Retail Merchandising

Hello, my name is Mary Freberg. I am in the field of retail merchandising. 

As merchandisers, we are responsible for making sure that products appear in the correct store, or on their website, at the perfect time and in the right quantities. We work very closely with buyers within the same field, which helps us to forecast trends accurately, assess how much of the product we’ll need, and then monitor the products’ performance.

When the buyer selects which products should be sold, the merchandiser (me) will be deciding how much money ($$$) should be spent and how many products should be purchased. Since this is such a large business, everything has to be done separately to get more accurate and beneficial results.

Having a merchandiser contributes many things to companies or organizations. Since making a profit is the main goal in most companies, merchandisers are needed to set the prices and maximize their profits. We do this by managing performance, organizing promotional sales and markdowns, as they deem necessary. We also work hand in hand with suppliers, which distribute the products.

My main interest within this field is, of course, fashion.

There is a lot more to the fashion business than people think. One of the main things about being in this field is having connections. Having a good circle of peers that share the same common goals with you is important to have. You’ll be able to learn and grow with them.

This being said, it is very important to be a people person, being that you’ll be working one on one with buyers and suppliers. It also takes a lot of customer service skills, since they contribute to making you a profit. You’ll constantly be working in a busy, energetic environment, so you must be on top of your game at all times.

Fashion is constantly changing. What’s “in” when you wake up, might not be “in” anymore when you fall asleep that same night. You always need to be doing your research. Fashion magazines are considered your daily newspaper. It really helps you understand what customers are looking for; depending on the type of style you sell within your store.

One assumption people have about working in the retail merchandising business is that it isn’t really a “business”. When really, retail merchandising can go above and beyond fashion. We’re qualified to sell just about anything.

We can help sporting goods store design their canoe layout, along with helping a furniture store create a layout for their “living rooms”. It all depends on either what our client wants or what our customer wants.

Retail merchandisers value customer satisfaction. Our main focus is fashion, but we can expand our expectations. This field requires a lot of research and analyzing fashion trends and the sales figures that go along with that. We want to organize everyday products into a wonderful, creative display. We’re an imaginative team of style experts who want to create a fun and exciting layout that will make you rethink your shopping experience.