If you’ve ever entered a department store and admired the selection of sizes and styles of clothing you had to choose from then the person you need to thank for that pleasurable shopping experience is that businesses retail manager.
What is a Retail Managers?
Retail merchandisers make sure that the right amount of merchandise is available in stores and is being sold at a price that will appeal to consumers. Merchandisers also assess the needs of individual stores and how they might differ based on factors such as store size and their target demographics.
Typical job duties of a retail merchandiser include:
- Working closely with buyers and other merchandisers
- Plan product ranges
- Regularly meet with suppliers, distributors and analysts
- Manage budgets
- Predict sales trends and profits
- Negotiate and organize quantities and delivery time-scales
- Supervise/train junior staff associates
- Mange levels and distribution of incoming and outgoing stock
- Manage supply/production problems/issues
- Set price reductions on merchandise
- Make presentations to senior managers
- Assess the sales performance of merchandise
As a retail manager, it is helpful if you are able to work with numbers, have communication skills, data analysis skills and have a passion for fashion and accessories. Additionally, ideal candidates would have good presentation skills, strong decision-making skills, and teamwork skills.
Where can I get a degree in retail merchandising?
As of Autumn 2020 Hocking College will begin offering a Fashion Design and Retail Merchandising degree. This program will provide students with a 2-year pathway to the vast fashion & retail industry in nearby Central Ohio.
The Fashion Design and Retail Merchandising program is strategically designed to deliver technical apparel development training, valuable product development & consumer research experience, entrepreneurial retail expertise, and industry-specific technology training necessary to succeed in the fashion industry now and in the future.
This degree program will prepare students to gain employment in creative or technical fields in the fashion industry at the corporate level, emerging small business level, or in entrepreneurship as a fashion based start-up.For more information contact Program Manager, Whitney Goller by email at gollerw@hocking.edu or by phone at (740) 753-6425.
