1. Retail Management
Stephanie Freeman

2. Roles & Duties Plan and direct day-to-day operations
Develop strategies to improve customer service
Drive store sales
Forecast staffing needs
Develop recruiting strategy
Increase profitability
Customer needs are met, complaints resolved, & service is quick & efficient

3. How to become a manager
Sales associate manager/key carrier asst. store mgr. regional/district mgr. Participate in a manager-in-training program.

4. A day in the life Abercrombie & Fitch’s Manager-in-Training Program

5. Buyer

6. Roles & Duties
A buyer works in the corporate realm of the fashion industry, rather than at the store level. They work at a retailer’s headquarters.
Find &negotiate with vendors for merchandise. Consider price, fashion, target market, & shipping.
Number crunching. Retail math. Excel. Accounting.
Scrutinize inventory levels, sales records, and changing fashion trends.
May be the only buyer in a small business or part of a team in large company (senior buyer, associate buyers, & assistant buyers).
Work in an office and occasional travel is required (to apparel marts [ and store locations).

7. How to become a buyer
Some don’t require postsecondary educations, while others prefer it. Bachelor’s in economics, business, & fashion merchandising are helpful.
On-the-job training
Advancement: experience, education
Fashion savvy- fashion or retail experience preferred
Computer program skills (Excel & Word)
Negotiating, analytical, & organizational skills
Get Ahead: Experience-part-time job or internship while in school, earn certification, develop related skills (communication, negotiation, math, accounting, computer classes)

8. A day in the life

9. Here's a typical day in the life of a buyer at DKNY:
8:00: Arrive at work. Take a look at the flash sales. (In store one, you sold $5,000 worth of merchandise; in store two, you sold $7,000; etc?) You're concerned with the breakdown of items sold at each store: how many dress shirts, ties, trousers, and so on. "Buyers are constantly asking themselves 'Why did one store sell many more than the other?' The display might be different. Maybe one store did a sale."
10:00: Consult with the assistant buyer. Make sure he or she is on track with various deals and operations.
11:00: Spend time on sales analysis - do some yourself, delegate some to the assistant buyer. ("Certain days are spent entirely on analysis. It's very important to know retail math and to understand concepts such as the 'gross product margin.' It's okay for an assistant buyer to not know retail math at first, but he must learn quickly!")
1:30: Go out to lunch with a friend. Relax for half an hour
2:00: Attend a buyers' meeting. ("During a major buyers' meeting, buyers will congregate - all buyers will come in - from Bloomingdales, Polo, you name it. They'll discuss what's coming up for the next fashion season - styles, colors, sizes. They'll also discuss who will be doing production and how the garments will be delivered.")
4:30: Review the notes I typed on my laptop during the meeting.
5:00: Meet with my assistant for a review of the meeting.
6:00: Plan a store visit for tomorrow. ("Marketing is one aspect of buyer life, analysis is another, and visiting stores is still another. It's important to see how things are being merchandised and displayed.")
7:00: Grab a snack - maybe some fruit and a bagel. Do more sales analysis.
8:00: Leave work to enjoy dinner and a quiet, low-key night ("Buying can be highly, highly stressful")

10. References
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