Page 12 - DMGT554_RETAIL_BUYING

Unit 1: The Buyer's Role

customers in terms of price, quality, and individual tastes. Not only must the buyer be able to Notes
select from everything that is available the merchandise that has the most potential for resale
and profit, but he or she must carefully plan the purchases. This planning includes determining
what will be bought, deciding on the quantities of each item, selecting resources, and determining
the appropriate time for the merchandise to be available to the shoppers.

Did u know? Charged with enormous responsibility, the buyer spends the most time
planning and executing the acquisition of the merchandise.

Extensive Travel

For many years, regional markets were the mainstay for buyers of every type of merchandise.
Whether it was the fashion buyer who headed for New York City’s Garment Center, the largest
market in the United States for ready-to-wear, or Chicago’s Apparel Mart for the same type of
merchandise, or the food buyer who purchased from vendors all across America, purchasing
was generally accomplished on domestic soil.
Typically, buyers chose the venues closest to their homes, since, the manufacturers generally
had representation in all of these markets. In addition to purchasing at America’s vendor
showrooms, many buyers frequented the trade expositions to view the lines and write their
orders. These visits are more important than ever because the buyer’s time is often limited and
many lines can be screened quickly, under one roof. Expos such as MAGIC in Las Vegas—the
largest for the menswear industry—and NAMSB in New York City—the second largest menswear
show—attract tens of thousands of buyers each time they are in session. Others of importance
include The International Boutique Show and Kid’s Show, both also in the United States.
With such a vast assortment of vendor collections, one might wonder why today’s buyers are
circling the globe several times a year to make their purchases. Whether it is clothing, accessories,
home furnishings, or foods, buyers are always looking for merchandise from new places.
A number of factors contribute to this worldwide exploration, including lower wholesale prices,
goods that are unavailable in domestic markets, prestigious fashion collections that are on the
forefront of design, and so forth. Thus buying might require trips to the Asian markets, the
European fashion capitals, and even some third-world nations where merchandise may be
acquired for very little money.
Overseas travel is generally restricted to major retailers who have both the financial resources
to sponsor such trips and the buying potential to warrant such expenditures.

Advertising, Promotion, Visual Merchandising, and Publicity

The major retailers have in-house advertising and promotion staffs who produce all of the
advertising for newspapers, television, magazines, and catalogs; special events; and visual
presentations aimed to capture the shopper’s attention.
These staffs have the responsibility to develop and produce all of the ads and commercials for
the company, either by themselves or sometimes with the assistance of an advertising agency,
to create special events, and to develop and install visual presentations in windows and interiors.
In many of these operations, however, the buyer also plays an important role. While the
promotional team has the expertise to create the projects, they have little knowledge of
merchandising. Who is better qualified than the buyer to select the specific items to be advertised
or featured in displays? He or she knows what is hot, the selling points that should be stressed,
and anything else that would bring positive results to the company.

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 7