Five Things to Know about Fashion Merchandising

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Five Things to Know about Fashion Merchandising Theresa Kellington


INTRODUCTION Fashion merchandising is a term that encompasses a broad swath of the fashion industry. In fact, merchandising involves practically every point of the industry, from sales to design. Fashion merchandisers look for the increase in profits through inventory and buying management and trend analysis as well as marketing. It is an exciting career that is fastpaced and highly creative.


PASSION REQUIREMENT IN FASHION AND BUSINESS Those with an interest in business management and marketing who also have a passion for and love of fashion find fashion merchandising to be the ideal field. Essentially, it is the science of ensuring that companies have the right goods for sale at the proper price, amount, and time, in precisely the right places.


MANUFACTURERS & RETAILERS NEED MERCHANDISERS At the level of manufacturing, fashion merchandising includes forecasting clothing colors' and shapes' popularity, determining an estimate of quantities and sizes necessary, and figuring out the optimum price when selling the items of clothing to retailers. In retail, merchandising is still about the research and forecasting of trends the target demographic desires and when.


VARIOUS RESPONSIBILITIES Few people in fashion merchandising are involved in the entire process from one end to the other. Instead, people generally focus on a particular area of merchandising. Some develop buying plans, others oversee key relationships that exist between retail stores and manufacturers. Some are store managers who manage and hire employees while they monitor store profit and sales. Others are visualizing experts who determine floor layouts, signage, and 3D product displays.


EXAMPLES OF CAREERS A degree in merchandising in the fashion world can serve as a springboard for a few career paths within the fashion industry. One possible job title is a fashion buyer. This involves remaining on top of fashion trends as well as making business decisions that are driven by data. Fashion buyers determine what should be purchased for their stores. Fashion director is another job title. This involves leading a merchandising team and may call for attending photo shoots and fashion shows or the oversight of marketing campaigns.


EXAMPLES OF TASKS REQUIRED Job duties vary considerably from one position to another. Key responsibilities of a merchandiser generally include at least one of the following: fashion trend forecasting and analysis, pricing and buying merchandise, and promotion and marketing.


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