Retail buyers are professionals who are trained to buy goods at wholesale prices and resell them at retail prices in stores or online. The buyer may be in charge of purchasing goods for the entire store or just one department, depending on the size of the store where he or she works. Small boutiques, for example, may have only one retail buyer on staff, or the owner may be in charge of all purchases. Large department stores and retail chains, on the other hand, may have a slew of retail buyers in charge of specific product purchases.
A women’s department store may have a dozen or more buyers. Others would be in charge of professional attire and evening wear, while others would be in charge of footwear and lingerie. There may also be buyers who purchase goods for jewelry, coats and outerwear, cosmetics, sportswear, and fragrance departments, depending on the size of the store. In contrast, a sporting goods store would have a completely different set of departments.
Retail buyers frequently attend semi-annual or quarterly trade shows where vendors display their wares and take orders from the buyers in order to purchase goods for their businesses. These trade shows are frequently held in large cities, and they may even be held in a hotel where buyers can rent rooms at a reduced rate. Each vendor usually has a product assortment that is meant to appeal to a wide range of buyers. Thousands of trade shows are held each year, with everything from yachts to children’s toys, hair products to gaming equipment on display.
Retail buyers are in charge of not only selecting products that will sell well in their stores, but also of determining the appropriate quantities. These decisions are typically made after researching the sales trends and history of the store or stores where they work. Furthermore, researching future industry trends is an important part of a buyer’s job.
Instead of buying from a vendor at a trade show, some buyers will go straight to their showroom or warehouse. This is useful for buyers who need to spend time reviewing product specifications and detailed pricing information with vendors when purchasing specialty or private label goods. Additionally, some retail buyers simply buy excess inventory from vendors to resell at discount chain stores.