Retail buying and merchandising is a very exciting field that looks at how retail enterprises go about planning the buying and selling of the right products, at the right place, right time, in the correct quantities, to the correct customer and at the correct price.
Read more
Retail buying and merchandising is a very exciting field that looks at how retail enterprises go about planning the buying and selling of the right products, at the right place, right time, in the correct quantities, to the correct customer and at the correct price.
Retail buying and merchandising is a very exciting field that looks at how retail enterprises go about planning the buying and selling of the right products, at the right place, right time, in the correct quantities, to the correct customer and at the correct price.
However, it isn't an easy topic to get your head around and that's largely due to the fact that the subject matter is littered with specialised terminology, concepts, jargon, acronyms, etc. For individuals who are new to the field it can be quite daunting to understand what these concepts mean, let alone getting a full picture of how everything ties in together to realise the complex clockwork of the buying and merchandising cycle.
This beginner course in retail buying and merchandising is quite special - special in the sense that it isn't your regular textbook or mishmash of explanations and it doesn't make assumptions on prior knowledge. This means that you'll be able to connect with the concepts regardless of your educational or professional background.
Furthermore, the course decomposes the topic into a number of fundamental but interrelated perspectives that describe the subject matter in a logical way. These perspectives define the course structure and also allow the discussion of useful examples taking into account the real-life industry aspects.
The course comprises of a range of audio-visual lectures with exercises towards the end of each relevant section to test your understanding of the topic.
So, are you ready to go from newcomer to all-rounder in retail buying and merchandising? You've stopped at the right course that's going to fast track your learning in record time.
What's inside
Learning objectives
- Understand how the field of buying and merchandising works
- Obtain an all-round picture of the topic from a practical and industry perspective
- Become familiar with concepts, jargon and acronyms
- Decide whether you want to pursue a career in buying and merchandising
- Build a solid foundation for more in-depth courses in the subject matter
- Understand basic metrics and how to set up spreadsheets for analysing data in retail merchandising
- Understand how the field of buying and merchandising works
- Obtain an all-round picture of the topic from a practical and industry perspective
- Become familiar with concepts, jargon and acronyms
- Decide whether you want to pursue a career in buying and merchandising
- Build a solid foundation for more in-depth courses in the subject matter
- Understand basic metrics and how to set up spreadsheets for analysing data in retail merchandising
Syllabus
Introduction
Hello and welcome to this course! This is the very first lecture in this series. In this lesson we'll set the context of the topic and tell you some of the drivers that led me to design the course, bearing in mind the intended audience.
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Syllabus
Hello and welcome to this course! This is the very first lecture in this series. In this lesson we'll set the context of the topic and tell you some of the drivers that led me to design the course, bearing in mind the intended audience.
In this lecture, you'll get a bird's eye view of what retail buying and merchandising, as subject matter, is made up of. We'll be looking at the core perspectives to view and describe the subject matter.
This lecture covers the learning outcomes for the course. It clarifies the target audience and discusses what you'll achieve on completion of the course.
Here, you will find a decision tree diagram that will help you decide whether this course is really what you are after.
The course structure is largely based on the bird's eye view of the core perspectives in buying and merchandising. This lesson goes into more detail of how these core perspectives translate into the course structure, in order to make sure you get the most out of the teaching content.
This is the concluding lecture for Section 1, where we'll wrap up everything you've learnt in this section.
The product is at the centre of the buying and merchandising business. In this introductory lesson to this section, we'll set the scene for the product perspective.
The product life cycle is a very important viewpoint to consider when thinking about a product. This lesson discusses the product life cycle.
At the beginning of the product life cycle, there's an important practice known as new product development. This is concerned with researching, designing and selling products in order to make market breakthroughs. In this lecture, we'll be discussing the "one-size-fits-all" idea of new product development.
By grouping products in specific ways, we are able to plan product management more efficiently. This lesson explains how products need to be grouped to make sense to buying and merchandising in the retail sector.
This is a continuation of the previous lecture on product groupings.
This is the concluding lecture for Section 2, where we'll wrap up everything you've learnt in this section.
Test yourself on the concepts you've learnt in the product perspective. Remember, sometimes you'll need to think outside the box!
This is the introductory lesson to this section, where we'll set the scene for the supply chain perspective.
The sourcing model is a very common supply chain configuration used by many retail companies who source their own products with their own branding. In this lecture, we'll look at who the participants in the model are, but more generally what happens in the sourcing model.
This is a continuation of the previous lecture on the sourcing model.
In this lecture, we'll explain the workings of the full service model. This supply chain configuration is used for when you want to buy and sell third party products.
This lecture explains some miscellaneous concepts relevant to buying and merchandising like the critical path, the dynamics of stock (a.k.a. inventory), and a few others.
This is the concluding lecture for Section 3, where we'll wrap up everything you've learnt in this section.
Test yourself on the concepts you've learnt in the supply chain perspective. Remember, sometimes you'll need to think outside the box!
This is the introductory lesson to this section, where we'll set the scene for the people perspective.
This lecture identifies the primary teams of people who collaborate with one another to enable the buying and merchandising enterprise to come to life.
The organisational structure of buying and merchandising businesses varies from company to company. In this lecture, we'll explore a few concrete examples of organisational structures.
Roles and responsibilities are assigned at all levels of the organisational structure. In this lecture we'll consider the structure and describe the responsibilities held by the individuals operating within that structure.
In this lesson we'll explain the collective qualities and attributes of successful buyers, assistant buyers and buying admin assistants.
In this lesson we'll explain the collective qualities and attributes of successful merchandisers, assistant merchandisers and allocators.
This is the concluding lecture for Section 4, where we'll wrap up everything you've learnt in this section.
Test yourself on the concepts you've learnt in the people perspective. Remember, sometimes you'll need to think outside the box!
This is the introductory lesson to this section, where we'll set the scene for the process perspective.
In this lesson, we'll bring together the various perspectives we've explored and explain how things work in terms of a timeline. We'll be calling that our "merchandise management roadmap".
This is a continuation of the previous lecture on the merchandise management roadmap.
This lecture covers the details of buying strategy planning.
This lecture covers the details of range planning a.k.a. assortment planning.
In this lesson, we'll use our knowledge of new product development and explain in more detail how the business process of product development is implemented.
Budget management in buying and merchandising breaks down into finer business processes, the main ones being sales forecasting and planning for Open-to-Buy (OTB), which we'll discuss in this lecture.
This lecture explains how stock (inventory) management is implemented in the buying and merchandising business.
Having a strategy for the correct pricing of products is highly important in retail. This lecture looks at the business process of planning the pricing architecture and the key considerations to bear in mind.
This is the concluding lecture for Section 5, where we'll wrap up everything you've learnt in this section.
Test yourself on the concepts you've learnt in the process perspective. Remember, sometimes you'll need to think outside the box!
This is the introductory lesson to this section, where we'll set the scene for the technology perspective.
In this lecture, we'll explain the implications of some key enterprise systems you are very likely to encounter in buying and merchandising.
When you work in buying and merchandising you'll be working with data reports. In this lesson, we'll explore how a typical data architecture is set up for you to be able to pull data to create these reports.
This is the concluding lecture for Section 6, where we'll wrap up everything you've learnt in this section.
Test yourself on the concepts you've learnt in the technology perspective. Remember, sometimes you'll need to think outside the box!
This is the introductory lesson to this section, where we'll set the scene for the numerical and reporting perspective.
In this lecture, we'll go through some of the basic metrics used in merchandise planning like how to calculate margins, understand stock performance, etc.
This lecture explains an example of a simple critical path tracker and the core types of information that feed into the tracker.
This lecture explains an example of a simple WSSI and the core types of information that feed into the report.
This is the concluding lecture for Section 7, where we'll wrap up everything you've learnt in this section.
Test yourself on the concepts you've learnt in the numerical and reporting perspective. Remember, sometimes you'll need to think outside the box!
This bonus lecture provides an overview of e-commerce, from which online merchandising derives. In this lesson, we'll get to explain the core chunks of functionalities that make up an e-commerce platform.
There are several ongoing challenges and obstacles faced by retail companies as well as individuals who work in buying and merchandising. In this lecture, we'll discuss and reflect on some of these challenges.
This is the last lecture in this series, where we'll wrap up the course.
Your one-stop shop for all downloadable assets available in this course.
Attributions, special thanks and disclaimer.
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Reviews summary
Clear and practical retail buying foundation
Focuses on real-life industry aspects and roles.
Good starting point for entering the field.
Logically breaks down concepts for beginners.
Activities
Read 'The Retail Handbook'
Show steps
Gain a broader understanding of the retail landscape and the interconnectedness of different functions.
View
Alter Ego: A Novel
on Amazon
Show steps
-
Obtain a copy of 'The Retail Handbook'.
-
Read chapters related to buying and merchandising.
-
Take notes on key concepts and strategies.
Read 'Visual Merchandising and Display'
Show steps
Learn how to create visually appealing displays that enhance the shopping experience and drive sales.
View
Visual Merchandising and Display: Bundle Book +...
on Amazon
Show steps
-
Obtain a copy of 'Visual Merchandising and Display'.
-
Review chapters on display techniques and principles.
-
Analyze examples of effective visual merchandising.
Practice Calculating Retail Metrics
Show steps
Reinforce your understanding of key retail metrics through repetitive calculations and problem-solving.
Show steps
-
Find practice problems for calculating margin, turnover, and sell-through.
-
Solve the problems and check your answers.
-
Identify areas where you need more practice.
Three other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all six activities
Analyze a Retailer's Product Assortment
Show steps
Apply course concepts by analyzing a real-world retailer's product assortment and identifying potential improvements.
Show steps
-
Choose a retailer to analyze.
-
Examine their online and in-store product offerings.
-
Assess the assortment's breadth and depth.
-
Identify potential gaps or overlaps.
-
Suggest improvements to the assortment.
Create a SWOT Analysis for a Retail Business
Show steps
Apply the SWOT analysis framework to a retail business to identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Show steps
-
Choose a retail business to analyze.
-
Research the business's operations and market position.
-
Identify its strengths and weaknesses.
-
Identify potential opportunities and threats.
-
Present your findings in a structured report.
Develop a Merchandise Plan for a Hypothetical Store
Show steps
Solidify your understanding of the merchandising process by creating a detailed plan for a new store.
Show steps
-
Define the target customer and store concept.
-
Research relevant market trends and competitor offerings.
-
Develop a product assortment plan with specific items.
-
Outline a pricing and promotion strategy.
-
Create a visual merchandising plan.
Read 'The Retail Handbook'
Show steps
Gain a broader understanding of the retail landscape and the interconnectedness of different functions.
View
Alter Ego: A Novel
on Amazon
Show steps
- Obtain a copy of 'The Retail Handbook'.
- Read chapters related to buying and merchandising.
- Take notes on key concepts and strategies.
Read 'Visual Merchandising and Display'
Show steps
Learn how to create visually appealing displays that enhance the shopping experience and drive sales.
View
Visual Merchandising and Display: Bundle Book +...
on Amazon
Show steps
- Obtain a copy of 'Visual Merchandising and Display'.
- Review chapters on display techniques and principles.
- Analyze examples of effective visual merchandising.
Practice Calculating Retail Metrics
Show steps
Reinforce your understanding of key retail metrics through repetitive calculations and problem-solving.
Show steps
- Find practice problems for calculating margin, turnover, and sell-through.
- Solve the problems and check your answers.
- Identify areas where you need more practice.
Analyze a Retailer's Product Assortment
Show steps
Apply course concepts by analyzing a real-world retailer's product assortment and identifying potential improvements.
Show steps
- Choose a retailer to analyze.
- Examine their online and in-store product offerings.
- Assess the assortment's breadth and depth.
- Identify potential gaps or overlaps.
- Suggest improvements to the assortment.
Create a SWOT Analysis for a Retail Business
Show steps
Apply the SWOT analysis framework to a retail business to identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Show steps
- Choose a retail business to analyze.
- Research the business's operations and market position.
- Identify its strengths and weaknesses.
- Identify potential opportunities and threats.
- Present your findings in a structured report.
Develop a Merchandise Plan for a Hypothetical Store
Show steps
Solidify your understanding of the merchandising process by creating a detailed plan for a new store.
Show steps
- Define the target customer and store concept.
- Research relevant market trends and competitor offerings.
- Develop a product assortment plan with specific items.
- Outline a pricing and promotion strategy.
- Create a visual merchandising plan.
Career center
Retail Buyer
Merchandiser
Assistant Buyer
Allocator
Supply Chain Analyst
Inventory Planner
Visual Merchandiser
Retail Operations Manager
E-commerce Merchandiser
Market Research Analyst
Retail Consultant
Sales Representative
Business Analyst
Marketing Coordinator
Customer Service Manager
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