Fashion Buying and Merchandising

The Fashion Buyer in a Digital Society

Rosy Boardman, Rachel Parker-Strak, Claudia E. Henninger

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780429868979
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Commerce
• Subtopic: Gestion de la chaîne d'approvisionnement

Fashion buying and merchandising has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. Aspects such as the advent of new technologies and the changing nature of the industry into one that is faster paced than ever before, as well as the shift towards more ethical and sustainable practices have resulted in a dramatic change of the roles. As a result, contemporary fast fashion retailers do not follow the traditional buying cycle processes step by step, critical paths are wildly different, and there has been a huge increase in 'in-season buying' as a response to heightened consumer demand.

This textbook is a comprehensive guide to 21st-century fashion buying and merchandising, considering fast fashion, sustainability, ethical issues, omnichannel retailing, and computer-aided design. It presents an up-to-date buying cycle that reflects key aspects of fashion buying and merchandising, as well as in-depth explanations of fashion product development, trend translation, and sourcing. It applies theoretical and strategic business models to buying and merchandising that have traditionally been used in marketing and management.

This book is ideal for all fashion buying and merchandising students, specifically second- and final-year undergraduate as well as MA/MSc fashion students. It will also be useful to academics and practitioners who wish to gain a greater understanding of the industry today.

CHAPTER 1

The evolution of fashion buying and merchandising

Introduction

Fashion buying and merchandising has changed dramatically over the last 30 years, resulting in an evolution in roles and responsibilities for people working in this industry. The advent of the internet and new technologies, coupled with the new concept of fast fashion (and now super-fast fashion!), plus the reactive shift towards more sustainable and ethical practices has resulted in a fast-paced and ever-changing industry that buyers and merchandisers have had to adapt to. The primary aim of this book is to explain, analyse, and discuss the roles and responsibilities of fashion buyers and merchandisers in the 21st century. With such monumental changes occurring in the industry, there is a paucity of work detailing how these roles have evolved and what careers in these areas look like today. After working in the industry and lecturing in fashion business, buying and merchandising and sustainability for a number of years we felt compelled to write this book in order to update the current literature based on our experience and insights from our own academic research. Building on previous bodies of work that have provided a valuable and detailed insight into buying and merchandising from the early 2000s–2010s, our contribution to the literature resides in the additional analysis and discussions of new issues and developments, such as technology, sustainability, and the changing nature of sourcing, and how buying and merchandising has evolved as a result. Furthermore, this book brings together aspects that have not previously been detailed in the literature, such as in-depth explanations of fashion product development and trend translation.

Overall, this book has been written in order to provide an insight into fashion buying and merchandising today in order to help prepare people for their career in these areas and for students and academics who wish to gain a greater understanding in these areas. As such, we envision this book to be helpful for students, academics, and practitioners. It covers three main themes interwoven throughout: the digital transformation of buying and merchandising, (super-)fast fashion and the need for speed, and the rise in importance of sustainability and ethical issues as a consequence.

This chapter focuses on providing a brief introduction of the evolution of buying and merchandising and defining key terms. It outlines the challenges that are faced in the industry and how the 21st century provides exciting opportunities for the buyer and merchandiser in terms of utilising ‘channel’ strategies to their advantage.

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

• Discuss the ‘7Rs’ (Figure 1.1) that form a crucial part within the role of the buyer and merchandiser;
• Outline key changes in the fashion environment in terms of
  • Seasonality;
  • Sales channel transformation;
  • Internationalisation.

The evolution of fashion buying and merchandising

Fashion buying and merchandising roles will vary from company to company depending on the type of retailer that it is (e.g. luxury, fast fashion) and the specific processes and systems that it has in place. Nevertheless, the principal roles and their objectives are broadly the same throughout the industry. Thus, literature surmises that fashion buying and merchandising is about ‘getting the right product at the right price, at the right time, to the right place’ and additionally that it needs to be delivered in the ‘right quantity’ and to the ‘right customer’ (Shaw, 2006, p. 139; Stone, 2012, p. 7).

The right product means the product is ‘right’ in terms of the trend for that season, ascertained through extensive trend forecasting, and ‘right’ for the overall business strategy. For instance, if the brand’s mission is to be at the forefront of the latest fashion trends then it needs to ensure that the items that it sells incorporate the key trends of that season.

The right price means the buyer negotiates an attractive cost price to produce the garment. This usually involves the buyer negotiating a price that is acceptable to both the company and the supplier. The buyer needs to maximise profits for the retailer and also ensure that the selling price is realistic and in line with their brand.

The right time means launching the product to market at the correct time to meet consumer demand. Market research is conducted in order to determine this time and the product released early enough so that demand is only just being generated so that the brand can offer the product to customers when this trend gathers momentum during the peak selling period.

The right place means launching the product on the correct channels (online, in-store, via mobile, on social media) and allocating it to the right stores (out-of-town, concession, flagship) to meet consumer demand and maximise its availability for purchase in the market.

The right quantity means that the right order quantity is placed for each product. This is difficult for buyers and merchandisers to gauge: order too much and there will be excess stock left at the end of the selling period, which will have to go into markdown, losing profitability for the company, and sometimes then even landfill, which has a terrible impact on the environment. However, order too little and the retailer may sell out before consumer demand has been fulfilled, meaning that consumers will have to turn to their competitors to buy the product, again impacting on profitability. This also involves skilful negotiation with the supplier in order to meet their minimum or maximum order quantities.

The right customer means that the product range has to be tailored to meet the demands of the target market. The product needs to be ‘right’ for the customer in terms of their demand for that type of product in terms of style, fashionability, and quality level. Extensive research is conducted in order to ensure that buyers develop the range in order to appeal to their customers. This is discussed in detail in Chapter 6.

In today’s society, we argue that another ‘R’ needs to also be considered by buyers and merchandisers: that the product range is delivered ‘in the right way’. With the increased awareness of ethical issues and sustainability, this now plays an important part in the production and delivery of a range.

To be successful, retailers must bring new products to the market which can completely satisfy customers’ expectations, as well as the business desire to increase profitability. Yet in today’s market, consumers have more choice, and at cheaper prices than ever before. In summary, fashion buying and merchandising focuses on getting the right product at the right price and right quantity, at the right time to the right place and to the right customer in the right way.

Figure 1.1 The 7Rs of fashion buying and merchandising

Fashion

Fashion has been defined in numerous ways, but is generally considered to refer to ‘a contemporary style that has traditionally been reflected through individuals’ clothing, accessories, hair styling and cosmetics’ as they make up a person’s appearance (Jackson & Shaw, 2001, p. 2). Fashion has always been an important part of human society as throughout history it has enabled people to show their belonging to certain groups or classes and express their status and identity through what they wear. Today, fashion is still embedded in culture and society and represents an important way in which people can express themselves as well as helping them to either integrate with or disassociate themselves from others through their clothes. Indeed, Kang et al. (2013) found that clothing is a tool that assists consumers in achieving an ideal appearance and has the ability to alter one’s mood, enabling them to either camouflage or bolster their self-confidence. Further research shows that clothing is used as a vehicle of self-presentation whereby an individual can defend, maintain, and create identities in an attempt to align oneself with perceived social norms (Baumeister, 1982; McNeill, 2017). As such, fashion is a complex art and one that, when got right by businesses, can be very profitable, but understanding this fast-paced and ever-changing industry is never easy!

Fast fashion and super-fast fashion

Fast fashion can be defined as a business model that provides the perception of fashionable clothing at affordable prices via operating through a highly responsive supply chain that can adapt to a product assortment that is constantly changing (Caro & Martínez-de-Albéniz, 2015). Thus, the goal of fast-fashion retailers is to get products into stores as quick as possible (Bruce & Daly, 2006). The advent of fast fashion has resulted in trends rising and falling quicker than ever before, a phenomenon that makes it difficult for trend and sales forecasting and for buyers and merchandisers to keep up!

Initially discussed as a new concept over 30 years ago, fast fashion has now evolved past just being a buzzword to being a product strategy to achieve a competitive advantage (Varley & Clark, 2019). Fashion consumers expect and thrive on constant change and so retailers are under pressure to provide new products on a frequent basis (Bruce & Daly, 2006). This need for instant gratification has increased over time, and where buyers would have previously had one year to work on a product range from concept to customer, they now can have as little as three to six weeks, or even one week in the case of some pureplay (online-only) retailers! Indeed, fast fashion itself has now evolved and can be divided into the iconic pioneering fast-fashion brands, namely Zara, but also H&M and Topshop to name a few, and the ‘new kids on the block’, pureplay retailers that have sped this process up even further to make a super-fast-fashion business model, such as Boohoo, Pretty Little Thing, Missguided, and In the Style. As a result, there has been a huge increase in ‘in-season’ buying for all fast and super-fast-fashion retailers, completely changing the traditional nature of buying and merchandising and leading us to question whether the traditional fashion seasons are now no longer relevant.

Death of the seasons?

Traditionally there have been two seasons that structure the fashion calendar: spring/summer and autumn/winter. Fashion items are traditionally sold during these specific seasons in order to maximise saleability. For example, maxi dresses are usually sold between April and August when the weather is warmer and people are more likely to go on holiday. However, the unpredictability of the weather, and the fact that travel is easier, cheaper, and therefore done all year round, as well as the advent of online and mobile stores (which do not have constraints of space like physical stores) has meant that maxi dresses, for instance, are now sold throughout the year. Furthermore, with central heating and air conditioning available all year round to maintain moderate temperatures, consumers now have more transitional wardrobes in general (Varley & Clark, 2019). For instance, in the past people went out to the shops at the start of autumn to buy jumpers and a winter coat. Nowadays, if the weather is unseasonably cold in June, they may buy jumpers then; or, if it is equally unseasonably hot in September, people may still be buying T-shirts and summer dresses as opposed to autumn/winter clothes. This makes the ability to buy the right products in at the right time more difficult due to the unpredictability of consumer demand, their lifestyle, and the weather. The roles of fashion buying and merchandising are therefore more challenging than ever before. Furthermore, with the advent of fast fashion and now super-fast fashion, consumers are constantly demanding newness, so there is a pressure on retailers to refresh their ranges much more frequently. Online and mobile retailing means that people are shopping more often, on a daily basis in some cases, rather than solely at the weekend as in the past. This has led to retailers providing faster and faster turnovers with their ranges in order to retain customers and keep them interested, an aspect that has had a profoundly negative impact on the environment.

Thus, in retail terms there are now multiple ‘seasons’ per year called ‘microseasons’. In some cases fast-fashion retailers have as many as 50–100 ‘microseasons’ per year (The True Cost, 2015). This has resulted in an added pressure on buyers and merchandisers to ensure that they get the right product to the right place at the right time, and moreover, in the right way so that they do not push their suppliers to result to unethical practices to fulfil this strategy.

New sales channels: e-commerce, m-commerce, and s-commerce

Traditional buying and merchandising texts discuss the roles and responsibilities in, as well as processes involved for, physical store retailing. With the advent of the internet, e-commerce was born in the mid 1990s, creating a whole new set of challenges for buyers and merchandisers. Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, is defined as ‘all electronically mediated information exchanges between an organisation and its external stakeholders’ (Chaffey, 2015, p. 13). The advent of e-commerce exposed consumers to lower prices and a larger product selection, as well as the ability to shop anytime, anywhere based on convenience. Consumers now have access to global brands at their fingertips, extending the traditional market competition exponentially for retailers. Mobile commerce, or m-commerce, is an extension of e-commerce and as consumers have their mobiles on them at all times, this has increased the amount of times that they can interact with a brand. This combination of portability and ubiquity has disrupted the traditional nature of the fashion industry by giving consumers the power to buy and search for products immediately. Consumers can scroll through brands’ apps or mobile sites, save their favourite products, add them to wish lists, and indulge further in a see-now-buy-now shopping culture (Bürklin et al., 2019).

Social commerce, or s-commerce, can be defined as a component of e-commerce, which employs social media to facilitate buying and selling activities of products/services (Marsden, 2010). Social media has facilitated a more direct relationship between brands and consumers. Brands can share videos, blogs, and product information, or even pose questions to encourage responses to get feedback in an effective and efficient way, reaching a global audience, whilst consumers have the opportunity to share this content or create their ...