Careers in Fashion Merchandising: the Role of the Allocator

Careers in Fashion Merchandising: the Role of the Allocator

We’ve explored the role of the fashion buyer in previous posts, discussing how professional buyers work together with other key professionals in the merchandise marketing department. After a buyer places an order for fashion merchandise at trade shows, showrooms and from vendors, what happens next? You might assume that merchandise goes straight from fashion designer’s warehouse to the retail store, but in reality there are many steps within the fashion merchandise plan that takes place before shoppers see merchandise at the store level.

One key step involves the role of the merchandise allocator, whose job is to (as the title suggests) allocates fashion merchandise to stores according to inventory levels, sales history, and other key factors.

The allocator ensures that a store’s shelves are always stocked with new merchandise. It takes a lot of analytical skills to forecast each individual stores’ merchandise assortment to determine which products and what quantities will be sent to which stores. The allocator will study the store’s historical merchandise sales and assess the factors that influence individual stores’ consumer needs to forecast trends and predict which products that will sell in the future.

See Also :

• What is Fashion Merchandising ?
• Are You Right For Fashion Merchandising ?

Examples of factors that an allocator must consider include:

• Geographic region. Consumers in the Midwest compared with the East Coast might have different preferences in colors and silhouette and different functional needs to accommodate their climates.
• A, B, C level stores. Typically, a fashion business will allocate products in higher quantities to its highest performing, highest stocked stores or flagship stores (A level), moderate quantities to its B-level stores, and lowest quantities of merchandise to its C-level stores.
• Sales history. An allocator might detect trends within a specific category, silhouette or color from store to store when analyzing the company’s sales history. For example, a store located near a major university like Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona might have high sales in burgundy and gold colored merchandise to shoppers buying attire to wear to football games during the Fall.

The role of the allocator, like most merchandise marketing roles,  are very fast-paced and vary from day to day. The allocator might serve as a liaison between other merchandise marketing professionals including buyers, analysts, stores, suppliers and distributors. The allocator may also oversee the delivery and distribution of stock and handle any problem as they arise. Naturally, fashion merchandising jobs can vary greatly from one employer to the next. So how would you pursue a job as an allocator?

See Also :

• Careers in Fashion Merchandising: A Buyer’s Role and Responsibility
• Large Or Small Retailer: How A Buyer’s Role Varies In Fashion Merchandising 

According to retail job listing website, RetailChoice.com, a fashion merchandising job applicant should have commercial awareness and strong analytical skills, the ability to plan and prioritize and work well under pressure with sound decision-making skills. Since competition for entry level merchandise marketing jobs can be high, a degree in merchandise marketing or a degree in fashion merchandising can increase one’s chances.

Urban Outfitters in Tempe, Arizona. Image courtesy of Urbanoutfitters.com

Urban Outfitters in Glendale, CA. Image courtesy of Urbanoutfitters.com.