Earn a Bachelor's Degree. for skilled buyers and merchandising professionals – especially those who are trained to. What do merchandisers and buyers do during fashion week and market week? He/she should have curiosity regarding update fashion trend and attend the fashion-related trade fair, Textile fair, Garments Fair to gather knowledge. The demand for them is higher in the industry. If you want to become a fashion merchandiser then you should be aware of the different fields in fashion merchandising. 1. To be effective in a career as a fashion buyer, and perform your job duties with competence, you need to posses a certain set of skills, including: • A good understanding of retail math • Well versed in the history of fashion (helps in trend forecasting for future buys) • A keen eye and instincts for trends • Able to look ahead to future buys while keeping an eye on current business • Able to build good working relationships with suppliers • Able to choose merchandise that will meet customer needs while also maximizing profi… That is how the profession evolved in department stores. Becoming a fashion buyer requires you to be creative and flexible. “It’s about looking at our sales, looking at what worked in past seasons, what didn’t work and also taking into consideration designers’ vision for how they see the upcoming season.” In order to analyze sales numbers and quantify trends, buyers need to be analytical and able to think on their feet. In this interview with Shelby Collins, we go a little off the beaten path of the Successful Fashion Designer podcast. I learned many things and I greatly appreciated the readings and activities. The merchandiser is the planner of the business and there are very hardcore merchandisers. “Internships are the most important thing,” Chrissy says. “A buyer is someone who goes to market,” she explains. Starting salaries for junior buyers range from £18,000 to £25,000 - potentially rising to £45,000 with experience. It is a fast-paced job that requires knowledge of the … | © 2020 The Business of Fashion. Graduate from high school. in NYC, Interview Questions About The Company You’re Interviewing With, Questions You’ll Get at the End of an Interview, Questions For You to Ask at the End of Your Interview. says one course graduate, based in the United States. Be led a little bit more by the numbers to start out with, add a bit of spice with your intuition, see how it performs, get a bit gutsier and feel it from there. To go straight into a buying role, you'll usually need a qualification in retail or business. The third type of merchandiser is a profession that I think is super interesting. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 5.8% of fashion merchandisers have master's degrees. E-mail: afsana.sayyad@gmail.com. May oversee one store or a group of area stores. You can start as an assistant buyer and go on to become a junior buyer and work your way up. What does that actually mean? Other types of retailers offer general store management training schemes with the option to specialise later on. Additionally, Merchandiser may require a bachelor's degree. Fashion buyers visit vendors, negotiate contracts, research trends and manage reports, among other responsibilities. For a buyer in the fashion industry, whose job it is to keep stores stocked with the season's latest styles, it's more than just shopping fun. Fashion Merchandising Careers Fashion Buyer. The qualifications that you need to start a career as a fashion merchandiser vary from employer to employer. Although aspiring retail buyers may be able find entry-level work with only … The world has become slightly more complicated. "The course was eye-opening at times. The pricing was perfect," says a digital communications professional based in France. A fashion show is often a very different edit for a different purpose than the actual showroom — which presents the range and also more commercial pieces that you haven’t seen in the show. When interviewing for a position in the fashion industry, “you really want to cater to that audience,” Chrissy explains. A car takes you from show to show, with the buying director, a buyer and possibly a merchandiser exchanging ideas and also possibly preparing to negotiate with brands. So really, they empower the creatives and as such, they need to be product people as well. Here is an in-depth insight into the different careers in fashion merchandising. A career as a retail buyer can be rewarding, with diverse and interesting day-to-day job requirements. It’s basically the budget for the season which allows them to achieve the turnover that the company needs to increase their sale. Purchasing managers must also have a few years of work experience. Boost your CV and gain your competitive advantage by taking the BoF Education course: The Art and Science of Buying and Merchandising. For example, if they a specific trend that they select is not selling well, they have to be able to adjust their strategy mid-season while also trying to find ways to boost sales. Participate in a fashion merchandising internship. Buyers look to the future, the merchandiser actually looks to the past to understand buying patterns. Apart from it, material sourcing should be done at a cheaper rate and to do this merchandiser need to convince the vendor to give at cheap rates. All rights reserved. The buying cycle can last up to 4 or 5 weeks and this goes on daily, seven days a week. Companies function in different ways — gut is much more important in a highly creative environment than high street chain for example. Take business, math, and accounting courses if you can. I would say where buyers look to the future, the merchandiser actually looks to the past to understand buying patterns and buying behaviour. Now, she is sharing the lessons she learnt across a 20-year career with the next generation of buying talent through a BoF online education course. Click here to take the interactive online course now, featuring 8 hours of exclusive video content available to study at your own pace — with no completion date. In short, it means that buyers handpick the styles that end up in clothing stores. 4 years Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising A good merchandiser has to learn the basics of garments merchandising day by day from the beginning of your career to become an expert as well as to hike career graph. For example, once we had made Selfridges a cool store, we had a very specific way of looking at collections and making sure that only the cool, standout pieces were in the buy. Terms, Made with The career path to fashion merchandising is as challenging as it is rewarding. This will give you a great sense of the company culture and help you pick an appropriate outfit. Chrissy’s final piece of advice for getting into the fashion industry (or any industry) is this: “Be passionate. Beginning her career in Paris, she went on to take on strategic creative roles at Selfridges, Harrods and Victoria Beckham before becoming brand and strategy director at digital disruptor Farfetch, which market estimates could reach a value of over $5 billion if it IPOs as expected this year. It ’ s final piece of advice for getting into the fashion industry ( or any industry is! The pricing was perfect, '' says a digital communications professional based in the United States to.... Merchandising is as challenging as it is rewarding, merchandiser may require a bachelor degree. In France for the season which allows them to achieve the turnover that the company culture and help pick! Pick an appropriate outfit Garments fair to gather knowledge here is an in-depth insight into the different fields fashion... Buyer can be rewarding, with diverse and interesting day-to-day job requirements someone goes... 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