Unit 3: Merchandising & retailing
Survey of Apparel Marketing and Merchandising notes · PTU syllabus (BSTD 302-20)
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Unit summary
Merchandisers plan what to buy, when and how much. This unit covers marketing channels, retailing and wholesaling, the merchandiser's role, the six-month merchandising plan and buying calendar, retail fashion promotion and types of retail operations.
After this unit you can
- Distinguish retailing and wholesaling
- Describe the merchandiser's role
- Prepare a six-month merchandising plan and buying calendar
- Describe fashion promotion and retail formats
PTU syllabus topics
- Marketing channels
- retailing and wholesaling
- merchandiser role and responsibilities
- 6-month merchandising plan and buying calendar
- retail fashion promotion
- types of retail operations
- 1
Review last season's sales
- 2
Forecast sales by month
- 3
Plan stock levels
- 4
Plan markdowns
- 5
Calculate open-to-buy
Budget left for purchases
- 6
Follow the buying calendar
Topic 1
Marketing channels, retailing and wholesaling
Sells to
Final consumers
Retailers and businesses
Quantity
Small
Bulk
Location and display
Convenient, attractive stores and websites
Warehouses; less emphasis on display
Examples
Lifestyle, Westside, Myntra
Gandhi Nagar (Delhi) and Surat textile markets
Topic 2
The merchandiser
Export (buying house or manufacturer) merchandiser
Link between buyer and factory
Costing, sampling, order booking, fabric and trim sourcing, approvals, production follow-up, quality, shipment
Retail merchandiser
Plans assortment for stores
Range planning, buying, allocation, pricing, markdowns, sales analysis
- Skills: product knowledge, costing, communication, negotiation, time management, analytics, Excel and ERP.
Topic 3
Six-month merchandising plan and buying calendar
- 1
Planned sales by month (from last year and trends)
- 2
Planned beginning-of-month (BOM) stock — stock-to-sales ratio
- 3
Planned reductions — markdowns, discounts, shrinkage
- 4
Planned end-of-month (EOM) stock
- 5
Planned purchases at retail
- 6
Planned purchases at cost (open-to-buy)
Planned purchases
Planned sales + reductions + EOM stock − BOM stock
Open-to-buy (OTB)
Planned purchases − merchandise already on order
Stock-to-sales ratio
BOM stock ÷ planned sales for the month
Example
March plan: sales ₹10 lakh, reductions ₹1 lakh, EOM ₹25 lakh, BOM ₹24 lakh → purchases = 10 + 1 + 25 − 24 = ₹12 lakh. With ₹5 lakh already on order, OTB = ₹7 lakh.
- Buying calendar: market weeks and trade fairs, sampling and order deadlines, production and delivery windows, in-store dates for each season (spring–summer, autumn–winter, festive), and markdown periods.
Topic 4
Retail fashion promotion
- Advertising
- Print, digital, social media, influencers
- Visual merchandising
- Windows and in-store displays
- Special events
- Fashion shows, trunk shows, launches
- Sales promotion
- End-of-season sales, loyalty programmes, coupons
- Publicity and PR
- Press releases, celebrity tie-ups
- Personal selling
- Trained store staff and stylists
Topic 5
Types of retail operations
- 1
Traditional markets and haats
- 2
Kirana and general stores
- 3
Department and speciality stores
- 4
Supermarkets and hypermarkets
- 5
Malls and category killers
- 6
E-commerce and marketplaces
- 7
Omnichannel, quick commerce and social commerce
Department store
Many categories under one roof
Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle
Specialty store
One category
Bata, Fabindia
Discount and value store
Low prices
Max, Zudio, V-Mart
Brand exclusive outlet
Single-brand store
Raymond, Allen Solly
Factory outlet
Surplus at discounts
Brand outlets
Non-store and online
Catalogues, e-commerce, social commerce
Myntra, Ajio, Nykaa Fashion
Key terms
- Merchandiser
- Person planning and managing merchandise from order to delivery
- Open-to-buy
- Budget remaining for purchases in a period
- BOM stock
- Beginning-of-month inventory
- Buying calendar
- Schedule of buying and delivery activities
- Department store
- Large store with many categories
Quick revision
- Retailing vs wholesaling.
- Export and retail merchandisers; skills.
- Six-month plan elements; purchases formula; OTB; stock-to-sales ratio; buying calendar.
- Promotion tools; retail formats.
Important exam questions
Practice questions written to the PTU exam pattern for this unit's syllabus: short answers (Section A style) and long answers (Sections B and C style).
Short-answer questions
- Q1.Distinguish retailing and wholesaling.
- Q2.State three duties of an export merchandiser.
- Q3.Define open-to-buy.
- Q4.Calculate planned purchases for sales 8, reductions 1, EOM 20, BOM 18 (₹ lakh).
- Q5.What is a buying calendar?
- Q6.Give two examples of value fashion retailers.
Long-answer questions
- Q1.Explain the role and responsibilities of a merchandiser.
- Q2.Explain the six-month merchandising plan with an example.
- Q3.Describe retail fashion promotion and types of retail operations.
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