Fashion Planning and Buying

Fashion retail dominates consumer consciousness, with the latest trends in personal style shaping our culture and buying habits across categories. Understanding the importance of how to plan product lines when our seasons have evolved from four times a year to weekly drops, as well as understanding how to manage these types of retail organisations is thus a critical skill set for budding fashion retail enthusiasts. This subject is therefore a strong foundation for building great fashion brands in an industry that is focused on fast, sustainable and instant delivery.

The aim of this subject is to provide students with a knowledge and understanding of working in fashion and trend orientated retail, such as clothing, accessories and homeware. Topics considered include: Industry Trends, Product Stock Keeping Unit Planning, Global Retail Buying Management, Product Trend Analysis, Product Design Process, Seasonality, Product and Category Buying, Waste Management, Profitability Management and Category Analysis.

The strategies to achieve learning outcomes will be formal lectures, tutorial discussions and activities based on case studies and individual research. Furthermore, a number of practical exercises relating to real-life issues in business will be included.

1. Understand the buying process and its relationship to fashion and seasonal retail.
2. Understand the tools, techniques and metrics used in product buying and planning.
3. Identify opportunities in global sourcing, manufacturing, procurement and logistics in a competitive global market.
4. Analyse how to build strategies and effectively manage merchandise.
5. Be able to make decisions on Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) counts and category breakdowns.
6. Critically evaluate how technology and emerging trends are impacting the industry and shaping its future

Exams will take place in weeks 12 & 13. Please refer to the official Exam Timetable for further information.