Structure of Apparel

Industry
Fashion Design
Merchandising _Session 2
Structure of Apparel Industry
 Structure of Retail Firms
Within every
business, the
arrangement of
work and the
people who do
that work
should be
clearly defined.
 Structure of Retail Firms
This arrangement
is referred to as
the organizational
structure of the
business, and it
includes a clear
understanding of
the authority and
responsibility for
each job to be
done.
 Structure of retail Firms
Different types of
retail business
seldom have
exactly the same
organizational
structure or
system.
 Structure of Retail Firms
The type of organization,
the size of the retail firm,
different types of merchandise
lines,
different target customers
lead to somewhat different
organizational systems.
 Structure of Retail Firms
In a small retail firm with a few
employees and a relatively low
volume of sales, all employees will
have varied responsibilities.
As the size of the retail firm and
the volume of sales get larger, the
responsibilities of the employees
become more specialized.
 Structure of Retail Firms
However, there are many
similarities in the organizational
structures of retail
 Structure of Retail Firms
A retail firm is having around two
to six major areas of responsibility
in the organization structure.
Each of these functions is
responsible to the chief executive
of the firm.
 Structure of Retail Firms
Major divisions in retails firm are
as follows:
The merchandising division
The sales promotion division
The finance and control division
The operation division
 The Merchandising Division
This department is responsible for
buying, selling, merchandise
planning & control, & often fashion
coordination
The Sales Promotion Division
This department
is responsible for
advertising, visual
merchandising,
special events,
publicity and
public relations.
Finance & Control Division
This department is responsible for credit,
accounts payable and inventory control.
 The Operation Division
This department is responsible for
maintenance of facilities, stores
and merchandise protection,
personnel, customer services and
receiving and marking of
merchandise.
Apparel Industry
Structure of apparel Industry
Over a period of time, Apparel
Industry experienced dramatic
growth, and new technologies
provided manufacturers with the
ability to respond quickly to
change.
Structure of apparel Industry
The position, responsibilities, and
authority of the apparel
merchandiser evolved as apparel
companies made the transition
from the traditional focus on
production efficiency to more focus
on changing consumer needs.
Structure of apparel Industry
This evolution took place over 40
years and involved five distinct
structural changes in the typical
apparel organization.
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 5
Departments in Garment
Manufacturing Company
 Operations Head

FACTORY MANAGER

HUMAN ACCOUNTS
RESOURCE SAMPLING STORES PRODUCTION MAINTENANCE
DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT
DEPARTMENT
PLANNING
FABRIC CAD
STORE DEPARTMENT

CUTTING
TRIM STORE
INDUSTRIAL
ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT

SEWING

PRE-FINISHING

FINISHING AND
DESPTCH

WRINKLE
FREE
QUALITY
ASSURANCE
Let us Recap before
starting further
 GAP is a ??
If GAP is buying from India for its
US store , Gap is a _______ for Indian
garment manufacturing company.
Li & Fung is???
Triburg is ???
Buying House Introduction
In 1979, when two young technocrats decided
to give a new meaning to Apparel sourcing in
South Asia, they targeted their entrepreneurial
drive at becoming a market leading enterprise.
With their hands-on approach ,a personal
commitment to responsibility, meeting
customer needs proactively and delivering
world-class quality on time, that vision became
a reality. They grew from strength to strength,
picking and training their growing team with
the same basic values. Their motto is the
Mission statement which is epitomized in all
our 3 regional offices (Dubai, Sri Lanka & India),
and our 22 branch & Liaison offices spread over
Asia & the United States.
 Retailers Merchandiser
Planning stocks to be delivered into the
business
Analysis of historic sales patterns & trends
Monitoring & managing delivery of new stock in
DC/retail store
Moving delivered stock around the business
Initial allocations of new stock to stores-qty for
each store
Store replenishment
Organizing repeat buys of best selling items
Transfers & recalls of faulty/non seasonal
stock.
Work with buyers on range planning
Buying House Merchandiser
Could be looking after one account/ one
division of a buyer but many vendors
Product exposure is much more
Depends for all information on vendors
Are responsible for- PD, sampling,
costings, negotiations,delivery schedules,
production planning
Responsible for vendor selection and
development
 Exporters Merchandiser
Co ordinator of all activities at the
manufacturer's end
Could be handling many buyers at a time
Takes care of PD, sampling, costings,
negotiations,delivery schedules,
production planning, fabric and trim
orders, regular follow up.
Work with only one garment
manufacturer
 Exporters Merchandiser
Have to be strong in product
development and costings
Sources of information are limited as
compared to buying house
merchandiser
Is directly responsible for the
merchandise
Buying Cycle &
Order
Management
 Buying Cycles
The fashion industry traditionally splits
the year into 2 main seasons
: spring/summer ( Feb to July ) and
autumn/winter (August to January) .
But , the competitive and constantly
changing fashion business has
introduced a more frequent introduction
of merchandise i.e. introducing a new
range every 3 months.
 Buying Cycle
The buying Cycle refers to the key
events & the processes in which the
fashion buyer is involved in order to buy
a garment range for a retail or a mail
order company.
The length of the buying cycle varies
between company to companyusually
takes a year between reviewing the
current seasons sale and delivering into
stores.