1. Call in slow merchandise promptly, or arrange to have it marked down at the branch (depending upon the procedure your store prefers). Don't delay. Slow numbers clog the branch's stock and deprive it of the chance to acquire and show other, more salable, numbers.
2. Transfer from one branch to another to take advantage of differences in demand at different branches. Sometimes a slow seller in one location does well in another. Sometimes a fairly basic style has been exposed for too long at one branch but can get a fresh start in another that has not yet offered it.
3. Watch basics. With the possible exception of a high fashion boutique, every department has some numbers or items that should be in stock throughout their selling season.
Arrange for regular counts and reports of such basics at each branch and replenish stocks promptly. If necessary, draw merchandise from your downtown stock for the purpose.
Most managements insist that branch needs for basics must be served immediately, regardless of pressure of work, tight Open-to-Buy, or other problems.
4. Show branch staff how to substitute. Branch sales people, working on slim stocks, need to be especially well trained in what to suggest when they do not have precisely what the customer requests.
For example, a customer who asks for black may actually mean that she wants a neutral; grey or beige might be acceptable. One who asks for a baby-doll gown may simply want to avoid ankle-length styles, and may accept a waltz type. The woman who asks for an exact match may accept a harmonizing color; she may wish only to avoid contrast.
Think of the alternatives you would suggest, and make it a regular responsibility to instruct branch department managers and sales people in what constitutes an acceptable substitution.
5. Resist unwarranted pressure from the branch for too many pieces of a single style number. A common request is for at least one or two of each size and color of each advertised garment. This can add up to four or five times as many units as you think the branch should have.
Spell out for the branch staff how many units would be involved if you took the request literally, and how big the dollar investment would be. Usually they haven't done the arithmetic and are startled by the size of the figure.
Then show them other garments in the stock that are in the same fashion look or feeling as the advertised numbers. Remind them that customers usually buy a look rather than a specific style number.
6. Reinforce the stock occasionally. With permission from the management, temporarily reinforce the branch stock at the start of a new season, on the eve of a major event, or whenever else you think an unusually large assortment will give needed strength to the branch's fashion image and create sales.
Count on transferring out of the branch after the occasion the over stock you brought in. You may be surprised at how little is left to be transferred!
Stocking a New Branch
If you are stocking a new branch for its opening day, you will probably be instructed by your management to overstock it initially. This may be by 20 per cent, 25 per cent.
The idea behind this directive is that you should expose a broad assortment to the public, in order to learn conclusively which classifications and price lines to concentrate on in future.
A further reason is to make a strong impact on the community - to dramatize the branch as the fashion headquarters it is going to be.
A behind-the-scenes reason is that you're beginning from scratch; the over-stock is really the carry-forward stock of a going department.
Accept the possibility that in some branches your department may be merged with another. For example, the Budget Department may be combined with the Basement and Better Departments of your store into a single department spanning all three price groupings. Or the Junior Coat Department may combine with Misses' Coats or Junior Sportswear.
In such cases, collaborate with the other buyers. It may not be easy for any of you at first, but if you all focus on trying to give a rounded fashion story to the branch staff and branch customer, most of the occasions for tension or conflict will cease to exist.
How You Are Judged
In judging your performance at its branch stores, management does not rely exclusively upon the additional volume and profit your activity generates.
Your performance as a fashion buyer will also be judged on such points as:
- the impression your selection and merchandise presentation make upon executives visiting the branch
- the condition of your stock as reflected in unit control records, basic stock checks, branch requests for merchandise, want slips, shopping reports, etc.
- your relations with branch personnel, from branch manager down to stock assistant
- the extent to which you appear to be realizing the growth potential of your department
- your conscientiousness in maintaining good communications with the branch.
Each additional branch that you merchandise adds to your stature in the store and in the market. Even more important from your personal point of view is the fact that each branch familiarizes you with yet another group of customers and their reaction to fashion. The more you become involved with branches, the more versatile and capable you become as a fashion buyer.
