BUYING CYCLES AND TOOLS OF MERCHANDISING

Multifaceted job involving: fashion forecasting range planning order sourcing budgeting and marketing. Refers to key events and processes involved in developing a garment range for a retail or mail ordering company. Driven by a fixed calendar of trade fairs, fashion shows and events etc.

 Traditionally splits into two main seasons: Spring/ Summer(Feb to Jul) and Autumn Winter (Aug to Jan). Length of the cycle varies between the companies but usually takes a year.

 Season

Order Confirmation
March April

Order Delivery
May June July August September October November December January February

FALL December January February

HOLIDAY

March April May June July August September October November

SPRING SUMMER

Task Review of current seasons sales Budget planning Comparative shopping Directional shopping (Fabric sourcing) Range planning Garment sourcing Price negotiation with suppliers Final range selection Placing orders for ranging (Product development- samples, testing etc.) Bulk garment manufacture Delivery of products to retailer IN STORES

Approximate date early August09 mid- August09 August September09 August October09 October09 October November09 November09 November December09 mid December09 December January January April10 April July10 August10 August October10

 Buyer is always working on two seasons ranges simultaneously. i.e. while planning a range for the autumn winter season, the buyer simultaneously works on the garment fittings, fabric sample and quality approval of the range for spring summer season.

 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR Refers to the buying behavior of final consumers -individuals & households who buy goods and services for personal consumption. Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior:
Cultural Social Personal Psychological Buyer

 Review of current seasons sale: The available sales figures reviewed by the buyer to know garment's performance.

The merchandising department compiles a review of previous seasons performance of the range to identify the best sellers and the poor sellers.
The review is known as sales review or range direction meeting. Budget Planning: Planned by merchandiser.

Based largely on last seasons performance as well as any anticipated developments.

Buyer needs to be far more informed than any other department.

 A business strategy aimed to reduce processes in buying cycle and lead time for getting new fashion products into stores in order to satisfy consumer demand at its peak. Aims at the more fashion conscious younger end of the market. Buying cycle is usually much shorter than a year. The response time has to be very quick.

 The concept has become mainstay of the UK fashion industry. The fashion retailers usually introduce new ranges to stores at least once a month. The bestsellers are retained while the phases are introduced frequently to the stores.

Such ranges, also known as transitional help in filling the gap between one season and next.
This makes the fashion buying environment extremely challenging as the workload for two or three seasons overlaps, leaving no time to pause in between new ranges.

 Directional Shopping - trips to gain inspiration for design concepts for a new season. Depending on the product type & the companys travel budget, designers & buying teams visit major fashion cities. Stores of most influential designers & retailers, usually in a higher price bracket than the market they design for are visited.

They return with bought samples (notes, sketches & garments) for inspiration.

 London, Paris & New York are destinations popular with designers for most product types & market levels. Milan is often visited by lingerie designers. Childrenswear designers may find more inspiration in Tokyo. In London, designers usually aim for the major fashion departmental stores like Harrods, Harvey Nichols & Selfridges.

In Paris, the main department stores which stock fashion designer wear are Galeries Lafayette & Au Printemps.

 A directional shopping trip to New York usually includes visits to Macys, Bloomingdales & Henri Bendel in Manhattan. In Milan, La Rinascente is the key department store which is visited.

 Buying team visits stores stocking merchandise following different trends. Most stores visited stock designer ready-to-wear ranges. They may also visit mass market stores which are aimed at a younger market & or are more expensive than their own range. Basically the buying team makes notes on shapes, details, colours & fabrics for reference After this entire exercise a picture can be formed of the key trends which are coming through.

 Buying teams are usually given a budget to buy garments during directional shopping trips. These are generally referred to as bought samples, which typify the trends.

 Comparative Shopping is often referred to as Comp. Shop. Usually undertaken several times each season by the buying/design teams. Involves observing the current merchandise in the stores of competitors which sell comparable ranges (similar product types & prices). The aim of Comparative Shopping is not to copy competing retailers products.

 It is conducted to be aware of the choice of merchandise on offer to target customer to ensure that the company offers consumer value for money & is aware of developments. Report - sketches & a grid with descriptions of products compared with prices, fabrics & colours of similar merchandise from competing stores. This report concludes by analysing how competitors ranges compare with each other & noting any important trends or styles which are missing from the companys range.

 Range Planning is the stage when buyers define the detail of the range that is to be offered to the customer in terms of styling, fabric, design details, suppliers and prices. Final Range Selection involves contacting suppliers, amendments to be made, renegotiating prices and writing range plan Initial orders are sent and New Line sheets are generated by buyers

To increase sales To offer existing customers new products To attract new customers To offer choice and variety of product To replace products which are not selling well To build on the success of good selling products To differentiate the range from the competition To be in line with seasonal trends To utilize new raw materials, new techniques, or new technology

 Understanding Cooperative Objectives or Mission

Understanding Corporate Identity Defining current business position SWOT analysis under the marketing headings product, price, place, promotion Defining desired position in terms of sales/profit growth

Importance of knowing the market/trade requirements relevant to your product.

 Market Research helps create concept boards

Collate the products

Reviewed into themes or ranges

List products in the relevant product group

Group the new product samples into the new colour themes/concepts.

 Include details of the product to be adapted

List according to priority and demand. Include no. of new products required Determination of the no of collections to be developed

 Retained Products
Raw materials

Innovations
Products to be Adapted

 Homogeneous
Heterogeneous

Seasonal
Non seasonal

 Assortment of Staple goods

Assortment of Fashion goods Classification Price Size Material Colour Assortment of Seasonal goods

 Period for which Purchasing is done

Estimated Sales for the Period

Merchandise on Hand and on Order

Desired Merchandise at the end of a Particular Period

 Open to Buy [OTB] Controls the Volume of Inventory Hand to Mouth Buying Too much price Fluctuations Increase risk for Vendors Increase risk of loss in sales Speculative buying Quantity discounts

Supply Conditions
Storage Facilities

 Changing Business Conditions

Competition

Economic conditions
Unemployment

Fashion trends

 Price fluctuations
Availability of Supply and Materials

Type of Retail Institutions

Availability of discounts

Stage in the Product Life Cycle

 Type of Retail institution

Past Sales Records

Determination of Consumer Wants

Type of goods offered

Elimination of Merchandise Lines

 Availability of capital resources

Trading Area served

Nature of goods carried

Competition represented in the Trading Area

 Fashion goods
Seasonal goods

Convenience goods
Shopping goods

Specialty goods

 Attention to stock turnover and rate of sales

Availability of substitutes (staples) No improvement in sales

Little contribution to the sale of other products.

 Firm Plan is established

Reduce the amount of work Reduction in the cost

Creation an action plan

Desired Revenue Managed Product Development

 Basis for all merchandising planning. It is designed to control the key events needed to get the right apparel products, in the right mix, at the right price to the right customer at the right time. Also called as Merchandising calendar, Key events calendar or Critical path calendar.

 It is the central mechanism from which all marketing schedules and all merchandising and manufacturing plans evolve. It is the clock that drives merchandising product development schedules, manufacturing planning and shipping schedules. It sets forth the starting and completion dates for all critical events necessary to achieve a successful season.

 The calendar includes information about the name of the buyer, season, style, wash and quantity. The calendar includes the target dates for each event such as pre production garment approval, lab dip approval, pattern approvals and when graded sates of pattern should be sent out.

The person who is responsible for an event must sign it off in the system when the system has been completed so that everyone can monitor the status of the line development.

 Line preview dates by season. Line release dates by season. Start ship date

End ship date

Weekly sales plan Weekly shipping plans

Line Preview Date

It is the merchandisers deadline for having all prototypes and pricing for a new product line completed.
Merchandisers work back from this date to create their product development plans. It is the date of seasonal sales meeting where the merchandising team presents the line to the sales force.

 It is the merchandisers deadline for having all sales samples ready for the sales team to begin presenting the new line to the customers.
This deadline is crucial to the success of the sales effort, since most sales representative schedule their earliest appointments with their most important customers.

 It measures the effectiveness of a product line for the merchandising department. A graphic analysis of this plan can project increase or decrease in overall sales for a season.

 It shows season to date as well as shipping statistics for a specific week or monthly time period. It helps to determine whether or not the product mixes being delivered to distribution meet the shippability.

 CPM is used.

It is the key to a successful merchandising calendar.

It determines the critical functions necessary to perform an activity or series of activities required to achieve an overall objective. After the critical functions are selected, each one must be analysed to determine the time required to accomplish it. A typical merchandising calendar may have 25 to 50 functions for a product line.

TIME 'n' ACTION CHART

BACKW ARD PLANNING ACTIVITY BUYER RETAIL NEED STOCK ON IN WAREHOUSE OF IMPORTER OFFICE IN NEW YORK NEW YORK PORT GOODS EXPORTED PRE PRODUCTION SAMPLES ORDER CONFIRMATION - Le ad ti me for Prod 90 days lead Time SALES MAN SAMPLES (Wi th Actual Fab / Tri ms ) FIT SAMPLE APPROVAL FINALIZATION ON PRICE OF SAMPLES GIVEN BY BUYER APPROVAL OF 2nd PROTOTYPE SAMPLE APPROVAL OF 1st PROTOTYPE SAMPLE [ Style re f] SAMPLE PACKAGE RECEIVE FROM BUYER 30th June 13th June 20th April 05th April 20th M arch 15th AUG 15th July 15th JAN 15th DEC 15th NOV 30th SEP LEAD TIM E 1st week FEB

ACTION COLOR color satndards received from buyer 1st lab dip submit to buyer comments from buyer 2nd lab dip submit to buyer comments from buyer TRIMS care labels approved by Buttons approved by threads approved by others ALL TRIMS APPROVED BY ALL TRIMS EX SUPPLIERS ALL TRIMS IN FTY SAMPLES fit sample submit fit sample approval 2nd fit sample submit 2nd fit sample approval size set submit size set approval green seal sample submit green seal sample approval gold seal sample submit gold seal sample approval TESTING PROCESSES prod fabric submitted for testing test report available by prod garment submitted for testing test report available by PLANNED CUT DATE PRODUCTION fabric delivery local fabric in fty imported begin cutting begin sewing begin washing begin packing Final audit EX FACTORY DATE EX COUNTRY DATE

DAYS PRIOR TO DELIVERY

65 60 55 50 45

days days days days days

60 60 60 35

days days days days

60 days 40 days 30 days

65 days 58 days 51 days 44 days 33 days 31 days 30 days 25 days 10 days 5 days

65 days 60days 35 days 30 days 30 days

35 days

26 days 24 days 15 days 8 days 4 days 0 days

 An activity is any discrete part or task of a project which takes resources and time to complete. Activities exhibit precedence relations. Activities with their precedence relations form a project network. The longest chain of activities considering task dependencies is called critical path.

 CPM is the key to successful merchandising calendar.

It determines the critical functions necessary to perform an activity or series of activities required to achieve an overall objective. When a critical activity is delayed it forces all subsequent tasks to be delayed.

 The activities involved in development, execution and delivery need to be analyzed. Determine the time required to accomplish them. Determine the critical path. Critical functions are represented through PERT Charts Gantt Charts

PERT Charts
PERT is a method to analyze the involved tasks in completing given project, and identifying time needed to complete the total project. PERT chart tell a manager list of operations necessary to finish a project time needed for each operation critical activities activities that consume the largest part of projectcompletion-time

Gantt Charts
A series of parallel horizontal graphs which show schedules for functions plotted against time.

Time and Action Calendar

S. NO Process Start Date Finish Date

1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Order Confirmation
Ordering Bulk Fabric Receipt of Size Breakdown Order Sewing/Finishing Trims Fit submission Fit Approval Wash submission Wash Approval Receipt Sewing Trims YTS submission YTS Approval GTS submission

25-3-2008
25-3-2008 27-3-2008 27-3-2008 27-3-2008 24-4-2008 27-3-2008 30-4-2008 29-4-2008 24-4-2008 1-5-2008 1-5-2008 12-8-2008 8-4-2008 23-4-2008 17-4-2008

S. NO 13 14

Process GTS Approval Hand Over Production file to PPC

Start Date 14-5-2008 10-5-2008

Finish Date

15
16 17

Receipt of Head ends

Shade Shrinkage Process Taper Ready

05-5-2008
05-5-2008 09-5-2008 08-5-2008

18
19 20 21

Patterns Ready
Receipt of Bulk Fabric Size Set making Size Set Review

10-5-2008
12-5-2008 13-5-2008 15-5-2008 15-5-2008 17-5-2008

22
23

Shade Band Approval

PPM

19-5-2008
19-5-2008

Jun 28,2008

0+ EVENT

order confirmation
Jun 28,2008 0 Jun 28,2008

Jun 28,2008

3+ Jul 01,2008

Jun 28,2008

7+ Jul 05,2008

Jun 28,2008 10+ Jul 08,2008

receipt of size brkdwn

Jul 06,2008 8 Jul 09,2008

fit submission
Jul 03,2008 5 Jul 10,2008

wash submission
Jul 01,2008 3 Jul 11,2008

Jun 28,2008

0+ EVENT

order bulk fabric

Jun 28,2008 0 Jun 28,2008

Jul 01,2008

0+ EVENT

Jul 05,2008

7+ Jul 12,2008

order trims
Jul 09,2008 8 Jul 09,2008

fit approval
Jul 10,2008 5 Jul 17,2008

Jul 08,2008 10+ Jul 18,2008

Jun 28,2008 35+ Aug 02,2008

wash approval
Jul 11,2008 3 Jul 21,2008

receipt of head ends

Jun 30,2008 2 Aug 04,2008

Jul 12,2008 10+ Jul 22,2008

Jul 18,2008 10+ Jul 28,2008

Aug 02,2008 2+ Aug 04,2008

YTS submission
Jul 17,2008 5 Jul 27,2008

GTS submission
Jul 21,2008 3 Jul 31,2008

Taper ready
Aug 04,2008 2 Aug 06,2008

Jul 22,2008 10+ Aug 01,2008

Aug 04,2008 0+ EVENT

receipt of sewing trims

YTS approval
Jul 27,2008 5 Aug 06,2008

Pattern ready
Aug 06,2008 2 Aug 06,2008

Jun 28,2008 37+ Aug 04,2008

Aug 04,2008 2+ Aug 06,2008

H/O Ss/prod file to ppc

receipt bulk fabric

Jul 28,2008 10+ Aug 07,2008 Jun 28,2008 0 Aug 04,2008

size set making

Aug 06,2008 2 Aug 08,2008

GTS approval
Jul 31,2008 3 Aug 10,2008 Aug 04,2008 6+ Aug 10,2008 Aug 06,2008 2+ Aug 08,2008

shade band approval

Aug 04,2008 0 Aug 10,2008

size set review

Aug 08,2008 2 Aug 10,2008

Aug 10,2008 1+ Aug 11,2008

PPM
Aug 10,2008 0 Aug 11,2008

S. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Process Bulk Cutting Sewing Inspection Washing Finishing Pressing Final Checking Packaging Internal Quality Audit External Quality Audit Quantity delivered to internal Warehouse Goods Dispatched from warehouse to Buyer

Start Date 21-5-2008 23-5-2008 23-5-2008 25-5-2008 27-5-2008 27-5-2008 27-5-2008 27-5-2008 05-6-2008 08-6-2008 08-6-2008 08-6-2008

Finish Date

29-5-2008 29-5-2008 31-5-2008 2-6-2008 2-6-2008 2-6-2008 2-6-2008

bulk cutting Sewing Inspection Washing Finishing Pressing Final Checking Packaging Internal QA External QA Warehouse Dispatch

Careers in Fashion & Textiles-By Helen Goworek Fashion Buying-By Helen Goworek Fashion Marketing-By Tony Hines Fast Fashion-By Liz Barnes Apparel Merchandising-By J.A. Rosenau Merchandise Buying-By M.S. Bohlinger