Becoming a Buyer?

[annabel_lee]

1. as buyer, you are not being paid to shop and buy things you like. it's actually very hard to pull yourself back and think about the people who will buy the merchandise.

2. as a buyer, you are more of a number cruncher than fashion editor/stylist so get a business degree...finance and accounting is recommended. to be a buyer, a college degree is a MUST.

3. you need to get into it because you love it because the travels and the stress are overwhelming at times.

4. it's not as fun traveling as you may think because you never get to see the city. you usually fly in and fly out because there are tremendous amounts of work before and after the shows. i've never been able to go to a fashion show although i was invited because i usually dont have time for it.

5. all the sales people move for house to house so you MUST be nice to everyone at all times. they are the best contact you will have in the business. they are great resources. sales staff are your best friend.

6. final reminder...once it becomes your job, it's not as fun.

 

[killorchid]

that nm math test really caught me off guard. i wasnt expecting it and i didnt do as well as i should have.

 

[seeing_double]

JJohnson...out of curiosity, what are you currently doing?

 

[infamousJA]

Buyers

I'm currently doing a presentation in my fashion class on being a merchandise buyer. i was given two questions that i had to ask someone who is in the field im focusing on. so, im looking for a buyer who is willing to answer 2 quick questions about their job. please pm me or reply to this and i will pm you myself if you are willing to help me out. thanks so much.

 

[Lena]

1. as buyer, you are not being paid to shop and buy things you like. it's actually very hard to pull yourself back and think about the people who will buy the merchandise.

2. as a buyer, you are more of a number cruncher than fashion editor/stylist so get a business degree...finance and accounting is recommended. to be a buyer, a college degree is a MUST.

3. you need to get into it because you love it because the travels and the stress are overwhelming at times.

4. it's not as fun traveling as you may think because you never get to see the city. you usually fly in and fly out because there are tremendous amounts of work before and after the shows. i've never been able to go to a fashion show although i was invited because i usually dont have time for it.

5. all the sales people move for house to house so you MUST be nice to everyone at all times. they are the best contact you will have in the business. they are great resources. sales staff are your best friend.

6. final reminder...once it becomes your job, it's not as fun.

excellent advice
from my brief experience, being a buyer is certainly not a piece of cake

 

[David]

Buyers

Hello,
I need for my new compagny a buyer who could buy for us bags for this kind of brands : Dior, Gucci, Prada, YSL, Chloe, Burberry, Bottega, Marc Jacobs, Gerard Darel, Zadig & Voltaire.....

Thanks

David

 

[ilovepositano]

can someone clarify a term for me? "sell-through" when used as a metric usually takes into account discounted goods, or only full priced goods? how do discounts figure into the number? thank you

 

[couturecate]

can someone clarify a term for me? "sell-through" when used as a metric usually takes into account discounted goods, or only full priced goods? how do discounts figure into the number? thank you

Full priced only. The time factor is important, before goods go to mark-down and those not requiring the inducement of a discount.

 

[ilovepositano]

thanks for the response, couturecate. so markup is the % of buy that is sold at full priced only. so is there a metric that accounts for % of buy that is sold at full and discount prices?

 

[DP_woman]

Has anyone taken the Neiman's math test? Is it basic math?

I took it. It IS basic math. The first question was tricky, and the rest were easy. Unfortunately, I spent too much time at the beginning, and ran outta time. Use a timer. I cant remember exactly, but I think its 25 questions, and you get 20 minutes. Or something to that effect. Have a good calculator, mines had sticky buttons, so that screwed me up too.

Do you have previous retail experience??

 

[couturecate]

thanks for the response, couturecate. so markup is the % of buy that is sold at full priced only. so is there a metric that accounts for % of buy that is sold at full and discount prices?

Sell through is the % of buy that is sold at full price. Mark-up is retail price % over wholesale price (generally 200-300% or 2.0 to 3.0 mark-up). What sells at first mark-down (generally 30% off retail) vs. second mark-down, or worse, definitely matters--but full retail sell-through is the most important. With designer & contemporary, you're losing money after second mark-down so those styles could be considered 'dogs' and anything similar you'd want to avoid in the future.

 

[ETROsexualJ]

Mark-up is retail price % over wholesale price (generally 200-300% or 2.0 to 3.0 mark-up). quote]

Markup %= (Retail-Cost)/Retail
so a 2.0x markup is a 50% markup because everything is refered to in regards to the retail price.

 

[ilovepositano]

couturecate: i mistyped and of course meant "sell through" instead of "mark up" above. thanks for the clairification, still. people have been giving me such high numbers for sell through, i was getting suspicious. thank you!!

 

[jolie917]

Hey everyone- I've read through the thread and found it to be very informative.
I'm at Fashion Merchandising major at LSU and am due to graduate in a 2 weeks- AHHH! Haha. I interned at Betsey Johnson(Corporate Office) in the Fashion District of NYC this past summer and it was an incredible expierence. I also have a LOT of retail expierence. I am planning to return to NYC a few weeks after I graduate. Anyway, I've been doing the job search thing for about 2 months now and NOTHING! Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? Most people keep telling me that it's much easier to get a job once you move up to NY but really- I've gotten no replies- nada. It's so discouraging. I thought with Betsey on my resume and the tons of retail expierence I have, SURELY a few would reply.
So does anyone have any advice at all? I'm tempted to change my goals to pursuing a career as a buyer(well obviously an Assistant Buyer) to another direction because its going so terribly.
Any advice at all would be much appreciated. Thanks so much!

 

[heyitsme]

Like everyone else here, I'm interested in becoming a buyer. There's been a lot of great info here but I still have some specific questions. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!

1. Where EXACTLY do you go to apply for an entry-level buying position with a company like Nordstrom, or even somewhere like Macy's? I saw the link for the Neiman Marcus program, but there's no way I could move to Dallas for 12 weeks.

Can I apply online? If so, does anybody have any links to where I can submitt a resume?

Thanks so much!

 

[ALaFramboise]

Just want to give out salutations to everyone on the board, i've been reading this all quite throughly and i'm thinking about hopefully becoming a buyer later on in life (and hopefully not making the wrong choices as i have seen some truly naiive people have been doing!!)


At the moment i'm a highschool junior, with basically no life doing the most ridiculous A.P. Courses since i go to school in Florida and have an alarming, inate fear that the redundant and despised school system may drag me under.Thus it being so (for lack of a better word) scary, i try to force myself to take the most challenging classes possible so that when i do apply to college, i'll shine.

I have a couple of quick advice questions to ask of you all, and hopefully i'll get the answers i've been craving for, instead of the fluff i've heard others around me tell me about buying (Oh it's so beautiful, it's the best, so much clothes!!!!....HAH! My emotions to all of this ----> )

First off, i was thinking about applying to FIT for their program (plus, the school itself is realativly cheap) or, god willing i get the financial aid i need, Parsons School Of Design as well. Is their any type of specific program or school you would reccomend?

Also, the math. What type of math do you use on a consistent basis? I'm currently in algebra 2, math not being my strongpoint, but when used in context to real life sistuations, i can certainly do it. In a way, i've been cheating my way into learning marketing/merchandising math now, since i've bought myself about 4-5 books to learn all the basic formulas and things like that.

And last but not least....Training programs?! What are your thoughts on such things...should i rely on internships (hopefully!) training programs, or even Monster.com, etc to procure my first job?!

Thanks So much for your time if you've actually sat down to read this!!!


-Michael.

 

[iLoveCouture]

Like everyone else here, I'm interested in becoming a buyer. There's been a lot of great info here but I still have some specific questions. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!

1. Where EXACTLY do you go to apply for an entry-level buying position with a company like Nordstrom, or even somewhere like Macy's? I saw the link for the Neiman Marcus program, but there's no way I could move to Dallas for 12 weeks.

Can I apply online? If so, does anybody have any links to where I can submitt a resume?

Thanks so much!

I have said something about this somewhere in this thread a while back. In lots of these companies, you need to work your way up into the buying position. My sister was a buyer for Nordstrom and she worked with the company for 4 years before she got the position. I worked there for 4 years before I was asked to do it as well...those positions at Nordstrom aren't very easy to get right now as they cut half of the buying team and now has them buying for more regions than they used to. This was a business decision that the company decided to make.

If you do have a strong resume, and cannot apply online, I reccomend that you contact the corporate office of the dept. store that you wish to apply with and get more information from the HR team/store manager. Remember, if this is really something that you plan to make a career, you will probably have to move if you do not live near the buying office.

Good luck!

 

[vintageamour]

michael i'm a senior at school in florida i can definitely relate to your problems with the school system! math is not my best area either, but, i am a lot better when I apply it to real life situations, but I plan on going to school for a degree in Fashion Merchandising. good luck in your endeavors!
xoxo,lauren

 

[ALaFramboise]

Seriously...if it was not for the fact that i know i coudln't write my college entrance essay about this, i would a persuasive (F-CAT STYLE!! HAH!) essay about why people with children should NOT, i repeat NOT live in florida. Florida is home to oily skin, bad hair, and a child-molesting mouse (among other pedophilic charecters.)

IN OTHER NEWS!

VintageAmour, what school do you plan on visiting?

 

[style_expert]

1. as buyer, you are not being paid to shop and buy things you like. it's actually very hard to pull yourself back and think about the people who will buy the merchandise.

2. as a buyer, you are more of a number cruncher than fashion editor/stylist so get a business degree...finance and accounting is recommended. to be a buyer, a college degree is a MUST.

3. you need to get into it because you love it because the travels and the stress are overwhelming at times.

4. it's not as fun traveling as you may think because you never get to see the city. you usually fly in and fly out because there are tremendous amounts of work before and after the shows. i've never been able to go to a fashion show although i was invited because i usually dont have time for it.

5. all the sales people move for house to house so you MUST be nice to everyone at all times. they are the best contact you will have in the business. they are great resources. sales staff are your best friend.

6. final reminder...once it becomes your job, it's not as fun.

All of this is true..I recognize everything you mentioned

only fashionweek parties are fun...sometimes!