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Achim Berg

Senior PartnerFrankfurt

Advises global apparel, fashion, and luxury clients on strategy, operations, and marketing, helping executives design and execute transformational work.

Achim is the global leader of McKinsey’s apparel, fashion, and luxury group. He has a passion and deep expertise for both the fashion and luxury-goods industries. Over the past 15 years, he has advised numerous leading brands, retailers, wholesalers, and producers globally on a broad spectrum of issues. Achim has led a sourcing diagnostic for a European multilabel retailer and has deployed the multiyear transformation of a leading global value retailer. Through his extensive work in the industry, he has gained deep insights into the clothing, footwear, and accessories markets globally and built a wealth of expertise in a broad range of functional issues, including category strategies, key industry trends, and due diligence approaches.

Achim is coeditor of the annual State of fashion report, which McKinsey publishes jointly with the Business of Fashion (BoF). He is the initiator and author of McKinsey’s biannually conducted Apparel Chief Purchasing Officer Survey and the organizer and host of McKinsey’s annual Apparel Sourcing Executive Roundtables in Hong Kong and New York. In addition, he is a frequent and well-known speaker at leading global industry events.

Achim is based in McKinsey’s Frankfurt office, serving clients all over the world, with a particular focus on the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Earlier in his career, he was based in McKinsey’s Sweden office.

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Published work

The State of Fashion 2024: Finding pockets of growth as uncertainty reigns,” McKinsey & Company, November 2023

Redesigning apparel manufacturing in Asia: A pattern for resilience,” McKinsey & Company, May 2023

The beauty market in 2023: A special State of Fashion report,” McKinsey & Company, May 2023

Sporting goods 2023: The need for resilience in a world in disarray, McKinsey & Company, January 2023

The State of Fashion 2023: Holding onto growth as global clouds gather,” McKinsey & Company, November 2022

Japanese luxury shoppers are embracing omnichannel,” McKinsey & Company, October 2022

How current global trends are disrupting the fashion industry,” McKinsey & Company, June 2022

State of Fashion Technology Report 2022,” McKinsey & Company, May 2022

How the fashion industry can get into a metaverse mindset,” McKinsey & Company, April 2022

Mastering off-price fashion in an omnichannel world,” McKinsey & Company, April 2022

Sporting goods 2022: The new normal is here, McKinsey & Company, January 2022

State of Fashion: Watches and Jewellery, McKinsey & Company, June 2021

The postpandemic state of fashion,” McKinsey & Company, March 2021

What’s next for Bangladesh’s garment industry, after a decade of growth?,” McKinsey & Company, March 2021

Less is the new more: The state of fashion in 2021,” McKinsey & Company, February 2021

Five charts that set the tone as New York Fashion Week 2021 kicks off,” McKinsey & Company, February 2021

Sporting goods 2021: The next normal for an industry in flux,” McKinsey & Company, January 2021

The State of Fashion 2021: In search of promise in perilous times,” McKinsey & Company, December 2020

Fashion on climate,” McKinsey & Company, August 2020

A perfect storm for fashion marketplaces,” McKinsey & Company, June 2020

Time for change: How to use the crisis to make fashion sourcing more agile and sustainable,” McKinsey & Company, May 2020

It’s time to rewire the fashion system: State of Fashion coronavirus update,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020

The fashion industry in 2020: Ten top themes from The State of Fashion,” McKinsey & Company, February 2020

The State of Fashion 2020: Navigating uncertainty,” McKinsey & Company, November 2019

Fashion’s new must-have: Sustainable sourcing at scale,” McKinsey & Company, October 2019

Fashion on demand,” McKinsey & Company, February 2019

The ‘digital land grab’ in fashion,” McKinsey & Company, February 2019

Self-disruption in the fashion industry,” McKinsey & Company, February 2019

What radical transparency could mean for the fashion industry,” McKinsey & Company, February 2019

Now or never: Immediacy and customer experience in fashion retail,” McKinsey & Company, February 2019

The influence of ‘woke’ consumers on fashion,” McKinsey & Company, February 2019

The end of ownership for fashion products?,” McKinsey & Company, February 2019

The fashion market and ‘Trade 2.0’,” McKinsey & Company, February 2019

How India’s ascent could change the fashion industry,” McKinsey & Company, February 2019

Ten trends for the fashion industry to watch in 2019,” McKinsey & Company, January 2019

The State of Fashion 2019: A year of awakening,” McKinsey & Company, November 2018

Measuring the fashion world,” McKinsey & Company, October 2018

Is apparel manufacturing coming home?,” McKinsey & Company, October 2018

“Aufbruch Ost,” Akzente 1’18, McKinsey & Company, April 2018

“Mode nach M@ß,” Akzente 3’17, McKinsey & Company, December 2017

The state of fashion 2018, McKinsey & Company, 2017

The apparel sourcing caravan’s next stop: Digitization,” McKinsey Apparel CPO Survey 2017, September 2017

Digitization: The next stop for the apparel-sourcing caravan,” McKinsey Apparel CPO survey, McKinsey & Company, September 2017

“Auf die Plätze, fertig … Fashion!” Akzente 2’17, McKinsey & Company, September 2017

“Fashion 2017,” Akzente 1’17, McKinsey & Company, April 2017

The state of fashion 2017, McKinsey & Company, December 2016

Sourcing in a volatile world. The East Africa opportunity, McKinsey Apparel CPO Survey, McKinsey & Company, April 2015

Education

Witten/Herdecke University
Doctoral Degree
MA, economics, business administration