An investigation into retail buying roles and responsibilities for own-label clothing: a multiple case-study

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate own-label buyers' roles and responsibilities within the context of fashion retailing in the UK, as distinct from the roles of buyers of branded merchandise supplied by other companies. The elements of the fashion retail buying role are drawn together into a framework to offer academics and retailers a perspective on the ways in which theories on buying processes relate to practice. It concludes that buying own-label fashion products is largely similar to buying branded merchandise, with one of the main exceptions being in the area of new product development. Retail merchandisers were found to play a significant role within the buying function, yet there was a relative lack of collaboration between buyers and marketers within the sample.

Artificial intelligence in retail: The AI-enabled value chain

“…Retailers have two main inventory management objectives: first, to buy products to fulfil customers' requirements; and second, to plan the inventory flow to maximise profits (Fairhurst and Fiorito, 1990). As retailers are always trying to match supply to demand, they are continually revising their sales forecasts to anticipate demand throughout the value chain (Goworek, 2014). To achieve the required forecasting capabilities, they need very specific sources of knowledge and insight.…”

“…These inefficiencies combined with the inability to adapt to a changing competitive landscape leaves traditional retailers vulnerable to disruption from market entrants. To remain competitive and survive in an ever-changing and diversified customer market, retailers need to become leaner (Campbell et al, 2020), more agile (Goworek, 2014), and innovate their value chain by adopting new technologies (Lee et al, 2018). Of the new technologies that are impacting the retail industry, AI has been earmarked as the most transformative (Kietzmann et al, 2018;Lee et al, 2018;Silva et al, 2019).…”

The influence of conflict with suppliers on retailers’ private label performance

“…Today, the management of relationships with PLs is becoming increasingly important for retailers (Goworek, 2014). Merchandise managers of retail companies are struggling with the challenge of developing and merchandising PLs to make their firms more competitive.…”

Effects of retail organisation design on improving private label merchandising

“…These merchandising activities include searching for suppliers and selecting merchandise, negotiating with suppliers, setting selling prices and margins and developing sales promotion methods including shelf space allocation within stores. Notably, although this study treats retail merchandisers and retail buyers as interchangeable, depending on retail firm and/or country, the two groups have different roles and responsibilities (Goworek, 2014;Rabolt and Miler, 2009). For example, in the UK and other European countries, the retail merchandising role mentioned above is usually divided into retail buying and retail merchandising.…”

“…Retail managers in merchandising divisions play a critical role in improving individual merchandisers' purchasing skills and achieving a consistent merchandising strategy by coordinating multiple merchandisers. More recently, with respect to PL merchandise, merchandising functions have expanded to include roles and tasks other than simply buying and selling, such as liaison with designers and product technologists as well as identification of customer needs and product specifications (Goworek, 2014;Johansson and Burt, 2004;Olsen and Sallis, 2010). As the scope of retail merchandising has grown to encompass more responsibilities, the expansion of PL merchandise has significantly increased the complexity of retail managers' jobs (Paché, 2007).…”