Page 38 - DMGT554_RETAIL_BUYING

Unit 2: Buying for Traditional Retail Organizations

include additional buyers, one each for menswear, women’s apparel, children’s wear, Notes
shoes, jewelry, handbags, dinnerware, glassware, and bedding. The Curtises were now
involved strictly as the general merchandisers, involving themselves with budgeting,
sales forecasting, policy making, and other managerial tasks. The buyers were the store’s
purchasers.
Although, this expansion proved to be profitable right into the new millennium, the
chores handled by the buyers became too broad for them to handle. Specifically, their
responsibility for managing the sales staffs in their respective departments, as the Curtises
did in the early days, was no longer a viable approach. Merchandise procurement, now an
international task, with markets in many countries far away from the store, took the
buyers away from their retail bases for long periods. With this situation, it became less
and less possible for them to spend adequate time on the selling floor with the sales
associates.
At this point, the company is looking to amend its organizational structure in some way
to relieve the buyers of the sales management responsibility without risking the success
the business has realized in all of its years in operation.
Two proposals have been made by a group of buyers representing their team. One would
be to expand the duties of the buyers’ assistants to include management of the sales
associates in their departments. The other would be to hire department managers who
would oversee the sellers. At this time, the Curtises are still not sure if any new approach
would have merit but are willing to listen to the details of the proposals.
Questions

1. Is it appropriate to continue the original plan of buyers managing the sellers?
2. Would the addition of department managers best serve the needs of the company?
Present the advantages and disadvantages of each proposal.

Source: http://wps.pearsoncustom.com/wps/media/objects/5808/5947551/MCH150_Ch02.pdf

2.4 Summary

 The traditionalists are categorized as department stores, chain organizations, and
single-unit independents.

 Department stores are classified as either full line or specialized. Stores like Blooming-
dale’s and Macy’s are examples of the full-line classification, with Neiman Marcus and
Nordstrom the specialized type.
 Department stores are organized into a number of divisions or functions, each of which
plays specific roles in the store.
 The merchandising division is often known as the lifeblood of the store since its success is
based on the merchandise that is carried.

 At the helm of merchandising is the general merchandising manager, who is involved in
directing the store’s merchandise image and determining the store’s overall merchandise
budget. Next in line are the divisional merchandise managers, who oversee the buyers in
their divisions and distribute to them the money that is used for purchases.
 Branch stores follow the same rules of operation of the flagship. However, it is the branch
store manager who carries out the established procedures of the organization.

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