Fashion Buying: From Trend Forecasting to Shop Floor

Description

Containing fully updated and beautifully illustrated need-to-know info, this revised second edition of the bestselling textbook on fashion buying contains everything today's fashion management student needs to give them a clear head-start in this lucrative but highly competitive industry. Fashion Buying uniquely looks at what fashion buying entails in terms of the activities, processes and people involved - from the perspective of the fashion buyer. The book breaks down the five key areas of buying activity for those wishing to pursue a career in the industry, crucially exploring the role of the fashion buyer, sources of buying inspiration, sourcing and communication, merchandise planning and trends in fashion buying. Featuring completely revised content on retail typology (including need-to-know info on demographics, price points and markets), and selecting and buying garments (line sheets, purchase orders and lookbooks), Fashion Buying now includes valuable new sections on customer profiling, merchandise pricing (mark-ups, markdowns and how pricing is calculated for profit), and trends. Also included in this practical handbook are insightful interviews with both established and emergent fashion creatives. Business case studies put the contents of each chapter into professional context and provide insider perspective; while industry-focused exercises and activities enable readers to practise applying their new skills and so gain a competitive advantage in both their studies and buying careers. Written by industry experts, Fashion Buying is an invaluable go-to resource and leading textbook for fashion design, marketing, buying and merchandising students.

David Shaw worked in fashion buying for over 20 years for some of the UK's largest fashion retailers. A pioneer of several of the first fashion buying courses, David is now an academic, consultant trainer and writer. Dimitri Koumbis has over 15 years of retail experience as a practitioner and educator, working in creative marketing and design management for fast fashion brands such as Urban Outfitters and Gap, Inc. Additionally, Dimitri is a retail consultant and strategist for emerging and SME brands within the US.

In five to-the-point chapters, Fashion Buying delivers all that is needed to know about becoming a buyer. It is at once detailed and efficient; a masterful little book that inevitably paves the way to a better understanding of the merchandising environment and the job of a fashion buyer. -- Susan N. Spencer, Merchandise Product Development and Merchandise Marketing Faculty, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, USA