Buyers
Buyers are responsible for everything that is available for sale in stores. From clothing and accessories, through to cosmetics and furniture, every retailer may have one buyer or a team of buyers to make these purchasing decisions.
Their job is to understand trends and consumer habits, to ensure their store will have enough stock of the most desired items. For this role, a combination of a good eye, knowledge of trends, mathematics and negotiation skills are all valuable.
In some instances, buyers will provide reports and feedback to a company design team. The benefit of this will be that the designers will be aware of their best sellers and make commercial designers for future product design.
Read more about Buying here:UCAS (UK) My World of Work (Scotland)
A fashion buyer is responsible for finding and buying the clothes and accessories, for stores - both online and physical. Fashion buyers are a crucial part of the fashion retail chain, as they are responsible for curating the selection of products available for customers shopping in their store. Buyers can work across the whole industry, from the high fashion end (e.g. buying for Harrods and Selfridges, through to websites like ASOS and stores like Debenhams).
There are two main sides to the role of a buyer, which works on a cycle from season to season - from Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter, always working one season ahead.
1. Curating and buying
-In order for buyers to make their selection (i.e their choice of items from the collection), they will attend trade shows or presentations with designers and brands to see their new collections that will be sold in the next season. Following these views, buyers will meet with the brands to make a selection of items, decide quantities, prices and agree delivery dates.
-Building and maintaining relationships with the brands that they buy is a crucial part of the job that is both beneficial to the buyer and the brand.
-They negotiate with the brands they are buying from to purchase goods at the best wholesale rate. An established buyer can make a difference to the success of a designer’s collection, can help launch careers and bring new designers to interesting markets.
2. Analysis and feedback
Once orders have been placed and stock is received, buyers need to ensure the store’s sales and marketing people are familiar with each season’s new stock so that retail and marketing staff are able to promote and sell the product in the best possible way to their customers.
Buyers will also check inventory levels to make sure that their store has the necessary stock levels. They discuss the company’s needs with its salespeople, managers, and suppliers.
Analysing inventory databases and sales records will help to determine how much the store or shop should expect to sell and therefore purchase. These learnings will then help to inform their choices when they start looking at the next season of buying.
SKILLS REQUIRED
- Decision-making
- Analytical thinking
- Communication
- Marketing and sales skills
ENTRY LEVEL JOB ROLES
Buyers Admin Assistant, Assistant Buyer, Junior Buyer
SUITABLE COURSES
Business studies - undergraduate degree
Retail buying - short course
Fashion buying and merchandising - undergraduate degree
Buyer – RETAIL
Do you have a good eye for up-and-coming fashions? Can you match designers with the correct stores? Are you good at anticipating trends?
A fashion buyer is responsible for finding and buying the clothes and accessories, retail store needs. Fashion buyers are a very important part of the fashion retail chain, as they are responsible for finding the designers whose clothes match their stores’ clients’ tastes and therefore bringing designers to the right market for them. They can source and find new designers as well as maintaining relationships with existing designers. Another part of their job is to familiarise the store’s sales and marketing people with each season’s fashion buys so that the retail and marketing staff are familiar enough with the product that they can promote and sell the clothes and accessories in the best possible way.
Fashion buyers check inventory levels to make sure that their shop or store has all of the products that it needs; they discuss the company’s needs with its salespeople, managers, and suppliers; discuss new products with the company’s managers and explain new lines to the salespeople; examine inventory databases and sales records to determine how much the store or shop should expect to sell and therefore purchase; they also establish agreements with fashion designers and suppliers to purchase goods at a favourable commercial rate. An important and powerful fashion buyer can make a difference to the success of a designer’s collection, can help launch careers and bring new designers to interesting markets.
REQUIRED SKILLS
Leadership, merchandising, marketing and sales skills
CAREER PATH
Shop assistant/retail manager > Assistant Buyer > Buyer
SUITABLE COURSES
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