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Retail Buying

Notes price points. This gives the professional buyer a greater latitude in purchasing and a more
expansive wholesale market in which to seek goods. The following section deals with some of
the different aspects of purchasing involved in the acquisition of merchandise sold by means of
off-site outlets. It also explores the question being faced by retailers who maintain both stores
and Web sites concerning integration or separation of the two operations.
Self Assessment

State whether the following statements are true or false:
10. Given the unlimited customer base that reaches the far corners of the globe, more and
more buyers will be needed to purchase the merchandise to be sold through e-tailing.
11. With the limitless trading areas served by Internet users, buyers are not able to purchase
much broader assortments in terms of products and price points.

5.4 Off-site Buyer Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of traditional and off-price retail buyers were addressed earlier.
Their roles included, in addition to purchasing, interaction with other members of the store
organization such as advertising managers, department managers, visual merchandisers, and
human resources people. This interaction is necessary to make certain that the goods within
their merchandise classifications bring profits to the store. They often select the merchandise to
be advertised and displayed, meet with department managers and sales associates to get feedback
from shoppers, and communicate with human resources personnel to participate in the
recruitment process.
While the qualifications for buying for these off-site retailers are much the same as those required
for their store purchasing counterparts, the scope of the duties they perform are somewhat
different: Their major function is purchasing; they don’t interact with a sales staff on the selling
floor or recommend merchandise to be advertised. Whereas they aren’t concerned with visual
presentation, they are concerned primarily with merchandise acquisition.

Traditional retailers draw their customer base from a well-defined trading area.

Example: The small independent store usually serves customers who are within a thirty-
mile area.
Major stores, such as department stores, have larger trading areas that encompass their flagship
and branches.

Did u know? Each of the units generally draws from a thirty-mile radius.
In giant chain organizations, often a national venture, the buying is also restricted to a narrow
segment of the market, since chains usually locate themselves in areas that, although widely
separated geographically, are similar to each other.
Catalogs, home buying outlets, and Internet Web sites, on the other hand, serve a much broader
geographic market. In some cases, the market is a global one.
5.4.1 Catalogs

Catalogs are readily distributed anyplace on the globe that has inhabitants who might have a
need to buy the company’s goods. As a consequence, the buyers who purchase for these publications

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