“The unsung hero of Vogue,” Grace Coddington, trend spotting the latest and greatest

 

When you first enter the world of fashion buying it is assumed that you have a sound foundation in fashion- whether it’s apparel, accessories, jewelry and what ever else looms- and more importantly an eye for what is coming next. As with most buy seasons you will always be a 6 months to a year ahead of the market depending on your area. I will elaborate more on this in future posts. For this section I want to focus on the conversation topics that help a good buyer develop an eye for product, brands, and most importantly consumer preference; all of which relate to the bottom line of driving a profitable business. I will post more in depth about each of these area’s but for now the general gist goes like this

  1. Trending Brands- where on the trend curve is this brand (is it peaking? post peak? pre peak?)
  2. Trending Items- how is this item driving your business? Is it a seasonal item or a basic item? Does this item spread out evenly over the US market or is it on the coasts? Is it international? What ethnicities are driving purchase point of this item?
  3. Trending Markets- who is your target customer and how can you grow that market? Do you see any new market demographics rising? Can you capture this market?
  4. Market Share- Who else has the same customer base as you? How can you capture a larger share of this customers disposable income? Is there something the competition does better than you that you can mimic or out due? Will it effect your overall brand?
  5. Exiting Options- Are there low performing brands, items, or group of items that you can clear out to bring in new product? What newness can you bring in and replace to drive up your business?
  6. Congruent Businesses- Does your department coincide with another (example swimwear and sandals/flip flops are purchased together) can you coordinate something to drive business?
  7. Foreign and Domestic Affairs- Are there any events coming up that can help your business both domestically and internationally? What events can you use to help drive your business (ex. the olympics in active wear)
This must be what it looks like to work at Coach

This must be what it looks like to work at Coach

By thinking about each of these questions on a daily/weekly/monthly basis a good buyer will be able to understand where the market is headed from both micro and macro level perspectives. When these questions are answered and a good buy is made all the buyer has to do is sit back, hand it off to the planner and make the assistants (insert sobbing face here) track progress for what hopes to be a good business year.