Retail: The Fundamentals of Retail Buying

Retail: The Fundamentals of Retail Buying
ISBN-10
1436319536
ISBN-13
9781436319539
Category
Reference
Pages
192
Language
English
Published
2008-05
Publisher
Xlibris Corporation
Author
Daniel J. Moe

Description

FOREWORD I remember when the executive vice president of Best Buy Retail asked me to teach him about merchandising so that he could better understand the end-to-end picture of a retail marketing organization. An odd request? Hardly. Dozens of people ask me the same question every year. They are the accountants, store managers, advertising associates, and senior leaders. And each of them has recognized that the merchant or buyer is central to any retail organization, and they want some insight into how it works. The role of the retail merchant/buyer has changed over time, much like the face of retail itself. Think back to the '50s. Department stores (Sears, Wards) and variety (S.S. Kressge, G.C. Murphy, Ben Franklin) dominated the landscape. In the early '60s, the deep discount retailers emerged (Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target). In the '70s, warehouse clubs (Price, Sam's, Costco) came into vogue, and the '80s gave us specialty superstores (Office Depot, Staples, Sports Authority, Best Buy). Megastores followed (Wal-Mart Supercenters, Super Target) in the '90s. As these formats evolved, so did the role of the merchant. The "old school" buyer selected vendors and items, placed orders, approved payments, negotiated freight terms . . . basically, they did it all. Over time, inventory specialization relieved the merchant of that chore. The role became more focused. Category management became popular in the late '80s and throughout the '90s, especially in the food and drug channels. Today, "integration" is the buzz word. Teaming is fashionable as decision-making authority becomes shared. As these progressions have taken place, retailers have benefited from the development of more generalist leaders, yet I've observed that the core merchant skills and knowledge have greatly diminished. In this observation lies the purpose of this work. My goal is to have the book work on three levels. First, this work is focused on the basics of merchandising. Each section deals with one of the fundamentals that every merchant needs to understand. I have attempted to be agnostic with each subject. That is, these principles should be applicable to all channels of retail, whether mass, drugstore, specialty store, club, mail order, or grocery. Next, this effort is meant to be a "how to" book with tangible facts and methods taken from real-world experience within a merchandising environment. I have always found "how to" books to be big on nebulous generalities, filled with grand ideas that are more motivational than they are practical, often leaving the real subject unaddressed. Within these pages, however, the readers will find that "how to" means exactly that. This work offers practical explanations and real lessons that can be applied in retail. A final objective is to provide a bridge between the manufacturer and the retailer (seller and the buyer). Category management has opened a lot of minds to the idea that collaboration, partnership, and the sharing of ideas can help all parties to better serve the consumer. Still, many sales professionals will readily admit that they do not understand the buyer's mentality. This book should close that gap and enable both buyer and seller to realize that their worlds are actually quite similar. As for credentials, I do not profess to be an expert on all subjects, but I have drawn on my twenty-plus years of merchandising experience to pull this material together. During that time, I have

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