Costing & negotiating - Desired skills for fabric merchandisers
22 Jul '09
1 min read
A merchandiser in the apparel arena will have to face a hectic period of proto sampling deadlines, communication with suppliers and garment vendors, and costings.
Due to this pressure, sometimes certain details, often with important implications may be overlooked. Micro detailing is crucial in preparing cost sheets.
At times all the items are not listed on the bill of material provided by the buyer, but might be required in making the garments. Trims, buttons, thread etc are a few to name.
Fabric is the biggest component of any garment costing. Many times, due to time constraints, merchants end up taking fabric price quotes on phone, rather than through a proper professional quotation sheet from fabric suppliers.
But it is wiser to have a proper record in place for all raw material prices, before quoting the final price for the garment to the buyers.
Finally, a proper understanding of the buyer margins will help to achieve the buyer targets more accurately. This simply comes from knowing the customers well.