The history of Buying & Merchandising
Historically, Buyers worked in-store, but retailers have moved away from this model because of high overheads and negligible buying power. By centralising their buying power, the retailer was able to negotiate better margins, cut costs and improve efficiency by using centralised storage and processing.
When Buyers turned their attention overseas in a bid to gain margin, increased lead times and the minimum quantity of stock that could be ordered brought a new dimension to retail trading. As a consequence Merchandisers were introduced to manage the stock, sales and intake, leading to the creation of the WSSI (Weekly Stock, Sales and Intake) report, now central to many retailers and used from department up to board level.
With the shift to overseas sourcing and falling retail price points, the selling price of a product became less of a USP to customers. Consequently retailers became more focused on differentiating their product from those of their competitors and aligning it with consumer trends. To achieve this, designers were recruited in-house, working with the trading team to understand the retailers specific customer profiles and acting as an integral part of the product development process.
To ensure the shift to overseas sourcing did not affect the quality and integrity of the retailers products, Quality Assurance Managers were introduced to manage the manufacturers and factories, working with the supplier base and buying team to ensure all products meet company and British Standards.
Together, the Buyer, Merchandiser and Quality Assurance Manager comprise the trading team accountable for the entire lifecycle of a product, from concept to shelf.
