Retailing, often called the heartbeat of the national economy, is an industry defined by new technology and new products, good skills, and marketing savvy. There is a renewed sense of vitality in the world of retailing, as a result of recent mergers, diversifications, and growth in new products. These developments point to interesting employment opportunities for the future. Retailing continues to offer dynamic careers with the challenge of planning for the ongoing changes. The trick, of course, is to make sure millions of dollars of the appropriate merchandise is in the right place at the right time.
The fact that retail outlets are so numerous throughout this country makes beginning career opportunities in this field more available than in the wholesale and manufacturing areas. Retailing experience is extremely important in its own right, but also as a stepping-stone to more advanced merchandising careers. In some areas, in fact, it is often a definite requirement for a beginning position. But wholesalers and manufacturing companies also offer entry-level jobs in which the employee has the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of an extremely important part of the world of fashion.
What is this world all about? Merchandising is simply the selection and purchasing of merchandise from the manufacturer and the selling of that merchandise to the customer. Needless to say, it must be done in the most efficient and profitable way possible. Merchandising activities are really the heart of any retail store. And these principles of merchandising can be learned. But aside from special training there are certain character traits that also are essential for a successful career in one of the many phases of the merchandising field. For example, it is important to be outgoing and well-organized. Energy and stamina are essential, as is the ability to get along well with other people and work under stress. Good leadership abilities and self-confidence are very important. And in this field there's no overlooking excellent grooming and a sense of fashion. An ability to handle figures and details is also a necessary ingredient for the person who wants to enter this fascinating, fast-changing world.
In fashion merchandising, you can expect to work long hours, but such hard work does not go unrewarded. Among your benefits are adventure, recognition, a chance to see the direct results of your efforts, advancement, and competitive financial compensation.
Are you generally interested in all areas of fashion-from the newest looks in clothing to cosmetics to home furnishings? Are you easy to deal with and do you enjoy working with people on a daily basis? Can you express yourself well and do you enjoy public contact? Do you find the changes in trends and fashion looks exciting? What about adventure? Are you willing to explore new market items-checking out trends and meeting the many new people involved in creating the latest fashions? Action is a large part of this world-it operates at a fast tempo, so the people in it must move quickly and think quickly. If you are prepared to work really hard and tolerate long hours, pressures, deadlines, and competition, the dynamic world of fashion merchandising may hold a career for you.
Merchandising is big business, and unlike some segments of the fashion industry, it isn't limited geographically. Chances are you can find a fashion-oriented retail store just about anywhere in the country from a large city to a shopping mall in your neighborhood. And fashion is now an important part of the total merchandising picture, because more and more it has become of concern to us all. No longer is fashion solely the domain of the wealthy, as technological developments have made sophisticated styles available to even the most modest of budgets. And it is these styles, as well as those that cater to people who can afford more extravagant wardrobes, that will be your concern as a fashion merchandiser.
GETTING STARTED
The quickest way to get started and provide yourself with the best all-around training for a career in merchandising is to get a selling job. Summer or part-time work in sales is fine. Even a temporary job during the busy Christmas season will give you a wide variety of experience and a taste of this fast-moving industry. Retailing is a whole lot more than just ringing up sales behind a counter. It involves all activities associated with the sale, such as: displaying the product; pricing, distributing, promoting, and advertising the item; dealing with customers; and training and supervising the work force. 'Customer Relations' is probably the most important item on this varied list of a retailer's duties. Don't underestimate the value of your sales experience! It will put you in direct contact with the customer and give you the chance to gain product knowledge and to learn about stock routines and records. You will learn how to work a cash register, make change, write up sales tickets, and handle refunds and C.O.D. sales. You may have a chance to arrange new merchandise on the shelves or set up counter displays. You also may discover what items people are buying and why. And most important, you will learn what things you should and should not say about the goods you are trying to sell.
Don't turn down a stock job either! You can be valuable to the retail store by keeping track of what items have sold and, by filling those empty shelves, help the salespeople to make the sale. You also may be able to help with special orders or even ticket the merchandise as it comes into the stockroom from the manufacturer or wholesaler. Keeping accurate records of the movement of all the goods in the stockroom may be part of your experience, too.
Stock and sales jobs may be available to you while you are still in school. Sales jobs offer excellent experience to anyone interested in the retail field. If your are really interested in a career in merchandising you must consider a two or four-year program in merchandising, retailing, or related areas to allow you to move up and compete for the full-time jobs in the industry once you are ready for them. You will be prepared for those jobs with courses that may include fashion marketing, sales promotion, fashion buying, merchandise math, consumer motivation, merchandise planning, retail operations, product knowledge, human resources, management, computers for business, advertising and promotion, business law, small store management, and others that are offered by colleges that have specialized programs. Be sure to look into colleges that provide a work study or co-op program that allows you to work in some aspect of the industry and observe it firsthand as part of the merchandising curriculum. Experience in any retail store is valuable to you and the skills you acquire are transferable. Once trained in retailing procedures, you can switch from a large operation to a smaller one, from a discount chain to a department store, from a store in New York City to one in California. There are shops and manufacturers everywhere. You might even think of opening your own store someday!
HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN?
Retailers have been providing products to customers as long as there have been a society in which to buy and sell. We know that trade in marketplaces existed in early Egypt, Greece, and Rome thousands of years ago. However, department stores as we now know them began only about one hundred years ago.
The growth of America's cities caused modern-day retailing to blossom. People moved to the cities from rural areas and began to rely upon merchants for food, clothing, and other necessities. In retailing's early stages, the merchants often were artisans who made their own products. Some sold their own items and also bought and sold the items of other artisans and thus developed a larger trade.
As laborers left their farms for the cities and more European immigrants began to arrive in this country, American cities grew by leaps and bounds. By 1880 New York City had a population of two million people, Philadelphia nearly one million, and Chicago a half million people-all needing and wanting goods.
As the country's needs changed with its shifting population, so a new kind of retailer was called for. In 1859 the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company opened its first retail store, and twenty years later F. W. Wool worth opened his first "dime store." All over the nation general stores also cropped up. The general store owner carried a wide variety of items and was really a merchandiser. The owner knew exactly which items were in stock and knew all of the customers and what they wanted to buy. Not many years later, Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck set up the country's two largest mail-order houses, which allowed customers to order a wide variety of merchandise through the mail.
A new type of store developed in the larger cities: the department store, which opened to supply the needs of the growing number of city dwellers. Soon it became clear that as the nation's population grew so too would the retailing world. Years later, when the automobile became as much a part of life as the department store, retail stores began opening parking lots to accommodate customer's cars. And then, as more and more people gave up the congestion of the cities and started to move to the suburbs, something else happened: the stores had to go where the customers were. All across the United States, branch stores of large downtown department stores were built. Some of the branches were even larger and more modern than the parent store. Thus, suburban shopping centers and malls came into being. Generally, the main store has retained the management offices and still offers the widest array of merchandise. However, the branch store is now an accepted and important part of the retail world and very much a part of your territory as a merchandiser.
