Careers in fashion merchandising involve producing, promoting, buying and selling of fashion products such as clothes, accessories, cosmetics, jewellery, shoes etc and are termed fashion merchandising jobs.
Fashion merchandiser jobs can be working for a textile industry, as a jewellery designer, fashion designer or for an outlet of kidswear and other fashion jobs. They need to be very well aware of the production process of his firm, the current trends in fashion and socio-cultural aspects of fashion.
Jobs in fashion merchandising and other fashion merchandising careers are built around three types of merchandisers, wholesale, import and retail merchandisers.
Wholesale merchandising includes selling of goods (fashion items here) to a company, shop etc. In other words it’s dealing with someone other than the standard or end consumer. Wholesalers are generally very close to the market and know the source where the product has been developed or supplied from.
Import merchandising refers to dealing with goods that have been imported from abroad or different states, cities. Like for e.g. importing handicrafts from jaipur and Patiala suits from Punjab etc. These goods are then sold to the wholesaler who distributes them to the retailers.
Similarly a retail store is the one which has number of products available for the consumer to buy. They are displayed so that the consumer can come and buy them directly without any middlemen. Examples can be your local clothing outlet, jewellery shop, accessories shop etc. Thus Retail merchandising is the one in which sale is made directly to the end consumer by the retailer. In order to attract more and more customers, the goods have to displayed in a very creative way. In retail merchandising the emphasis is given on product packaging i.e. physical appearance of the product and price. The product has to be appealing enough for the consumer to get tempted and make an actual purchase.
Role of a Fashion Merchandiser
Depending on which industry a fashion merchandiser job role is in, the job titles associated with this field include fashion buyers, fashion directors, retail store managers, textile merchandisers, designers, showroom sales representatives, product development managers, catalog production managers and merchandise display artists. However this profession offers ample number of opportunities and rewards, one needs to be highly creative and must be able to think out of the box.
Qualification Required
Many schools, colleges and universities offer diplomas, associate’s degrees and bachelor’s degrees in fashion merchandising.
Students who seek a management career in fashion merchandising are often required to have bachelor’s degrees in fashion merchandising. A bachelor’s program provides an in-depth study on subjects offered in the program, equipping the student with a more comprehensive training on different aspects of fashion merchandising.
The study duration for a diploma or associate’s degree program is about two years, while a bachelor’s degree program lasts about four years.
Be prepared to begin with entry level fashion merchandising jobs
Salary to be expected
Like all other professions, the salary of a fashioner merchandiser depends on his skills, experience and qualification. Highest earnings in this field are of those who have climbed the ladder from being a production manager or display artist to executive levels.
Well Known Institutes for Fashion Merchandising
Depending on the city or country you reside there can be many institutes providing fashion courses but before proceeding further you need to do a proper research as to which are government recognized and also compare the fee structure. One should always opt for those institutes that provide internship for training purposes after the course has been completed. This makes it easy for the student as he does not have to search for a relevant job here and there.
