Career as a Fashion Buyer

Fashion buying does not merely mean shopping or working at a shopper’s destination. A fashion buyer is responsible for making long-term buying strategies and negotiating on contractual terms with suppliers to sell the end product in the retail store. He is required to understand the customer needs, market trends, store policy, and financing budgets before making any purchasing decision. Fashion buyers play a significant role behind the success of any retail company. They interpret the trends of seasonal fashion and execute them by working with the fashion design team and suppliers in order to assemble a new collection of merchandise. To become a successful buyer, one has to be imaginative, communicative, organized, creative, and a fast thinker, ahead of time with clear perception and objectives.

Course Details
To make a flourishing career in fashion buying, one doesn’t have to be a formal graduate. An individual can pursue a Degree/Diploma/Certificate program in retail, buying, marketing, fashion, and business management related to fashion/apparel merchandizing. With an excellent eye for fashion and spotting trends for living beings, one can become a successful fashion buyer. However, retail experience helps in gaining apt knowledge about the selling floor. Such training programs can fetch budding fashion buyers better positions with popular retailers and prepare them for the job of assistant buyers and, eventually, buyers for the company. To acquire the necessary skills, one can even opt for some apprenticeships as well. Any 10+2 pass student with a keen sense of fashion is eligible for taking up these courses.

Career Prospects
The role of a fashion buyer differs between companies depending upon their size. A fashion buyer can participate in sales as well as promotions for smaller independent stores. Besides, he/she may also work at various levels in a buying team as per his/her seniority, such as trainee buyer, assistant buyer, senior buyer and buying manager, and buying director. With increase in the experience, fashion buyers are highly in demand. They typically work with clothing suppliers to make and select the proper clothing pieces for the target market. They shuffle between the current fashion trends as well as classic traditional pieces which sell like hot cakes. This fashion buying job forces one to maintain good relations with suppliers so that they deliver the new stocks on time. Fashion buyers also keep an eye on the best-selling pieces in the stores and make it available easily for consumers.

Top Colleges Offering UG/PG/Other Courses
No formal course in fashion buying is offered. However, one can pursue a degree/diploma/certificate course in fashion designing studies from numerous fashion institutes across India that offer fashion buying as one of the subjects.

Remuneration
The salary package of a fashion buyer mostly depends upon location, position, experience, and company. But as a fresher, one can earn anywhere between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 12,000 depending upon the company’s profile. With a couple years’ experience and required skills, one can become a full fledged senior fashion buyer and extract a remuneration of Rs. 4-5 lakhs per annum.