What do fashion merchandisers do

Students looking to get into this field should consider a specialty area to remain relevant and in demand. Fashion merchandising is often confused with fashion design, but they are not the same thing. Fashion designers create new lines of clothing, shoes, and accessories while fashion merchandisers plan the best way to advertise and sell them. Fashion design uses more creative skills while merchandising requires stronger business skills.

Either may be a good fit for someone interested in fashion. Other skills designers use on the job include sketching and drawing, creating new fashions using computer-aided design CAD , and selection of fabric, color, and style for new projects. Fashion modeling is another popular related career.

People in this occupation pose for photographers and artists to display new lines of clothing and accessories. The resulting advertisement may end up in a magazine, newspaper, direct mail flyer, email, or a banner ad on the Internet. Modeling does not require any formal education and may be an excellent way for people to break into the world of fashion.

Graphic designers use some of the same skills as fashion merchandisers except that their work is more often with computers programs than physical properties. They create compelling images either by hand or with the help of a CAD program. After creating the images, graphic designers decide how they will appear on websites, brochures, and other printed media.

This is similar to how those in fashion merchandising careers plan and display new fashion items to make them most attractive to buyers. Fashion Merchandiser.

What Is Fashion Merchandising? What Does a Fashion Merchandiser Do? Some of the specific duties of a fashion merchandiser include:. Researching current fashion trends and predicting what may be popular in the future Attending fashion shows Creating advertising and marketing campaigns Developing a budget and making sure that everyone stays within it Negotiating with manufacturers and suppliers. Pricing clothing and other fashion accessories. Researching customer demographics to determine how to market to them Coordinate efforts with sales, design, and merchandise planning teams Buying inventory Creating store displays to highlight certain products.

Earn Practical Experience. Fashion merchandising encompasses various job titles and responsibilities. Every retailer or manufacturer has many people involved in fashion merchandising, but few people touch the entire process from end-to-end.

Instead, people are typically focused on a particular area of fashion merchandising. Furthering your education is a great place to start, and. University life Changing or leaving your course Alternatives to university. Log in Register. Getting a job CVs and cover letters Applying for jobs Interview tips Open days and events Applying for university Choosing a course Getting into university Student loans and finance University life Changing or leaving your course Alternatives to university Post a job.

View all retail and FMCG vacancies. Add to favourites. Working closely with buyers, retail merchandisers predict up-and-coming sales trends to ensure maximum profitability Your role as a retail merchandiser is to ensure that products appear in the right store or website, at the right time and in the right quantities. In smaller companies, the same person may be responsible for both buying and merchandising.

They also oversee delivery and distribution of stock and deal with suppliers. Income figures are intended as a guide only. Working hours Working hours are normally 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Weekend or evening work is occasionally necessary to visit stores or for competitive shopping. What to expect Work is mainly office based with a balance between independent work and regular team contact. Some of your time will be spent each week visiting stores or suppliers and occasionally attending trade fairs or fashion shows. Merchandising can vary in different retail organisations and it can be a head-office or a branch-based function. Most retail merchandisers work from head offices, the majority of which are in London and the South East, or in other large cities.

The job involves working in a fast-moving and competitive environment, with high levels of responsibility for potentially very large budgets, where even minor errors can result in vast reductions in profit. This aspect can either be motivating and challenging or a source of stress. You may occasionally need to spend short periods away from home and there can be opportunity for overseas travel, particularly in fashion, for example, to accompany buyers to Latin America, East Asia or South East Asia.

At senior level, you may be required to travel to find new suppliers, select and buy goods or solve problems with manufacturers. Self-employment or freelance work are only viable options if you set up as a retail consultant. Qualifications Although this profession is open to all graduates, a degree in the following subjects may increase your chances of finding work: accountancy and finance business or management economics IT or computer studies marketing mathematics or statistics retail management.

Having an interest in the products that the company retails will be an advantage. This occupation is also open to those with an HND, particularly in the following subjects: accountancy and finance business or management transport, distribution, logistics or operations management. Skills You'll need to have: strong analytical and numerical skills to work out budgets and understand sales figures the ability to work under pressure in a dynamic environment and to quickly identify problems and recommend solutions sound decision-making skills and the ability to plan and prioritise excellent communication and negotiation skills the ability to work well as part of a team and to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of people strong commercial acumen and the ability to understand what will appeal to customers computer literacy creative flair self-confidence a driving licence - is also often a requirement.

If you continue browsing the site, you agree to our use of cookies. Home News Fashion Fashion careers: What does a fashion merchandiser actually do? Curation and planning of merchandise Working closely with buyers and designers, the fashion merchandiser curates and plans what merchandise to stock for a brand by analyzing the past buying behaviors of their customers. Analyzing data and forecasting trends Following the development of current industry trends is just one way fashion merchandisers fine-tune their forecasting ability.

Building and maintaining relationships A fashion merchandiser for an e-commerce brand may meet with numerous brands on a daily basis to discover which items to stock. Marketing and promotion After stocking the merchandise in physical stores or online based on product insights, fashion merchandisers are also responsible for the promotion of the products.