Merchandising: Zara & Hmv
Merchandising Report
Merchandising centres on the buying and selling of goods within a market place and a good merchandising system is essential to the success of any retail business. I intend to focus this merchandising report on Zara, a ladies fashion retailer and HMV, an entertainment megastore. These two companies have specific buying and merchandising strategies, which are tailored to the needs of their products. This report will explore the similarities and differences within each company 's strategies, and identify factors that determine them.
Range Selection and Planning
When selecting merchandise it needs to be suited to the needs of the customer. This relates to a number of criteria consisting of price, quality and individual tastes. The buyers will need to select goods that have the most potential for resale and generate a high level of profit. Therefore, the purchases need to be planned carefully. The planning process centres on "determining the appropriate time for the merchandise to be available to customers, what will be bought, quantities and selecting resources".
HMV divides up their core stock under an assortment of headings: music albums, music singles, classical, video, DVD, games and books. It is important for the buyers at HMV to obtain a wide variety of the latest products to cater for different tastes. HMV will under take extensive negotiations in the buying process once they have sourced the appropriate products. In addition to their core stock, HMV will offer impulse goods, for example, blank videos, to add to promotional techniques. In the music industries early days, retailers mostly purchased products directly from the few record manufacturers. As retail volume grew in the 1940 's, manufacturers began to serve retailers through regional distributors. The distributors will need to tailor their distribution strategies to reach the appropriate type of retail distribution outlet. HMV is a mass merchant. This means HMV stocks
Merchandising centres on the buying and selling of goods within a market place and a good merchandising system is essential to the success of any retail business. I intend to focus this merchandising report on Zara, a ladies fashion retailer and HMV, an entertainment megastore. These two companies have specific buying and merchandising strategies, which are tailored to the needs of their products. This report will explore the similarities and differences within each company 's strategies, and identify factors that determine them.
Range Selection and Planning
When selecting merchandise it needs to be suited to the needs of the customer. This relates to a number of criteria consisting of price, quality and individual tastes. The buyers will need to select goods that have the most potential for resale and generate a high level of profit. Therefore, the purchases need to be planned carefully. The planning process centres on "determining the appropriate time for the merchandise to be available to customers, what will be bought, quantities and selecting resources".
HMV divides up their core stock under an assortment of headings: music albums, music singles, classical, video, DVD, games and books. It is important for the buyers at HMV to obtain a wide variety of the latest products to cater for different tastes. HMV will under take extensive negotiations in the buying process once they have sourced the appropriate products. In addition to their core stock, HMV will offer impulse goods, for example, blank videos, to add to promotional techniques. In the music industries early days, retailers mostly purchased products directly from the few record manufacturers. As retail volume grew in the 1940 's, manufacturers began to serve retailers through regional distributors. The distributors will need to tailor their distribution strategies to reach the appropriate type of retail distribution outlet. HMV is a mass merchant. This means HMV stocks
References: Online: www.crn.vnunet.com/analysis/88842 accessed: 24-04-05 Online: http://www.pcw.co.uk/analysis/104978 accessed: 26-04-05 Online: www.pch.gc.ac/progs/fcmus-cumsf/pubs/distribution/4_e.cfm accessed: 26-04-05 Online: www.cnn.com accessed: 30-04-05