Research Guides: FASH 445: Fashion Entrepreneurship: Home

Related Guides

For additional research information try these guides:

Business Model Canvas

Business Model Generation: a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers by Alexander Osterwalder; Yves Pigneur
Call Number: ebook
Publication Date: 2010
Co-created by 470 "Business Model Canvas" practitioners from 45 countries, the book features strategic ideas and tools, and makes them easy to implement in your organization. You will learn how to systematically understand, design, and implement a game-changing business model--or analyze and renovate an old one. Business Model Generation features practical innovation techniques used today by leading consultants and companies worldwide.

Define your industry

Industry codes (e.g. NAICS & SIC) have been developed to provide a way to organize industries into categories and group firms of similar nature together.

Look out for them in reports from business research tools like Plunket, Data Axle, IBISWorld, Business Source Complete & ABI Inform Complete.

NAICS
The North American Industry Classification System was created by the government for statistical purposes to describe industries, but it is used for a number of reasons, and it can help you research an industry. It is commonly used in reports and databases (and sometimes you will be asked to identify it in an assignment or business plan). Also available via Data Axle.
SIC (Standard Industrial Classification)
The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) is a system for classifying industries by a four-digit code.
Industry Research Guide

Your Librarian

Carla-Mae Crookendale

(she/her)

Contact:

cmcrookendale@vcu.edu
(804) 827-0367
Cabell Library, Room 121-L

Subjects: Arts, Performing, Arts, Visual

Ask Us

Featured Resource

How to Set up and Run a Fashion Label
Call Number: ebook
Publication Date: 2012
A no-nonsense guide to running your own business, whether it is within the clothing, accessories, or footwear sectors. Packed with tips, case studies, and tasks to help you analyze yourself, your market, and your product, the book is designed for anyone wanting to start their own fashion business.

Become an Industry Expert

Industry Research Resources

IBISWorld
Provides access to Industry Reports: analyses of U.S. industries categorized by NAICS, and to ProcurementIQ: full-text procurement reports on indirect purchasing lines and products.
Plunkett Research Online
Analysis and market research for important industry sectors. Includes trend analysis, statistics, organizations, company profiles, information for job-seekers, and ability to create custom reports.
Dow Jones Factiva
Comprehensive, full-text up-to-the-minute news and business source from Dow Jones and Reuters. Includes national, international, and regional newspapers, both current content and archives, periodicals, podcasts, newswires, and more.
Statista
Statista consolidates statistical data on over 80,000 topics from more than 22,500 sources. Our Market Outlooks provide market sizes, forecasts, key consumer markets and relevant automotive markets for up to 150 countries.
Passport GMID (Global Market Information Database)
In-depth reports providing statistics and analysis on consumer, industry, and service markets around the world.
Business Source Complete
Bibliographic and full-text content from peer-reviewed business journals, covering all disciplines of business including marketing, management, accounting, banking, finance, and more.
ABI/INFORM Complete
Abstracts, full-text journals and periodicals on business, finance, and management topics. Includes all content in ABI/INFORM Global, ABI/INFORM Dateline, and ABI/INFORM Trade and Industry. Includes full-text access to The Wall Street Journal.

Industry Research Guide
More resources for researching an industry.

Women's Wear Daily

Women's Wear Daily Archive
The entire run of Women's Wear Daily (1910-6 months ago), a fundamental resource for the fashion industry, with searchable text.

WWD
Direct, online access to WWD, the “Bible” of the fashion industry. (limited to 10 concurrent users)

Get to Know Your Customers

Consumer Research Resources

Mintel
Full-text market research reports covering US and global consumer markets. Reports analyze market share, segmentation, and trends. Upon first login register with your VCU email address.
Warc
Global advertising and marketing trends, including market intelligence, case studies, conference reports, articles, expenditure data, profiles of major brand owners, and consumer insight.
SimplyAnalytics
Web-based mapping application that lets users create interactive maps, charts, and reports using demographic, business, and marketing data.
(5 concurrent users)
Data Axle
Data Axle, formerly ReferenceUSA, provides research on businesses including data summaries by neighborhood, city or state and by type or size of business. Users can conduct market research for similar or competitive businesses in a specific locality.
Statista
Statista consolidates statistical data on over 80,000 topics from more than 22,500 sources. Our Market Outlooks provide market sizes, forecasts, key consumer markets and relevant automotive markets for up to 150 countries.
Passport GMID (Global Market Information Database)
In-depth reports providing statistics and analysis on consumer, industry, and service markets around the world.
Business Source Complete
Bibliographic and full-text content from peer-reviewed business journals, covering all disciplines of business including marketing, management, accounting, banking, finance, and more.
ABI/INFORM Complete
Abstracts, full-text journals and periodicals on business, finance, and management topics. Includes all content in ABI/INFORM Global, ABI/INFORM Dateline, and ABI/INFORM Trade and Industry. Includes full-text access to The Wall Street Journal.

Consumer Research Guide
More resources for researching your consumers
Doing Consumer Research: A Resource Guide (Library of Congress)
This guide specifically focuses on resources useful for the business to consumer (B2C) industry, where individuals are the end users of a product or service. While this guide does not cover every resource, it does highlight commonly used sources and publishers of population and consumer data.

SimplyAnalytics

Use SimplyAnalytics to generate custom maps and reports for any location in the US,
using demographic, business, and marketing data.

SimplyAnalytics
Web-based mapping application that lets users create interactive maps, charts, and reports using demographic, business, and marketing data.

SimplyAnalytics/Claritas Segment Details
Use the "Narrow Segments" tool to filter consumer profiles e.g. by income, education or lifestage group. Find relevant consumer types you identified in Simplyanalytics and aply them to your chosen location.

More Resources for Small Business Retailing

Entrepreneurship Research Guide
Includes links to Bizminer (financials and local market information)
U.S. Small Business Association - Learning Center
Info on creating a business plan, market research, managing employees and more.
Bizminer
Industry financial analysis and market trends for thousands of lines of business in national and local markets.
Bizstats.com
Free business statistics and financial ratios

Guide to Fashion Entrepreneurship
Call Number: HD9940.A2 C36 2014
A comprehensive, step-by-step entrepreneurial action plan that investigates how fashion product concepts are created, branded, sourced, marketed, channeled, and merchandised.
Advanced Fashion Technology and Operations Management
Call Number: ebook
Publication Date: 2017
Features extensive coverage across a range of relevant perspectives and topics, such as online shopping behavior, digital fashion, and e-commerce.

Doing Business in Richmond, VA

Richmond Economic Development Authority
Thrive Resource Library
Info on starting and operating a business, funding and links to RVA-specific resources.