of the model. The vast majority of practitioners, regardless of implementation status, generalized learning from the training to other aspects of their work.

Prospective examination of the predictive value of implementation factors helps to refine targeted approaches to support implementation.