Fashion Merchandising

There is substantial confusion about the role of merchandisers, and much of this can be attributed to the loose manner in which the term is used by various industries. Merchandising in football refers to the range of goods sold to supporters by football clubs. Store managers at Zara will commonly refer to department layout reorganization as “re-merchandising.” In fashion retailing, the visual merchandising team has the responsibility of managing the aesthetics of store and window displays. It is a completely separate function from merchandising, and the two must not be confused.

Merchandising, within fashion retail, refers specifically to the stock planning, management, and control process. This position requires well-developed quantitative skills, and natural ability to discover trends, meaning relationships and interrelationships among standard sales and stock figures.

Fashion merchandising involves the production of fashion designs and distribution of final products to the end consumer. Fashion merchandisers work with designers to ensure that designs will be affordable and desired by the target market. Fashion merchandising involves apparel, accessories, beauty, and housewares. The end goal of fashion merchandising in any of these departments is to earn a profit. Fashion merchandisers' decisions can considerably impact the success of the manufacturer, designer, or retailer for which they work.

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