Product-Facing Career Paths in the Fashion Industry

For many fashion industry hopefuls, it can be hard to know exactly what career paths are out there and which one you are best suited for your skillset. It may be easier to access information across the more well-known fields across corporate companies such as Marketing, Finance, and Human Resources, but what about the product facing roles specific to retail? If this applies to you, look no further. We’ll be your resource for all the deets about what roles are available at a retail company and what skills are needed to excel in those fields.

Merchandising

If you are looking for a role to utilize both creative and analytical skills, merchandising may be for you. Merchants have a hand in every stage of the product development process as well as planning the sales strategies for each item. At a high-level glance, merchants work with designers to create products based on past and current sales, runway trends and customer feedback. They then work with their planning partners to plan how much volume should be placed behind each item and partner with inventory management to ensure the right product is sent to the right stores at the right time. Merchants continually analyze sales each week to make any necessary changes to their assortment strategies each season.

Planning

Planners have strong analytical skills, responsible for planning the business strategy for the entire assortment. They take into account past and current sales, margin and inventory (upon other metrics) to plan what sales the business will achieve in future seasons. Planners work very closely with merchants creating business strategies pre-season and must determine action off of sales in the current season. The planning team manages all of the financials to run a successful brand and play an important role in the assortment strategy process.

Inventory Management

As its name implies, inventory management is in charge of managing all of the inventory. They must strategically allocate the correct amount of inventory to certain stores at the optimal time. They pay close attention to how current sales are actualizing to reallocate their forecasts and ensure the brand is always in stock of their products, down to the color and size level. They also work closely with the distribution centers that are sent the product inventory across the country or world.

Visual Merchandising

The visual team creates the in-store experience for the customer. Visual merchants decide where each product is displayed within the stores, what the focal points are, and how to merchandise the entire assortment into one cohesive story. Once the floorset is created and leadership signoff is given, visual merchants communicate the presentation standards to all store locations. This team has a knack for bringing together all five senses to create an in-store experience that the customer will love.

Design

Designers have the most creative role within the company, creating all of the products that the company sells. Within the design field, there are a few different paths one can take:

o Category/Apparel Designers hold the most common connotation of the word; they sketch up the products and choose the fabric, trims, labels, and finishes. Their job is to ensure the vision of the product comes to life.

o Technical Designers build the items’ tech packs from the initial sketches and trim sheets. These are then communicated to the vendors/factories to start making the products. A large portion of their job requires perfecting the fit, measurements and construction of the garments.

o CAD Designers (Computer-Aided Design) create the prints and patterns that go onto the products. This team utilizes trend reports and personal artwork to create on-brand prints/patterns.

o Graphic Designers create artwork for brand-specific logos, graphics, embroidery, and applique. This team combines trend with the brand’s specific look and feel to make sure any additives seem cohesive.

Sourcing

The sourcing team works closely with the vendors who make the clothing. They work to source materials that meet the company’s standards of quality and cost, along with timely production. A large portion of their job is communicating with the vendors on a daily basis to ensure correct development and allocation of product and monitoring the overseas processes. Their responsibilities begin at the start of the product design process, working on the initial development of the sketches, up until the finished product being delivered to stores.