Buying is one of the most important roles in the retail and consumer sector. It is the buyers who decide what products the company is going to sell, and from where it is going to be sourced. Whether a supermarket stocks mangos from Brazil, or beef from Japan, it will be the buyers who made the decision.
Retail Buying And Merchandising
A job in buying and merchandising brings with it lot of responsibility: if a buyer misjudges the demand for products, or overestimates, then it could hit a company's bottom line instantly, and damage the brand long term. The profit margin can also rely heavily on the buyer's ability to drive negotiations with suppliers.
Aptean buying and merchandising software can help retailers like you to manage stock holdings and associated replenishments more accurately, resulting in optimum stock holdings and minimal capital tied up in stock.
Accurately plan merchandising to make sure stock availability matches planned sales as closely as possible, whilst ensuring that the planned closing stock levels for the end of a period are not exceeded
Protect your finances and maximise sales potential with Aptean buying and merchandising software. Create a financial budget (Open to Buy) for the entire season and check progress with real-time updates to make sure stock levels match expected performance using the (WSSI) Weekly Stock and Sales Intake reporting tools.
Through a combination of classroom instruction and field-based experience, students prepare for entry-level positions in diverse occupations and for advanced education. You could begin your career as a retail manager, assistant buyer, planner, allocator, product development manager, or sales representative for a manufacturer or service company. Your options are plentiful with competitive starting salaries and rapid advancement. Retailing is one of the fastest-growing segments of our economy, and opportunities for employment will continue to be excellent through the twenty-first century.
Retail merchandising at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities highlights the interface between the retail industry and design. You will learn about a wide range of retail strategies and management issues such as consumer research, consumer behavior, promotions and marketing, sourcing and buying, leadership and management skills, retail technology, digital retail analytics and social media, and customer experience design.
Our close partnerships with the retail industry will help you connect with professionals and work on real-life problems through course projects, guest lectures, and onsite visits. The Center for Retail Design and Innovation further provides you with a space to build your network, gain hands-on learning experiences, and prepare you for success in your career.
Going to such a large University, I am able to connect with so many different types of people within the retail field. By having such a diverse group of students in my major, I have learned how to better work with people vastly different from me in my career."
Our retail merchandising faculty study varied and diverse topics from the dynamics of retail competition and consumer behavior to sustainable consumption. With research partnerships at other design programs at the College of Design, University of Minnesota Extension Services, and other colleges throughout the University and beyond, our faculty will help you identify and pursue your own research interests.
Collaboration with faculty and industry entities are also possible through the Center for Retail Design and Innovation (CRDI). As one of the only retail merchandising research centers located within a design college, CRDI provides a unique opportunity for students to develop crucial skills in design thinking, visual literacy, creative problem solving, leadership, and business analysis through real case studies.
Minneapolis and St. Paul are two major retail centers. In addition to a variety of Fortune 500 companies that call the Twin Cities home, hundreds of small- and medium-sized businesses are located throughout the metro. These businesses form a landscape of diverse opportunities to connect with industry-leading companies and create important pathways for your career success. Our rich retail environment facilitates close and supportive relationships between the college and our community partners. It also allows for learning opportunities not possible in programs located elsewhere.
At the College of Design you get the accessibility of a small college with the resources and opportunities of a land-grant research university. Our small class sizes and low faculty-to-student ratio mean you will enjoy individual attention from professors and mentors. You will also become part of a tight-knit community of retail merchandising students and alumni across the country.
Specializing in retailing and merchandise planning, Quan is an associate professor in the Fashion Business Management Department. He attended New York University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and marketing. He received an MBA in managerial reasoning and decision-making from Empire State College.
An overview of the buyer's core functions and responsibilities. Assortment planning, vendor negotiations, product development, basic retail math, and key merchandising strategies will be explored. Emphasis on building relationships with internal and external work groups will be covered.
Merchandise buyers choose and purchase product for resale at retail establishments. In order to choose the best possible products, they interview vendors, visit manufacturing plants and attend trade shows and conferences. They also evaluate previous sales data to anticipate customer needs and wants. Once they have identified a product that they would like to purchase, merchandise buyers negotiate contracts with the suppliers to work out costs and delivery information. They also keep careful records of all transactions in order to make sure that contracts are adhered to and to provide helpful information when choosing between suppliers and products to purchase in the future.
Merchandise buyers play an essential role in supply chain management by locating and purchasing products to be resold at retail locations or online. As a buyer, you would analyze consumer purchasing patterns and determine which items would produce the largest revenue. You then would negotiate purchasing deals with manufacturers and suppliers. Products you might buy include clothes, food, electronics, books and toys. This job requires strong communication and research skills, as well as the ability to plan and make sound financial decisions.
A closely related career option is a position as a purchasing agent. Instead of buying supplies for retail sale, purchasing agents purchase materials needed for a business or organization to operate on a daily basis. For instance, they may purchase chemicals for a manufacturing plant or office supplies for a school's administrative office. The minimum educational requirement is a high school diploma. Alternatively, you could get a job on the other side of the negotiating table as a wholesale sales representative. In this job, you could represent a single manufacturing company or several companies that sell products to retail sales outlets. If you are selling nontechnical products, like clothing or packaged food, a high school diploma is sufficient education; however, you may need a bachelor's degree to sell scientific materials.
In the last few years, we have witnessed enough discussions on Omnichannel strategies, digital strategies from a marketing lens, customer loyalty, and shopper experience. Yet, the focus on Buying and Merchandising strategies in the new world has been virtually non-existent.
It is a known fact that without a great product, no amount of marketing, experience building, or visual merchandising will help a retailer grow.
Retailers are under tremendous pressure today. They are constantly plagued with channel proliferation, fickle consumers, increasing price sensitivity and lack of brand loyalty. To attract new customers and ensure that the existing ones keep coming back, retailers must understand their consumers thoroughly. They must keep abreast of what they like or dislike, the trends they follow, their shopping patterns in order to be able to align merchandise accordingly.
We asked some Buying and Merchandising practitioners to talk about the unique B&M strategies they apply to both, delight consumers as well as turn them into brand loyalists by keeping them coming back for more. Here is what they had to share.
Explore the best colleges with merchandising and buying operations degrees. Find the merchandising and buying operations colleges that are right for you. This year's rankings have reduced the weight of ACT/SAT scores to reflect a general de-emphasis on test scores in the college admissions process. Read more on how this ranking was calculated.
The Fashion Merchandising option of the Business Management A.A.S. degree prepares students for careers in fashion/apparel sales, marketing, buying, and merchandising. Positions available to those with this educational specialization include retail merchandiser, planning and allocation, fashion/apparel sourcing specialist, and wholesale or retail buying manager.
Successful graduates of the Fashion Merchandising option will be qualified for entry-level positions in the field of fashion merchandising, buying, retail planning, and marketing. After graduation, students may either begin their careers or choose to transfer to bachelor degree programs at colleges offering Fashion Merchandising degrees.
In the retail industry, a buyer is an individual who selects what items are stocked and their key responsibility is dealing with all the products that come into the store. Buyers usually work closely with designers and their designated sales representatives and attend trade fairs, wholesale showrooms and fashion shows to observe trends. They are employed by large department stores, chain stores or smaller boutiques. For smaller independent stores, a buyer may participate in sales as well as promotion, whereas in a major fashion store there may be different levels of seniority such as trainee buyers, assistant buyers, senior buyers and buying managers, and buying directors.[1] Decisions about what to stock can greatly affect fashion businesses.
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