Retail merchandiser
Merchandisers are responsible for ensuring that products appear in the right store at the appropriate time and in the correct quantities. This involves working closely with the buying teams to accurately forecast trends, plan stock levels and monitor performance. While the buyer selects the lines, the merchandiser decides how much money should be spent, how many lines should be bought and in what quantities. In smaller companies, the same person may be responsible for both buying and merchandising.
Merchandisers play a key role within organisations, as profitability can be affected by how successfully they undertake their work. Merchandisers set prices to maximise profits and manage the performance of ranges, planning promotions and markdowns as necessary. They also oversee delivery and distribution of stock and deal with suppliers.
Work activities vary depending upon the company and the particular retail sector, but will typically include:
Although this profession is open to all graduates, a degree in the following subjects may increase your chances:
Many companies prefer to recruit graduates from business-related or maths-based degrees, but others will consider graduates from any discipline as long as they have the necessary skills.
This occupation is also open to all diplomates, but the following HND subjects may increase your chances:
Entry without a degree or HND is possible for candidates with other relevant qualifications or experience.
A postgraduate qualification is not needed, although there are relevant postgraduate courses available.
There are relatively few graduate training schemes for merchandising, although some retail management training schemes include merchandising as one of the specialist areas. Most graduates will need to apply directly for junior or entry-level posts, usually as an allocator, distributor or merchandise administrative assistant (MAA). It may also be useful to make speculative applications directly to the merchandising departments of major retailers.
Strong competition for vacancies means that pre-entry office-based work experience is often essential. In addition, work experience with one of the major high street retailers may help to demonstrate both an interest in retailing and an understanding of stock control levels, which can be advantageous at the application and interview stage.
Potential candidates will need to show evidence of the following:
A driving licence is also usually required.
When investigating merchandising vacancies, it is important to fully understand that particular organisation’s definition of the role, as the job description and work activities can vary greatly between companies.
It may be possible to start in a similar role, such as visual merchandising, and progress to the retail merchandise position. A visual merchandiser creates window and in-store displays in shops and department stores, taking responsibility for ‘the look’ of the store, with the aim of promoting goods in order to maximise sales.
For more information, see work experience and internships and search courses and research.
Training for retail merchandisers is largely on the job and competency-based and usually involves working towards specific set tasks and undertaking projects, either individually or as part of a larger team. Most retail companies will have a training scheme. This will vary according to employer but may include courses on system training, consumer behaviour, assertiveness, time management, negotiation and communication.
There are a number of courses that can be taken in merchandising prior to entry including short courses in fashion merchandising at the London College of Fashion and postgraduate taught courses and research opportunities at a variety of universities.
A number of further education colleges offer courses that focus on retail display and merchandising, and the British Shops and Stores Association (BSSA) offers a distance-learning foundation course in buying/merchandising for people working in the field.
The Fashion Retail Academy was set up to support those wishing to embark on a career in fashion retail. The Academy aims to work in partnership with the retail industry to deliver professional and vocational training programmes, including the Level 4 Diploma in Buying and Merchandising. The course has strong links with fashion retail head offices in London, which enables students to gain first-hand experience as part of their studies. Modules include buying, sourcing, range building, merchandising, allocation, supply chain, negotiating, and planning and budgeting.
Professional qualifications that may appeal to merchandisers include those offered by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) and the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) .
The entry point can vary from company to company and will depend on relevant experience and qualifications. Usually, new entrants begin as allocators, distributors or merchandise administrative assistants (MAA).
There is a clear career development path in merchandising. Companies often have a competency development programme in place, laying out a set of competencies that have to be achieved in order to qualify for the next level and gain promotion. The next level after working as an MAA is assistant merchandiser (although in some companies, there is an additional step in between these two roles as senior allocator/senior distributor). It is common to remain at assistant level for a couple of years before promotion to merchandiser and then to senior merchandiser. For those interested in management, it is possible to work up to merchandise manager, then on to head of merchandising and then merchandising director. These roles will be head-office based.
Career development can be rapid, but speed of progression is largely dependent upon individual performance. It is possible to have responsibility for a large budget and a team of people within five years, and it’s common to have reached senior merchandiser level within eight years.
It is usual for a merchandiser to specialise in a certain product area, such as homeware, food or fashion, but skills and experience are transferable between products. It is also possible to move sideways into a business analyst role. However, moving between career areas within a company (from merchandising to buying, for example) is not always very easy.
The retail industry employs just under three million people, which equates to 11% of the total UK workforce. By sector, it is the UK’s largest private employer. (UK Retail Futures 2011: Sector Summary, Datamonitor).
The types of employers most likely to recruit retail merchandisers include:
Merchandisers tend to work in head offices, many of which are based in London and the South East or in other large cities. For further details, see The Retail Directory of the UK .
There are also opportunities to work abroad, particularly with retail firms which have international outlets.
Fashion and retail recruitment agencies frequently handle merchandising vacancies, for example:
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