Buying a Summer Collection

It is always an exciting time of year when I embark on buying a new Season Collection.  After discussing with the teams in each of shops and listening to feedback along with analysing sales I plan my schedule of  appointments.

Womenswear Buying is obviously a creative experience but it is also steeped with the backdrop of a harsh retail reality.  The main priority is to buy a collection that is going to be received positively and is something our customers love and want to buy into.  

Appointments are made - starting from the beginning of July.  Representatives of the brands will contact me with their selling dates ie the timeframe they will be in the showroom with their Spring Summer Collection.  I obviously try to fit as many appointments as I can into a day.  Travelling to London is an expensive and time consuming exercise so it's important to schedule the appointments carefully.

Most showrooms are located in and around the West End of London - but I go all over London from Fulham and Hammersmith to Islington across to Liverpool Street and down to the Elephant and Castle.  

We travel by tube and walking !!! No taxis for us !!  Most days I will clock up 20,000 steps travelling from one appointment to another.

You never know quite to expect when you walk into a Showroom - I am sometimes sent a Lookbook to give me an idea of the Collection but more often than not I am presented with the Collection when I arrive.

I am very instinctive with my Buying - Agents are there to offer advise and information regarding the collection but I will know if it is right or not for us pretty much immediately.  I can just feel if it is the right thing for our customer.  If I have to think too much about something I know it's not for us!  It's very much the same feeling when you go shopping for an outfit really - you just know!

Some collections are enormous - it's a case of picking out those things that I think will work - that will make sense as a cohesive selection and will fit in our shops with the rest of the pieces I buy.

I think about the cost, wearability, quality, fabrication and colour.  But the main thing buzzing around by head the whole time is - "Will she like it?" I'm not buying for me - I am buying for our prospective customers in all three of our shops.

I pick the items I like and put on a separate rail.  Different Buyers will buy a Collection for their own shop/customer.  It's imperative that it fits our "brand"

I will choose items that I know our ladies will love - but will then always push it a little bit - offering things that are that bit different and special.  Sometimes I will choose something solely  to go in the window!  Something to capture the attention and bring a customer into the shop.  

I have my lap top with me and, together with the Agent, I will make my selection.  Basically noting down all the details of the products - price, colour variations, etc ... As we have three shops I always go away and work on these orders quietly.  Calculating  what sizes are required is always the most difficult part of the process and something that is virtually impossible to get right if I am honest.

My goal is to create a balanced collection that offers variety but still stays cohesive.  There is nothing worse than walking into a shop and facing a jumble of brands and styles.   We work hard to ensure the clothing works well with the accessories and gifts on offer too.

For Summer my objective is to make sure our Customers have everything they need - whether that be a smart dress for an event, a fun T shirt to take on holiday - a linen shirt to pop on when super hot or a layering piece when cooler.

I have no idea what the weather will be like for the following season!  This is a huge issue and can have a massive impact on our sales.  Bearing in mind that the collection is bought from July to September with delivery in the February the following year!  It's a huge guessing game.

I have a wonderful network of Agents that I deal with.  Over the years I have built a relationship with the brands I work with.  If we have issues with deliveries, quality, missed items it makes life so much easier to have a friendly voice at the end of the phone to help resolve things.

Every season I will keep and eye out for new brands - I am often contacted with a view to seeing the collection.  As mentioned, I will know as soon as I see it if it is right or not.  However, there have been times when I have seen something and decided to just give it a go on a small scale to try out and glean the reaction from the customer.  Agents are often more than happy to do this.  Nothing is worse than being pressured into buying something that I do not feel is right.  

I need to feel comfortable that the pieces are just perfect for us.  Making mistakes can be costly.

Talking of making mistakes - this does happen!!  Things that we saw in the Showroom can look and feel completely different when they arrive in store some months later!  Again, like a shopper - you can see something that you think will definitely work but when you try on does not have quite the same appeal.

Agents will give me deadline for when they need to have my orders in.  For the brands Roxtons  buy - items are made to order.  They need to go into production and so there is a time restraint on when orders need to be received by.  It takes many hours for me to finalise all my orders - staying within budget and allocating to each of the shops.

Generally speaking, all the brands I buy can go into each of the shops with the odd exception.  I try to allocate them evenly but will sometimes allocate those items I think will work best in that particular location.

For Summer - I will ensure we have a range of dresses, skirts, lightweight knits, cashmere, tops and blouses plus scarves, footwear and some outerwear.  Quite a shopping list! My colleague, Jane, will source assorted accessories and jewellery to finalise the offering in store.  

In a nutshell that is my role when it comes to the actual Buying.  The rest of my time is spent analysing sales - ensuring the stock is in the right place.  Moving stock around to maximise sales.  Keeping an eye out for things that aren't selling and ensuring any issues are dealt with promptly.

If we have product images, we do our best to ensure as many as possible are put on our website.

The role is one I enjoy enormously - every new season is a challenge and an opportunity for me to see my vision come to life once in store and seeing customers wearing it.  I love nothing more than spotting someone wearing and enjoying an item I have chosen.