Page 23 - DMGT554_RETAIL_BUYING

Retail Buying

Notes 1.3 Summary

 Chain organizations, with units numbering anywhere from two to several thousand,
operate in a variety of formats. Some are traditionalists dealing in regularly priced
merchandise, with others classified as discounters and off-pricers.
 Department stores are either full-line operations or specialized organizations.

 Both franchises and licenses are companies that enable individual merchants to operate
units within a parent organization as long as they follow prescribed regulations established
by this parent company.
 Catalogs are becoming more and more popular in retailing. Some are offered by merchants
who operate stores, while others are available from companies that sell to customers only
through catalogs.
 Interactive retailing via the home shopping networks and the Internet Web sites continues
to increase in sales year after year.

 Buyers are often called on to interact with the managers of departments such as advertising
and visual merchandising to make certain that their products are well promoted.

 Buyers must set schedules for themselves so that they are able to fulfill all of their duties
and responsibilities in a timely manner.
 Among the more important personal qualifications, qualities, and abilities necessary for
a successful buying career are formal education, analytical excellence, the ability to
articulate, product knowledge, and objectivity.

 Buyer evaluations are most often based on sales, inventory levels, and margin results.
1.4 Keywords

Chain Organization: Chain organization is a name given to two or more units under common
ownership, enjoyed extreme financial rewards.

Department-store Organizations: In department-store organizations where there are numerous
branches and in chains where the units may number more than one thousand, the buyer’s role is
generally restricted to purchasing.

Franchise Contract: A franchise contract is a legal agreement to conduct a given business in
accordance with prescribed operating methods, financing systems, territorial domains, and
commission fees.
Franchiser: A franchiser is the party who has come up with the concept.
General Merchandise Manager: The highest position on the merchandising team—general
merchandise manager.
Limited Line Stores: When merchandise became more plentiful, merchants began to specialize
in just one type of goods in new ventures called limited line stores.
Single-unit Organizations: In single-unit organizations, the buyer is often a jack-of-all-trades,
playing a number of roles.

Visual Merchandising: It is process of displaying specific products in windows and store interiors
in a style.

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