Careers in Buying
Buying is one of the most misunderstood roles in fashion retail. From the outside it can look glamorous, in reality, it's ahead-of-the-curve trend-spotting, sharp negotiation and a lot of hard work.
Buyer Job Description
The role of a buyer is one of the most misunderstood in fashion retail. From the outside, it can appear glamorous and exciting, but in reality it involves a significant amount of commercial decision-making, negotiation and hard work. There are two broad approaches to fashion buying. Selection buying involves choosing and curating existing products from brands to create a compelling range, while product development buying involves working with designers, suppliers and manufacturers to create products specifically for the retailer. Buyers must be ahead of key trends and able to anticipate what people are going to want to buy and how much before the customer has even seen the product.
It can include pricing, and promotional functions but may vary widely depending on the size of the organisation. For example, a chain of large stores may be best served by a strongly centralised buying function, whereas a diverse grouping of department stores may need to allow some limited buying at branch level.
Buyers must be ahead of key trends and able to anticipate what people are going to want to buy and how much before the customer has even seen the product.
Did You Know?
A buyer is an essential part of the Monday morning buying meetings and will also contribute to the buying strategy meetings as well as present their figures and ranges to the rest of the fashion/retail departments and the board of directors.
A Buyer's Core Responsibilities
Product Development
When a new product is needed; requiring information, setting product specifications, evaluating sources of supply and establishing an order routine, e.g. high fashion.
Repeat Buying
A routine repurchase that may have been done numerous times before and does not need further research, e.g. socks.
Continuity Buying
When the old product is reassessed — for example, the product is the same but the colour, size etc. may be slightly changed, e.g. tailoring, men's trousers.
Typical Job Titles by Level
Entry Level
Junior Buying
Senior Buying
Key Skills Needed
Salary
Figures are indicative and vary with experience, employer and location.
Progression
Once you've gained the basic training and understand how the buying process works, there will be opportunities to progress and take on further responsibilities. All large retail organisations will offer strong candidates the opportunities to progress to assistant buyer and buyer levels. You could be responsible for sales and budgetary control of a multi-million pound department and managing a team of people, all within five years of joining.
Ready to start your career in Buying?
Explore live Buying roles on Fashion & Retail Personnel, or brief the team directly so we can match you to the right opportunity.