Fashion Buying and Merchandising (Intensive Short Course)

This course covers the first and second steps in the series of our 'Fashion Buying & Merchandising' short courses. Once you've completed this course you might consider moving onto our advanced level courses, 'Fashion Buying & Merchandising: Advanced' or Range Building and WSSI Creation & Interpretation for a more in-depth understanding of the subject area.

Course description

• The course will answer those fashion questions you have been thinking about. Who decides what we are wearing next season? How do the products arrive in stores? Why are some retailers successful but others are not?
• This is all down to the fashion buyers and merchandisers, the main drivers of any retail business or brand and very influential decision makers.

The course is a combination of discussions and practical tasks. At the end of the week you will have:

• Produced your own range plan of garments
• Created a sales forecast for it
• Created a buying plan and buying budget for it
• Bought it in a competitive game played against the tutor
• Allocated it to your stores, after the buying campaign is complete

As these are practical exercises you will need a notebook, pen or pencil, and a simple calculator.

Who should attend?

• Beginners or those with some previous experience.
• This course is for students ages 18 and older.

Clear, easy to understand lessons:

• Our tutors will explain things in easy to understand, accessible English. If they need to use any special terminology they will make sure they explain what they mean.
• New methods will be shown to students through live demonstrations, in a way thats crystal clear and easy to understand.
• Experience life on campus
• Network and share ideas with students from across the globe
• Access the technology and materials relevant to your discipline
• Shop in our college shops for any materials you might need
• Ask questions of your tutor in real time
• Receive feedback and critique on your assignments
• Experience the many sights of London on your down time

All our on campus courses include:

• Network and share ideas with students from across the globe
• Access the technology and materials relevant to your discipline
• Shop in our college shops for any materials you might need
• Ask questions to your tutor in real time
• Receive feedback and critique on your assignments
• Experience the many sights of London on your down time

All our online short courses include:

• Live and interactive online lessons with classmates from around the world
• The same course content and learning outcomes as our face to face courses
• Lesson recordings, for review, so you never have to miss a class
• Access to the virtual learning environment with course content
• Forums for support
• 2 weeks online access to the recordings of the live classroom sessions
• Ask questions to your tutor in real time

A certificate of completion:

• You've put the work in so we want to make sure you have something to show for it!
• As long as you attend a minimum of 80% of your classes, we will provide you with a certificate of attendance.
• However we always recommend you attend all of the classes so that you get the most out of the experience!
• Certificates are a great addition to your CV

Details
The course includes:

• What do buyers and merchandisers actually do in retailers and brands?
• How do they set the prices that they sell to the consumer?
• How do they calculate the price that they will buy from the supplier?
• How are they organised and how do they operate within the company organisation?
• How do they manage the create skills of the designers? 
• How do they plan supplier lead times, and delivery schedules?
• How do they calculate how many garments they expect to sell?
• How do they calculate how many they intend to buy?
• How do they organise distribution to their shops?
• How do they sell on their website?
• How do they manage sales and stock during the selling season?

Materials
Onsite short course materials

In order to fully participate in the practical exercises please bring the following materials/equipment to the first class:

• Laptop/ iPad/ tablet
• Notepad and pen
• Pocket calculator