3. Planning Non- Staple Stock Flashcards
Planning non-staple stock (from fashion retailing)
Ordering new merchandise requires:
Pre-set order quantities and automatic reorders are not possible with non-staple goods.
Judgement and being in tune with customer tastes and industry developments.
Conservative ordering and continuous checking of sales pat- terns are important.
The selection and management of merchandise are very important.
It is important to group similar merchandise together to determine which products sell best and which generate the most sales.
This is concrete evidence of which products the customers are buying. Everyday stock control is important.
Classifying Merchandise
Within a product line, a product item is distinguishable by its brand, style, size, colour, material, price or any combination of these factors.
It is important for retailers to remember that not all customers can be satisfied. There is also a difference between not keeping a product in stock and running out of stock. You cannot keep everything in stock and running out of stock is also not advised.
Planning non-staple stock: The different life cycles are further explained in Cant (2010:79).
*The product life cycle will influence the kind of merchandise a retailer keeps. Retailers must know if the product is a fad, a fashion, a staple product or a seasonal product.
Fashion Product
Fashion merchandise is related with those products that based on features of fashion are forecasted for that year. It can be colour, ascents, accessories, style, length etc. These products have high demand but have a short lifecycle.
Fad Product
Fad merchandise is related with those products that based on the latest trend actor, movie, event e.g. merchandise marketed based of the movie Krissh. The selling for these goods is high but short lived.
Staple Product
Staple merchandising is related with those basic products that are always in demand. Various staple merchandising products are socks, handkerchiefs, white shirts, black trousers etc.
Seasonal Product
Seasonal merchandise is related with those products that sell only in a particular timeframe. Various seasonal merchandising products are sweaters in winter, gumboots in rainy season etc.
