Becoming a Buyer?

[asta]

All About Buyers

out of curiosity, when a buyer for a department store chooses items from a collection for their customers, how do they choose the number of looks and the number of sizes to order?

does a buyer use past forecasts and sales reports to choose sizing? or does one order an average of 4 sizes to carry? are buyers given an overall budget or do they have a quota of looks that they have to buy/purchase for their store?

are there any general rules about buying? who makes the deadline for the order? and when/where does buying occur exactly- after a fashion show and through the showroom?

also, what is the price margin that a store work off of from wholesale? 100%?

thanks in advance for any help/ideas! it all seems so mysterious, and pretty much kept under wraps.

 

[softgrey]

chanel girl should be able to help you with this...

 

[Lena]

*buyers have a limted budget, much more for new brands..
*orders are placed to all sizes but forecasting is also used.
*they choose looks in co-ordination with their clientelle, an order
might make or rake a buyer.
*deadlines for delivery are varying depending on stores, most love early deliveries
*buying occurs well before the shows, and are generated through showrooms.
e.g. for next season, orders will start getting placed as soon as mid July (shows start in September )
*stores work on an average 200%+ close to 300% on wholesale prices

 

[chanel_girl]

Well I'm a buyer for Dolce so here:

I choose the sizes and looks by past sales from previos seasons and sometimes guess what would be the most appropiate for the typical client of the store

And yes I do use the past sales figures to choose sizing. sometimes I do order 4 sizes usualy 4,6,8,10 but I can't do that all the time [Like with $$$$ items] and I do have a limited budget a limited but reasonable budget

And like Lena said the buying starts way before the shows like through the showroom in my case in Milan or New york

 

[asta]

thanks lena and chanel_girl....

do you enjoy seeing the runway collections as much when you have already seen their items at their showrooms?

 

[seditionary]

chanel girl...
so do the showrooms have all the collection for u to see?
i always thought it was really last minute sometimes, clothes not being ready for shows, pinning etc going on backstage, or is this couture....

 

[asta]

Originally posted by seditionary@May 16th, 2004 - 11:02 pm
chanel girl...
so do the showrooms have all the collection for u to see?
i always thought it was really last minute sometimes, clothes not being ready for shows, pinning etc going on backstage, or is this couture....

that's what i thought too... i have always heard designers saying that their garments weren't ready until right before a show....

 

[chanel_girl]

Well for some garments that is true but for things like that I get to see the sketchs of it in the showroom then the finished piece at the fashion show and yes I do really enjoy viewing the collections on the runway even if I've already seen them at the showroom..it's very diffirent to see the pieces on a runway

 

[seditionary]

of course it must be... to see the motion, the styling etc etc...
clothes wud b nothing without people inside of them

 

[marc jacobs addict]

wow chanel_girl thats awesome. sounds like a great job. how did you get into it? what kind of school did you go to for college?etc. i'm very interested [and jealous]

 

[chanel_girl]

Well when I moved to canada I was looking for a job in fashion retail and I saw that there was a vacancy for the position of a buyer for Dolce & Gabbana and Ungaro so I applied and apparantly I met all of their requirements and they really liked me so I got the job then maybe 5 months later the Ungaro department closed down so I was left with Dolce you see the departments in the store I work for are soo small they can have 1 buyer for up to 2 brands but it's a very fun and enjoyable job but it can be very hectic

 

[juicygeek88]

Originally posted by chanel_girl@May 17th, 2004 - 5:59 pm
Well when I moved to canada I was looking for a job in fashion retail and I saw that there was a vacancy for the position of a buyer for Dolce & Gabbana and Ungaro so I applied and apparantly I met all of their requirements and they really liked me so I got the job then maybe 5 months later the Ungaro department closed down so I was left with Dolce you see the departments in the store I work for are soo small they can have 1 buyer for up to 2 brands but it's a very fun and enjoyable job but it can be very hectic

what were the requirements u had to meet?

 

[LibertyRose]

How About Them Buyers?

I've always been curious about department store buyers. Not personal shoppers, but the type that attend the collections and decide which looks to get. From what I've read I know that each dept. stores in New York, i.e. Barneys, Jeffery's, Saks, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman cater to different customers, and some are more square while others are edgier. But how do they decide, or rather the designers decide, which looks to be sold to which dept. stores?

 

[softgrey]

careers and education section perhaps...?
there must be more info on buyers in there...

it has absolutely nothing to do with being a stylist or editor...

 

[LibertyRose]

Please move the thread to an appropriate section then.

 

[Poohcheeck]

I am interested in getting a buyers position/ merchandising/ corporate purchasing. Can you please tell me what type of work experience is needed. Are there any job boards out there that I can use to search for jobs within the fashion industry. I just moved to Atlanta, GA from Canada so I don't have any connection in the US. I have a Masters in Business Adminitration never worked in the fashion industry I have been working in banking so this is a career change. Finally do u think I need to take a fashion program my dream is to be a corporate purchaser/ buyer but withing the fahion industry

 

[DP_woman]

Here is some info that should help you gals out. I would like to get into buying, but right now Im in the medical field...so its like starting all over again. I dont have any retail experience as of yet.

Neimans and Saks have "executive development programs" that groom people to become buyers. If you get into the program, its 12 weeks long, and then you start out as an assistant buyer, and work your way up.

Click on the 2nd link "what our associates have to say" and it has several people who started out in the program and made it up the ladder to Buyer and even higher. They tell their stories of how they succeeded in the program, its pretty informative. Good luck.

http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/sitelets/careers/edp.jhtml

 

[Lena]

thanks for bringing this in DP.

 

[boocheridoo]

does anyone have any info about how to get into one of these programs in new york? I've applied to macy's and bloomingdales, but no luck. I'm wondering if living out of state has something to with it.

 

[Meg]

^
yes I would assume that one would have to be legally able to work in the states without their help for them to choose you