Editorial

Citation

Hayes, S.G. (2016), "Editorial", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 20 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-01-2016-0001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Volume 20, Issue 1.

What’s in a name?

2016 (as frequent readers of the journal will know I feel it must be called) has just started as I write this editorial. “Another year over, and a new one just begun” as a wiser man than I once sang, but what will it bring? It would be foolish of me, or any other researcher for that matter, to try and predict what this year will mean for the fashion sector.

What I do know however, is that it marks the 20 year anniversary of the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management (JFMM) being produced by Emerald Group Publishing – quite an achievement I am sure you will agree. I have had the pleasure of being editor of the journal since 2008 and, prior to that, acting as joint editor for one year with the founder and inspiration behind the original publication (more about that later) Richard Jones. Since 2008 the journal has seen some changes in its editorship and management but at its heart remains the desire to ensure that readers heighten their understanding of issues affecting their industry through the latest thinking and current best practice.

We have reached a number of milestones with regard to external validation (incorporation in the Association of Business Schools and the Australian Business Deans Council lists and inclusion in the Emerging Sources Citation Index) all of which is a result of the contribution of our authors, reviewers and advisors along with the efforts of the managerial and editorial teams. The current editorial team of me, Ian Taplin and Gail Taylor have been together since 2009 and, as the journal evolves, so may this triumvirate. Our Editorial Advisory Board is, and should be, an ever changing group of the journal’s strongest supporters and advocates. With luck, and good management, our authorship will also grow internationally. The journal precedes and reflects changes in the fashion business sector by the very nature of its being – a platform for promoting, disseminating and engaging with rigorous academic research with real-world applicability – and as such has undergone a number of “name changes” over the years. After 20 years I firmly believe the JFMM is the true and proper name for our journal – the “and” is important, yet easily overlooked. What’s in a name? Everything.

So, with an eye to the future it seems an opportune time to share with you some of the history of JFMM – the heritage that helps make the journal so strong and exportable. The journal can trace its history back to 1983 when, born out of necessity to support the UK’s first graduate-level program in clothing studies, Richard Jones compiled a statistical publication known as the Hollings Apparel Industry Review. This was produced “in-house” three times a year at the Hollings Faculty, Manchester Polytechnic and was sold to other academic institutions and industry. Over time the statistical review began to incorporate a number of research papers from staff within the Department of Clothing Design and Technology at Manchester Polytechnic and, as the review became more widely known, from other institutions both in the UK and abroad. This demonstrated the need for a publication to share research in the field which did not find a natural home in either Design or Textile Science journals.

The Journal of Clothing Technology and Management emerged from this need and was produced (still in-house) from 1993-1996. This incarnation reflected the growing contribution from external authors (increasingly international) and the needs of the student body following what were essentially still production and technology-oriented degree programs.

As chronicled by the journal from its inception the nature of the UK clothing and textile industry was undergoing major change, especially in its trade balance, and with this a shift in education, research and readership was emerging. In 1996 Henry Stewart – a well-respected publisher of minority academic journals – took the journal on and brought a new era of professional, external, publication to the journal now known (for the first time) as the JFMM. At this stage the publication was edited by Richard Jones with Gaynor Lea-Greenwood as Assistant Editor (Gaynor is now a prominent member of the EAB) and Ian Taplin joined in 2001 as North American Regional Editor (a role which he still fulfils). Emerald Group Publishing bought the journal in 2002 and have further nurtured and developed the publication into the success it is today. In 2008 Gail Taylor completed the current editorial team when she joined us as Editor for the Asia Pacific Region in recognition of that area’s increasing influence in the sector and to grow the research contribution from China and India specifically. A unique and interesting back-story that I feel gives the journal its specific nature and character – I am hope you will agree.

I would like to finish this celebratory piece with a few statistics showing our current position and just mention a couple of future projects. The journal currently has an acceptance rate of around 33 percent and receives around 90 articles per year for consideration. The majority of accepted papers come from the USA and the UK. On average it takes less than three months to reach a final decision after a paper has been submitted. Full text downloads of articles appearing in the journal have risen year on year and are now around 300,000 per annum. We run frequent special issues (SIs); the most successful of late are those focussing on fast fashion, luxury and ethical supply chains. 2016 will see an SI on the Relationship between Design and Marketing in the fashion industry. In addition to this, JFMM will be partnering the newly formed Fashion Marketing and Consumption SIG of the Academy of Marketing. I look forward, personally and on behalf of JFMM, to these and other events throughout 2016 and urge you to keep an eye out for further twentieth anniversary marketing communication from JFMM and Emerald Group Publishing over the course of this year.

Steven George Hayes