For this post I interviewed Ashley Greene who is a Buyer for an independent online boutique I love. In the interview Ms. Greene and I discussed some of her educational background and a little bit about what they are looking for in potential employees.Ashley’s educational background includes a bachelor’s in Fashion Design and a minor in Marketing. All of her training and past experience as an accessories buyer have made her extremely qualified for her current position.
A typical day for a Buyer may consist of checking reports to see what’s low and what needs to be ordered. After working up to ten different reports you would then begin meeting with people to begin discussing clients and products. On some days you may meet with your lead in the product development department on another day that meeting would be with a vendor, this all depends on which client you are meeting about. Throughout this 8 to 10 hour day you also maintain files for your various clients to let them know what they should be purchasing and using, as well as constantly communicating with the rest of the company via email. While buyers rely on heavily on analyzing reports and constantly looking at the numbers, they also have a great deal of negotiating to do with vendors about the items they can sell. They are constantly trying to come up with a deal that allows the vendor and themselves to feel satisfied. Which normally means the buyer getting the best price possible.
The boutique that Ashley works for is a very successful online clothing store throughout the world. It has been able to do pretty well because even in these harsh economic times people still like to look nice. The store also cuts a lot of overhead costs because it is solely based online and they are able to reach a larger market this way. Per, request of the buyer I was not able to disclose the name of the store in this post, but I will reveal that they are opening up a store soon which is very exciting.If you would like to know more about how to become a fashion buyer, check out the websites below.
1. http://teenfashion.about.com/od/fashionscoop/a/Hot-Fashion-Careers-How-To-Become-A-Fashion-Buyer.htm2. http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/company-industry-research/fashion-buyer/article.aspx
I have listed some of my favorite online boutiques if you want to check out while shopping online is so much fun!!! 1. Karmaloop2. Gypsy Warrior3. Timepiece
