Merchandise Assortment Decisions Decisions Good planning is critical

Merchandise Assortment

Decisions, Decisions □ Good planning is critical □ Target market analysis □ Merchandise decisions □ Pricing decisions

Merchandise Plan □ Basic budgeting tool that assists the retailer or buyer in meeting department or classification goals □ Uses figures from past year to predict plan for current year □ Planned sales □ Planned stock □ Planned reductions □ Planned purchases

Merchandise Planning □ Method used by retailers to make intelligent decisions prior to purchasing merchandise for store □ Prevents over-and under-buying □ Can be for entire store or specific departments □ Merchandise classification: group of similar items

Components of Merchandise Plan □ Planned sales: expressed in $$$ figures and reflect sales goals for the month □ Planned stock: $$$ amount of merchandise a store needs in order to meet the sales □ Planned reductions: $$$ amount of any markdowns, adjustments, and loss □ Planned purchases: $$$ amounts of needed merchandise to meet sales goals

Merchandise Life Cycle □ Introduction □ Growth □ Acceptance □ Decline

Assortment Planning Tools □ Categorizing merchandise: □ Staple merchandise: sells well over a long period of time □ Fashion merchandise: sells well for several seasons □ Seasonal merchandise: sells well at certain times or seasons during the year □ Convenience merchandise: merchandise customers buys with little planning

Assortment Planning Tools □ Stock Lists: □ Basic stock list: used for items that a store should always keep in stock, same items with a minimum amount to always be kept in stock □ Model stock list: used for fashion merchandise, since a shorter life span, list is shorter and without specific stock numbers □ Never-out stock list: most popular merchandise in the store with items being added or dropped based upon popularity