Certificate of Professional Fashion Buying

• The role of a fashion buyer
• How to select clothes people want to wear
• Understanding the target market and demographic specifics of a store’s customers
• Determining your niche market + client avatar
• Determining your stores unique selling proposition

• Retail buying and predicting fashion trends
• How  and where to conduct trend forecasting
• Colour trend forecasting- how to select the right colours for each season
• How to compile a  trend inspiration / mood board
• Top trend forecasting websites- both free and paid

• The fashion retail industry
• The role of a fashion store or boutique
• Stock control
• The process of getting stock to the retail store
• Retail differentiation

• Buyers principles and terms
• Stock allocation , pack breaks and core sellers
• The product mix / range plan
• Product categories

The Retail industry is very competitive, so it is essential that good retail mathematics are used to predict and plan for profit and to measure financial performance of stock.

In this tutorial we cover the retail formulas that a good Fashion Buyer should know. Although there are computer programs that will automatically calculate these formulas for a buyer, it is essential that a fashion buyer understands the formulas. 

• The five key elements of fashion buying
• The difference between ‘Merchandising’ and ‘Buying’
• Creating a buying or merchandising plan

• How to select stock for a retail store or boutique
• Where to source brands to stock in your retail store
• How to contact / approach a brand to enquire about becoming a stockist

• What happens in a range showing
• Important components to prepare before attending a range showing
• The buying calender

As a Fashion Buyer you will be ordering stock on a weekly and monthly basis. Its very exciting ordering new styles, hunting down the latest collections and hottest product! When you have sourced the merchandise that you will be buying for your store, you will have to place an order. So, you will need to be familiar with purchase orders and trading terms!

In this tutorial we will show you what a ‘Purchase Order’ looks like, and give you a template to use. We will also cover the key trading terms that a fashion buyer must be aware of before making an order.

In this tutorial we will cover the marketing strategies to help increase sales in your store.  After a fashion buyer has bought stock, they are also responsible for achieving sales of that stock. For this reason, a background in marketing is of advantage to help get maximum exposure and sell thru on products. This tutorial will cover key marketing strategies to help promote sales for the store / online boutique.

• Working with  instagram fashion bloggers and influencers

• How to use Instagram to promote your store/ boutique /brand and drive sales
• The difference between inspirational  instagram accounts and blogger/ fashion influencer accounts
• Hot tips for sponsoring posts on fashion  instagram accounts

• Blogger outreach programs

• How to set up an optimised business Instagram account
• How to create popular Instagram posts that users want to follow
• Working with ambassadors
• How to boost engagement +  strengthen customer relationships
• Contests and giveaways
• Instagram stories
• Planning apps

How to Effectively and Quickly Drive Traffic and Generate Online Sales From Facebook for Your Store or Boutique.

Facebook is one of ‘ the’ most effective ways to capture the audience of your target market, and drive sales of your online store, physical store or boutique, or your own fashion line. In this tutorial we will cover the ins and outs of using facebook advertising and sponsored ads to drive traffic and sales.

In this tutorial we will cover how to market  products for your store using Pinterest to:

• Increase brand awareness
• increase web traffic to your fashion business website
• Increase enquiries for your product
• Increase sales of your products

As a fashion buyer, you are responsible for not only selecting the stock that a store will have on display available to a customer,  but you are also responsible for that stock selling.

So, ‘promotions’ and sales tactics are important to help you get the ‘sell thru’  on  the stock you have bought, and help you achieve sales targets.

Quite often a fashion buyer will be present in a weekly sales meeting with top managers of the business. Categories and styles not selling will be bought to attention. So what do you do when sales are down?

In this tutorial we are going to cover the top strategies for increasing sales- and sell thru on products.

• How to register a business name
• What company structure is best for you
• How to register your website domain name and set up web hosting

• Estimating Start Up Costs For Your Fashion Business
• Managing cash flow 
• Estimating how much money you need to start
• Helpful tips  on how to be resourceful and get the most out of your budget.

• 4 Keys to Success in Launching Your  Very Own Online Fashion Store 
• Successful Online Store Layouts
• Selecting a platform for your online store
• Working with website developers
• Low Cost ways of setting up your own professional website

• The Complete Guide to Setting Up Your Store with ‘WordPress  + Woo Commerce…’
• In this tutorial we have an extensive video tutorial teaching you how to set up your online store using Word Press, and we include the best online fashion store templates  that you can buy for less then $100.  The video tutorial includes the basic functions of setting up and running your online store, including how to add products, change banners and accept payments.

• The Complete Guide to Setting Up Your Store with ‘Shopify’
• In this tutorial we have an extensive video tutorial teaching you how to set up your online store using Shopify.  The video tutorial includes the basic functions of setting up and running your online store, including how to add products, change banners and accept payments.