Fashion merchandising is a booming career choice for people who love to spend time in shopping fashionable clothing. In retail business, fashion merchandisers contribute a lot in deciding the products as well as their pricing. It is all about impressing the customers with creative skills and displaying the items in a pleasing way. In fact, behind the unique display of garments and accessories in a successfully running boutique, you will find a fashion merchandising expert.
The field of fashion merchandising is very diverse. Based on individual preferences, one can focus on fashion clothing, jewelry, accessories, or all of them. With experience, the job responsibility of a fashion merchandiser also changes. For example, a visual merchandiser gets promoted to buyer assistant and then, to senior merchandiser. Accordingly, the merchandising salary range varies. Taken at a glance, the average salary package in the related industry is highly competitive.
Job Description
Working as a fashion merchandiser is interesting, but challenging as well. Deciding what the clients want is a prime job of the merchandiser. One has to remain up-to-date with the latest fashion trends and the demand in the glamor industry. He or she should have a good knowledge about fabrics, textiles, clothing history, shoes, and other appearance related items such as jewelry and sunglasses. And to be an expert in the field of fashion merchandising, understanding fashion vogue along with business management is mandatory. Believe me, the job opportunities are great for experienced candidates.
As per the hiring organization, the job profile of a fashion merchandiser may include negotiating and buying fashionable apparel from other sources, arranging them in a proper way, keeping stocks, advertising, and marketing the items indirectly. In order to start with, working in retail stores and boutiques as a salesperson is a good idea. Another alternative for fast achievement is getting a degree in the related field. With the increased interest in fashion merchandising as a career, lots of institutes that offer courses in the same have sprang up in the last few decades.
Salary
As mentioned already, the salary range of a fashion merchandising expert may vary, based on the position and assigned responsibilities in the company. Like any other job profile, there are certain aspects that are taken into consideration for determining a fashion merchandiser's salary. Factors like geographical location, size of the company, personal experience, and achievements matter a lot in this profession. In general, senior merchandise buyers earn the highest in the industry. After gaining practical experience, a fashion merchandiser can also take classes in private institutes and fashion design schools.
The average salary falls somewhere around USD 47,000. Speaking in accordance to the job profiles, a visual merchandiser with at least three years experience can earn from USD 32,880 - 52,785; while a buyer assistant's salary with two years experience ranges from USD 37,310 - 46,036. After being promoted to a senior merchandise buyer assistant, the salary package reaches about USD 47,378. Coming to a merchandise buyer's annual salary, the highest earning potential for candidates up to 4 years experience is USD 91,800. Of these, the senior merchandise buyer is a respectable post with a salary scale of about USD 91,000 - 116,750. Some organizations do give bonus and provide medical benefits to their employees.
If you are very passionate about fashion and style, a career in fashion merchandising is perfect for you. First enroll yourself in one of the best schools in your area and obtain a Bachelor's degree in it. To catch up with the latest fashion and style, you can attend fashion shows and major events. As you see, salary is largely based on your personal skills, experience, and how well are you justified with your profile. With experience and personal credentials, you can surely demand for a higher income. On the concluding note, talented candidates with good entrepreneur skills have good career prospects in the fashion merchandising field.
