Fashion Merchandising in Modern Business is a term that has become the industry’s latest catchall for all things that fall under the realm of fashion and the accessories that go with them. This includes design, development, marketing, and advertising. This is a perfect career for those that enjoy crafting and designing and are good at reading a lot and having great taste in clothing and accessories. In order to break into the field, it is recommended that a student major in a related field (like marketing, for example) before going into the fashion industry. The degree programs are also very similar, though they are usually more specialized and teach different skills. The same holds true for online college degree programs; there are lots of general studies courses in Fashion Merchandising that give students the skills they need for getting into the industry.
Before getting into fashion merchandising, the student should learn about basic accounting, including cost of goods sold and turnover. There are numerous different kinds of accounts that are related to modern business fmm and one of the most important chapters for a future merchandiser is Accounting Essentials. This chapter will teach the student how to manage financial statements, or simply put, accounting information. Auditing is also a crucial part of modern business; this chapter teaches students how to do this. There are numerous ways that auditing can be used in the course of fashion merchandising, and this chapter explores just a few of them.
Once the student has learned the basics, they can move on to the more advanced topics of fashion photo editing, merchandising and design. These chapters include Design Concepts for Retail Merchandising, Trends in Fashion Merchandising, Trends in Design, and Trends in Women’s Apparel. All of these chapters deal with design in different ways, as Fashion is an ever-changing field. The topics covered in each essay will have a direct bearing on what kind of retail outlet a student hopes to open.
In chapter 4, students will learn the concepts of inventory, cost of good sold, and marketing. There are two versions of this chapter, a simplified version and a traditional accountancy text. The simplified accountancy text is designed to allow students to copy the information without too much trouble, while the traditional accountancy version incorporates the mathematical terms into the text. As the name would suggest, the simplified version uses a spreadsheet program to record figures; the traditional accountancy text version will require the student to input figures through the use of a spreadsheet program.
The next chapter, Fencing in Fashion Merchandising, introduces students to the various kinds of fencing that are available. The main topic of this chapter is Cost of Good Sold. This chapter deals with the analysis of various historical events that led up to changes in the pricing of fashion goods. It also looks at the different types of fencing, their prices, and their effects on the economy. The retailing industry will benefit from the changes made in the cost of good sold, as this means lower costs for the retailers to buy products at wholesale prices, thereby allowing them to sell at a higher price than they were previously doing.
The following chapter, The Fundamental Principles of Fashion Merchandising, introduces students to the essential principles of modern retailing. Some of the topics covered include wholesaling and retailing, the differences between the two, the differentiation between selling and buying, the role of brands and logos in retailing, and the importance of advertising. Some important concepts introduced in this chapter include the principles of economies of scale in retailing, the contribution of marketing to sales, the nature of brand name, and the way in which customers locate businesses. It will also introduce students to the concepts and tools used by retailers to improve their sales performance.
The following chapter, Fashion Merchandising in the context of Innovation, discusses some of the ways in which fashion is affected by new ideas. The fifth edition of this textbook introduces the concepts used in the context of innovation, with an emphasis on issues of intellectual property. This chapter discusses the ways in which new ideas can affect retailers in terms of pricing, promotions, sales, and the nature of brands. A useful section focuses on examining the impact of new technological developments on retailing and wholesaling.
The final chapter, Trends in Retail Merchandising, examines some of the most popular styles in fashion, and their effect on retailing. It reviews some of the major retailers, brands, and items as they evolved over the past two decades. The author rightly points out that trends in merchandising need to be evaluated in light of changing consumer preferences. I agree that the subject matter of this latest edition of Fashion Merchandising in Modern Business is quite advanced and it will be great help to students if they opt to read this chapter and then review the issues they raise in their own papers for their thesis or dissertations.
