Becoming a Buyer?

[danceras]

I just went to an information session at FIT and they do not require SAT scores to get in, which I thought was strange, but also comforting. They basically said that you apply to your major, not the school. It's easy to be an undergrad straight from high school rathering than transfering in. They sort of slimmed down the associate's degree to 2 years and then you reapply for your 2 years bachlor. Someone asked if students get denied after completing their first 2 years and they basically said 90% get accepted again. I'm planning on applying early action for fashion merchandising management and hopefully becoming a buyer. Unfortunately, they could not show the dorms because of finals and stuff like that, but the schools cheap since it's a state school. So far it's looking like the top place that i want to attend.

 

[farren fashion]

^^ good luck! =]

i was looking at fidm. i'm currently attending University of Hawaii Manoa. I don't want to go far from Hawaii. so california is looking good. hah. i actually wouldn't mind a SAT score being required... i did pretty good. hahaah.

does anyone know how good fidm is? i was looking at the fashion merchandising program.

 

[danceras]

thanks farren! i haven't actually taken the SAT's yet, im taking them in 2 weeks, but it sure does take a lot of pressure off knowing that they won't be required for my top school!

 

[farren fashion]

very true. i think you do better when you don't put so much pressure on yourself. i never freaked out before i took the sat's and i did pretty good. some people have got to realize the sats aren't going to KILL you. i see so many people freak out. hah.

 

[Rach01]

Does anyone know how to get into buying in Australia?

I saw on the David Jones website they offered a course, but "invitations only" and then they gave no more info :S

There is just no information on how to get into the field here !

 

[asow007]

I don't know if this might be of any help:

http://forums.vogue.com.au/showpost.php?p=964562&postcount=23

http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=Fashion+buying&meta=cr%3DcountryAU

 

[Rach01]

Thanks so much for that asow007!

Much appreciated

x

 

[thefrancofille]

Any advice for becoming a buyer in Paris or elsewhere outside the US?

 

[asow007]

You could look for courses at certain colleges and perhaps ask a bunch of stores if they do training and/or what is required, that's all I can really think of.

 

[Aimeeeee]

Fashion buyer - job advice?

I used to work in fashion but basically had to get a full time job and ended up getting one as a legal secretary, which I never wanted to do and I don't like the job at all..I have been thinking recently as to what I want to do as a career and I have a few options, probably the one I want to do most is a fashion buyer. I don't have a degree in fashion, but I'm thinking of applying to go to one of the fashion colleges in london in 2008. I will still need a job (even if its part time) and I am thinking fashion retail (which is obviously relevant and I have previous experience) and one of my friends said I could apply to one of the big department stores and tell them that this is what I wanted to do and they might pay for me to train? (How would I put this on a cv/covering letter?) Would they do this? Or even take me on as a sales assistant and I can work my way up? Would they take me on as a junior/assistant buyer with no experience? i.e. Before I get a degree? Thanks for any help


p.s. I have seen an advert on tv for government funding for uni fees, it's not a loan though as you don't pay it back. Does anyone know anything about this?

 

[Cicciolina]

I realise this is a bit late, but I just saw this ad up looking for an entry level buyer for Barneys Co-Op in New York (shoes). It was posted December 10th. Regardless, I think the ad is useful as it is quite indepth regarding what they are looking for in candidates.

Barneys New York, the world's leading luxury retailer, is committed to providing the best of everything: merchandise, customer service, and innovative people with creative ideas, is currently seeking an Assistant Buyer for our Women's COOP Shoes department.

Responsibilities include:

- Maintaining orders and monitoring purchase orders through daily contact with the distribution center to determine current receipts, rush delivery to stores, and resolve any problem receipts and arranging for timely delivery of returns to vendors in the case of incorrect receipts
- Tracking sales, analyzing reports, and discussing information with the Buyer in order to make basic re-order recommendations
- Preparing recommendations for next season's sell volumes
- Monitoring basic stock inventory and sales within stores, maintaining model stock levels within the stores, and projecting future receipts and sales of basic stock
- Responding proactively to poor sellers and advising store management teams as appropriate
- Managing the markdown process and communicating variances to Buyer
- Identifying and shopping the competition to make recommendations to Buyer
- Setting goals for the department based on plan and anticipated sell-through
- Learning to determine mark-up and price changes on products
- Visiting the distribution center on a regular basis with Buyer or independently to review the stock levels and perform RTVs and related activities
- Becoming involved with vendors on a regular basis to maintain positive professional relationships
- Learning how to negotiate with vendors for a win/win deal
- Reviewing and analyzing current sales trends and comparing and contrasting the data against sales history, including reviewing sales by department and by style
- Communicating findings to Buyer, divisional team members, divisional, and GMM
- Attending market appointments to aid in the selection of goods
- Maintaining delivery/on order schedules by month, including contracting vendors bi-weekly or more frequently to discuss production schedules of goods remaining for delivery
- Notifying vendors or the amount of goods to be delivered within a month to be in line with receipt plans
- Aiding in the fit, design, and pricing process for the manufacture of private label product (if it applies)
- Negotiating payment terms and discounts with vendors

Qualified candidates should forward their resume with salary history to the information listed. Only candidates selected for further consideration will be contacted. Barneys New York offers a competitive compensation and benefits package.

Source: http://jobview.monster.com/getjob.a...sx&vw=b&AVSDM=2007-12-28+10:20:00&pg=1&seq=17

 

[Cicciolina]

An article about buyers, from Forbes, Feb 2007

True Trendsetters
Lauren Sherman, 02.02.07, 12:01 AM ET
A designer’s No. 1 priority is her customer, right? Not always.

Sometimes what you see coming down the runway is a little too impractical. So department stores rely on buyers to determine which new looks will fly off shelves and which will fly instead straight to the sales rack.

Each season, buyers look at what’s on the runway, then place orders based on what they know about the needs and tastes of their stores’ shoppers.

Fashion directors, or senior buyers, such as Julie Gilhart at Barneys New York and Michael Fink at Saks Fifth Avenue make recommendations based on a mix of analysis and gut instinct in deciding what labels their stores will be stocked with for the coming season. When they guess right, the fashion industry calls it “being on trend.”

A recent example: The CEO and creative director of J. Crew, Mickey Drexler, was on trend last season when he picked items consistent with his stores’ signature preppy look, such as bright colors and glen plaids, popular with consumers, but added other new, fashion-forward touches, such as swing jackets and skinny trousers. Since its June IPO, the retailer’s shares have risen almost 50%.

The buyer for the Gap, by contrast, was spectacularly “off.” Lackluster sales of autumn and holiday collections influenced by Creative Director Trey Laird helped contribute to the ouster last month of Gap CEO Paul Pressler.

Most buyers get their jobs via executive training programs. Many big-name department stores, including Bloomingdales, Macy’s and Lord & Taylor, and smaller specialty retailers, such as American Eagle (nasdaq: AEOS) and Chanel, recruit graduates from top universities, then put them through intense six-month courses that teach everything from allocation (which regions of the country should carry which types of merchandise) to product development. An affinity for numbers helps: Many accounting majors gravitate toward buying, since it demands skill at number crunching as much as it requires creative thinking.

John Mincarelli, professor of fashion merchandising at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, says that the "creative" aspect to buying is in eclipse and that today’s buyers rely more on analysis, less on instinct.

“Back in the '70s when I started out,” he says, “they used to talk about the ‘buyer’s gut’ or the ‘merchant’s gut.’ You could do a lot more on instinct. Not today.”

Now, he says, new tools such as automated, regionalized sales reports allow buyers “to mine trends and thin-slice them.”

Fink, vice president of women’s fashion at Saks Fifth Avenue, says an intimate knowledge of his customers helps him scrutinize the runway’s latest looks and identify which trends he will then recommend to his team of buyers. Saks’s core customer is a career woman who needs not just stylish work separates but also pieces for special events.

In the buying business for nearly 30 years, Fink admits that every now and then he lets his own design sense take precedence over numbers.

Though for Spring 2007 he went mostly with safe bets, including the bright, minimalist look of Raf Simmon’s collection for Jil Sander and classic, nautical-inspired sportswear from Oscar De La Renta. Fink also picked, on instinct, some riskier, edgier stuff: fluorescent bondage-inspired minidresses from Versace protégé Christopher Kane and 1940s-influenced couture by newcomer Eric Tibusch.

“Sometimes you buy [an extraordinary piece],” he says, “even though there’s not a great chance of selling it. You’re looking at a business that’s commercial but also artistic. I’m constantly trying to balance.”

Betting on a long shot paid off big for Barneys buyer Gilhart. She took a chance in 2005 on fledgling designer Phillip Lim, whose 3.1 Phillip Lim collection mixes uptown and downtown elements (think simple separates in muted palettes with hip silhouettes).

Lim is rapidly becoming a staple label for Barneys, in part because its price point is well below that of better-established labels. A flouncy tea dress, for example, retails for just $560.

“Barneys has invested in the vision of 3.1 since we first launched,” says the company’s co-founder and CEO, Wen Zhou. “We have received immense visibility from all points--window displays on Madison Avenue, catalogs and marketing campaigns.”

And he’s sure to stay buzzworthy. That’s because when Lim’s Fall 2007 fashion show kicks off Feb. 4, expect to see a who’s who of buyers--Gilhart, Fink and their peers--filling the front rows.

http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/01/fa...beslife-cx_ls_0202truetrendsetters_print.html

 

[gemi_12]

whenever i think about buying, i think math

 

[pout306]

yeahh it def involves a lot of math...a lot of people think buying is just "oh let me me pick wat i like to put in the store"...but like thats not even really any part of it at all.

 

[Diorlover]

what degree would be most helpful in getting me into buying?

 

[pout306]

probably a commerce/business degree

 

[Aimeeeee]

what degree would be most helpful in getting me into buying?

Most places I have looked into have said maths/business/fashion

 

[Diorlover]

Most places I have looked into have said maths/business/fashion

I want to apply to do Fahion Business at LCF in a a year or two. I think that would be a suitable degree for a future buyer.

 

[bluespring]

^fashion merchandising

the math thing is handled by a planner coz he do the allocations and stuff
so thats alot of analysis and numbers

 

[Diorlover]

i've heard fashion merchandising is alot different to buying.