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This article talks about the reasons for the downfall of the fashion industry. It addresses the issues faced and also provides a plausible solution that designers can attempt to break the decreasing demand of local designer products in singapore

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This reason why the happening in the market is because the change in  tastes and preferences of singaporeans. Singaporeans used to support local brands however now the support has changed to international brands.
Hence the demand for local brands decrease.
another reason for the change is the number of buyers in the market has decreased. With international brands such as Zalora and Actually introduced, consumers no longer want to buy local brands so the demand for the local brands have decreased.

This market is price elastic because over the course of the time period, singaporeans changed their preference from local products to international products.

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Due to the factor of the increased competition in the retail market, Raoul could not afford to pay the high rents for the outlet in singapore, hence this put pressure on the costs of supplying clothes to the singapore outlet. As a result, the outlet has to be closed down.

Raoul's products is price elastic because it has other retail stores to depend to on the sales even after shutting down the outlet in singapore.

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Ok, looks good.
Can start analysing the demand and supply factors that are affecting this market and also the price and income elasticity of demand factors for this market.

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Talks about how companies tries to develop local talent to become revolutionize and uphold it. It also emphasize about the importance of this local talents on how it affects singapore's economy and how this local brands were popular in the past and its not unappreciated.

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Globalization has dealt local fashion labels a bad hand.

It used to be that fashion designers in Singapore could fill a niche between mass market apparel from the department stores and expensive luxury brands.

David Wang, vice president of the Textile & Fashion Federation (TaFf), lived in that era. As a local fashion pioneer in the 80's, the runway for him to maneuver was much wider. Global brands like Topshop, Uniqlo, and H&M were not around to compete for the Singaporean's fashion budget.

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Despite brutal competition, Singapore's fashion industry experiences a rebirth

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Globalization has dealt local fashion labels a bad hand. It used to be that fashion designers in Singapore could fill a niche between mass market apparel from the department stores and expensive luxury brands. David Wang, vice president of the Textile & Fashion Federation (TaFf), lived in that era.

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Because of the high rent being asked, raoul has decided to close its branding in singapore and invest in making the branding more popular and well know in the states and europe by being a wholesaler and supplying clothes to retailers.

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Once considered one of Singapore's most promising fashion brands, Raoul is the latest casualty of the current tough retail climate.

In February, it shut its Paragon store, the last remaining one in Singapore for the brand. Owned by fashion and lifestyle group FJ Benjamin, its closure came after M)phosis, another home-grown label, also shuttered all its stores here last November.

When contacted, FJ Benjamin's chief operations officer Douglas Benjamin would only say: "We didn't want to keep the Paragon store open and pay the rents that were being asked. Right now, we are focusing on our wholesale business in the United States and Europe."

Raoul, which started as a men's shirt brand in 2002, now has only a concession space in Robinsons where it carries only womenswear. It is also available online at www.raoul.com. Menswear was discontinued late last year.

While its retail space here has downsized substantially, the brand still maintains a physical presence worldwide. According to a spokesman for the brand, it recently opened a boutique in Doha in Qatar.

We didn't want to keep the Paragon store open and pay the rents that were being asked.
MR DOUGLAS BENJAMIN, chief operations officer of FJ Benjamin which owns Raoul, on closing its store. The label was worn by Kate Middleton (above), the Duchess of Cambridge, when she visited Singapore in 2012

Raoul also sells through a number of resellers and department stores in the US, Europe and the Middle East. These include Kadewe in Berlin and Harvey Nichols in Kuwait.

Selected merchandise is also available at online retailers such as neimanmarcus.com, harrods.com and saksfifthavenue.com, adds its spokesman.

Prices are about $270 for a blouse, about $360 for a dress and around $1,000 for a gown.

The label, run by creative directors and husband-and-wife team Douglas and Odile Benjamin, was once touted as one of Singapore's biggest womenswear exports.

Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge and likely the brand's most famous customer, wore an outfit from Raoul's pre-fall 2012 collection when she visited Singapore that year.

Other well-known fans of the brand include Hollywood stars Rebecca Romijn and Viola Davis.

The brand has also set up a showroom in New York in 2009 and in Milan in 2011. These are open only during these cities' official fashion weeks.

Administrative manager Lily Ang, 49, who used to shop at Raoul, says: "I like the dresses from Raoul. They are casual yet feminine and easy to wear. At least I can still find them at Robinsons, but since it was a big local brand, it's quite sad it doesn't have its own stores here anymore."

Fashion designer Sabrina Goh, 31, of home-grown brand Elohim By Sabrina Goh, is sad to hear of the news. She says: "Especially since Raoul has always been seen as a sound brand with years of industry experience, and financial and production clout. It really just illustrates how tough the current Singapore retail market is."

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Singapore fashion label Raoul closes boutiques to focus on wholesale business

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Once considered one of Singapore's most promising fashion brands, Raoul is the latest casualty of the current tough retail climate. In February, it shut its Paragon store, the last remaining one in Singapore for the brand. Owned by fashion and lifestyle group FJ Benjamin, its closure came after M)phosis, another home-grown label, also shuttered all its stores here last November.