It has been announced this week that the Northern art and fashion collective Microzine on the retail side at least, have gone into administration.  Although founder Chris Lee has added the online side of the business will go on. So what I am asking is “is the credit crunch part of our financial evolution? And in turn is becoming a fully online retailer the Darwinist step forward for fashion brands?”  I myself have not Sercombe to the EBay and ASOS revolution, I still like to try on my clothes and see how my jeans fit with my trainers. Don’t get me wrong online business works for some, less risk for more return and certainly for larger companies the add on of an E business can drive profits. However if you are wanting to have that bond with your customer to build brand loyalty, potential consumers need to be able to see the clothes, meet the staff and put a face, smell and sound to the brand. This is even more important when talking about independents, as the variety of media and advertising outlets open to them pale in comparison to larger brands.

 Can 100% E-tail work?