One of the toughest parts of our jobs is deciding what to buy! You really have to put your personal preferences aside and put yourself in your customers shoes. What would be exciting to them? We have a lot of different customers and different tastes, so all together it can be pretty tough to make sure we get it right all the time while keeping everyone happy!
We spend several days in the market at a time looking at product. Often times, based on what we see in market, what we are hearing from our vendors, and what our sales are telling us drives us to what we buy. But it is not cut and dry. In the area I buy, there are a total of eight of us buying so we also have to keep each other in the loop on what we are seeing and make sure we are creating a good diverse mix for our customers, that most importantly delivers the right fashion at the right price and the right brand. Sometimes we make very quick decisions as that item is just right in every way. Other times we might be looking at an item that seems to be out there in every vendor showroom, and that is when we have to work with our buying team to decided which is the best quality, fashion and price to deliver our stores and ultimately you!
We also buy for the entire country, so we have to remember all of the pocket opportunities that exist out there. While we may look at a garment that is not a bread and butter item, there may be a region of the country where there couldn't be a better product for stores.
Always lots to think about and never a dull moment!