Fashion merchandising
is the marketing of fashion.
Fashion marketing and management people work throughout the industry. They are busy marketing collections for designers, creating fashion ad campaigns and filling the ranks of retail merchandising and management. Whether working for designers, ad agencies, fashion journals or retail establishments, their responsibility is to move fashion.
Attributes
Marketing and management requires a great deal of fashion savvy. Understanding trend cycles, the ability to read numbers and create projections and possessing an affinity with the targeted consumer are basic requirements.
Duties
Marketers are ultimately responsible for making the consumer want the product. Expectations are high as marketers create brand desirability, stimulate sales and set fashion standards. They read consumer trends assuring adequate supplies without excess. They are responsible for what we see on the racks at retail establishments, and when they fail, what we see on the clearance rack.
Fashion Trends
Reading trends requires a look at the times. Is the public ready for a shorter skirt? Will women wear stilettos? When will fur make its comeback? Based on observation, fashion marketers determine what the public will accept. They wager on a new style "making it," and determine when a fad is on its way out.
Numbers
Past sales provide further clues. Numbers tell when a style is on the rise or decline. If the marketer works for the designer, production will be geared up or slowed down based on projected sales. When the marketer works for a retail establishment, orders are also made by projection.
Retail Fashion
In-store event personnel, promotional fashion coordinators, buyers, division forecasters, the sales floor, department managers and assistant managers are all a part of retail marketing and management. Fashion merchandising is a high-stakes game with overall store profitability hanging in the balance.
Education
Associate and bachelor's degrees are available in fashion marketing and management. They commonly take 18 months to four years to complete. Local universities and two-year colleges in many areas offer this major. Online degrees in marketing and management are also available. Studies include visual display, fashion forecasting and retail management.
Industry Projections
Entry-level positions in fashion marketing start out just above minimum wage and go up from there. Currently the industry is experiencing about average growth. Due to increased worldwide competition for customers, the U.S. Department of Labor expects television and radio advertising to accelerate--translating into more media-related marketing management positions. Keen competition for related positions is anticipated.
Tags: Fashion merchandising, marketer works, marketing management, marketing management, retail establishments