A fashion sales representative is a person who works for a clothing manufacturer directly. This person’s job is to interact with fashion buyers, who may work at large department stores, catalog outlets, or small shops, and to share each season’s new clothing line, as well as to sell the clothes. As a result, this position necessitates a combination of fashion and style knowledge, as well as marketing and advertising expertise. Anyone who works as a fashion sales representative should be enthusiastic about fashion and style, as well as outgoing, friendly, and skilled at closing sales.
Many people in the fashion industry work their way up to this position doing internships or entry-level jobs at various places and making connections. Others will pursue degrees in fashion merchandising or design, which are frequently found at technical schools. An actual bachelor’s degree in marketing would be very helpful for those who are most interested in marketing or hope to advance to managerial positions. However, this career can be approached in a variety of ways, and not every fashion sales representative has needed to earn a four-year college diploma to be successful.
A fashion sales representative’s primary responsibility is to sell the company’s product to buyers who will then resell it in their own stores. As a result, this person must be skilled at networking and have a thorough understanding of his or her product. A background in fashion design is also advantageous here, because the fashion sales representative must be able to discuss current trends, styles, and unique fashions created the company in order to entice buyers to purchase and resell the product.
When a fashion sales representative isn’t meeting with buyers, he or she is most likely collaborating with the company’s marketing department. This is especially true if the company sells its own clothing or accessories, whether through a website, catalog, or even an outlet store. A successful fashion sales representative may eventually assist in the creation of marketing campaigns and conduct current market research to determine what is and is not working. As a result, in addition to an understanding of various marketing and advertising techniques that may be used, creativity is a very important skill to have in this position.