Career in Fashion Marketing and Merchandising

It is very important for any designer product to intrigue customers. It should fulfill fantasies and not just a basic need. Today, consumers are more interested in projecting a particular image that will make them feel young and sophisticated - and this is what the fashion marketers take advantage of. Fashion marketers create a fantasy for selling those products to customers, through visual marketing campaigns, savvy advertising ideas or just by picking clothing from the designers, which they feel will be very popular among customers.

Another major responsibility of fashion marketers and merchandisers is to move trendy clothing into stores when those items are in fashion. Not performing this task can result in a loss for the designer. A good fashion marketer and merchandiser can also create trends by promoting a certain look when the time is right. To do this, they need to have a proper understanding of the social trends and psychology of the consumers.

Job Opportunities

Fashion merchandising and marketing is composed of various jobs. Fashion marketers are responsible for increasing the customer's interest in fashion trends, and a fashion merchandiser works to present the apparel in stores. People who are in this profession can also work in retail and wholesale outlets as well. Some can work as merchandise managers, buyers or purchasing agents, manufacturing or wholesaling for retail sale or purchasing the accessories and apparel from the designers. Still others choose to work as fashion coordinators, who are into the creation of a special look in retail stores, designing a fashion or house magazine; or visual merchandisers, who design store displays to attract customers. After getting a degree in fashion marketing and merchandising you can also become the manager of a retail store or start your own boutique where you can serve a certain clientele and promote your style. You can even become a fashion forecaster or fashion consultant.

For a career in fashion merchandising you need to have a certificate from any good postsecondary design school that offers degrees in business administration. Fashion merchandisers need to have talent, style and marketing skills for success. As a fashion merchandiser, you can begin as a management trainee at small sores and move up from assistant buyer to head buyer or assistant store manager to store manager. You can move on to bigger and more prestigious firms with experience where you can eventually even become a manager.