Philippine Fashion

Just got home from another busy Philippine Fashion Week, I find this year's event level up to new breakthroughs in the Philippine Fashion and designs.  Old and new designers emerged with more and more creative works than ever before.

Compared to New York, Paris and Milan Fashion weeks, definitely theres a long way to go but with consistency and innovation, I am certain the Filipino designers can be at par with international creative fashion.

As a retail merchandising manager myself, I place top quality in the works of my vendors and here in this event, I can see many potential future suppliers that can make big names and bucks in the store racks.  Though in my many years, I rarely see these fashion designers take the opportunity to enter the mainstream retail since most of them being creative as they are wants to preserve their independence and would want to focus mainly on their couture works.

Even if the big bucks remain in having their works become part of the mainstream retail for the mass consumers, they tend to cocoon and thrive in mainly targeting custom-made clientele.  For me one would be their limited understanding of how big the potential of their works becoming part of a bigger platform rather than producing one dress at a time.  Secondly, most of these young and old designers have very limited resources to expand their works to enter mainstream retailers, they must be backed by financial backers inorder for them to take the bigger stage of massively producing for the bigger consumers of retailers.

Lastly, I supposed there have been perception that when these fashion designers mass produced for major retailers, they have to take the loss of non-saleability of their clothesline if their merchandise perform dismally in a given fashion season.  For me this can be a two-edge sword.  For one, merchandise are saleable if truly they can come up with designs that hits through the core of what the consumer needs, secondly, its not right to say, retailers have this heartless way of returning unsold goods after a period of time since these can be negotiated with other means to compensate a win-win for both retailers and fashion designers.

I wish to one day see the works of these very hard-working and creative designers be in most retail racks and that there will be a collaborative work in enhancing each of their potentials of improving the retail landscape. 

Merchandising & Stock Replenishment

Merchandising and stocking are essential tasks in virtually any retail business. Effective merchandising techniques prevent a haphazard arrangement of goods that can hinder sales, while efficient stocking procedures ensure the merchandise is always available for customer purchase. While the merchandising and stocking functions are closely related, there are also some key differences between the two.

Merchandising Identification

Merchandising is a retail marketing process entailing the visual displaying of goods as well as product selection. Merchandising involves determining the proper product mix for the store, the shelf position of each item and creating and building attractive displays and signage. Merchandising also includes the creation of special promotions and pricing. When done effectively, merchandising serves as a type of "silent salesperson," as it draws customers to merchandise and displays, often leading to purchases.

Stocking Identification

Stocking is the process of filling the store's shelves and displays with merchandise for sale, commonly referred to as "stock." Stocking can also refer to the process of replenishing and storing goods in the store's backroom or warehouse. Store employees known as stock clerks are responsible for keeping the shelves full in their particular departments and reordering merchandise when supplies run low. In larger retail establishments, stock replenishment occurs with the aid of an automated inventory management system.

Relationship

Store management's merchandising policies and practices largely determine the stocking needs of a retail establishment. For example, in a clothing store, if management decides to run a sale on a new line of summer fashions along with creating a special display, store personnel will likely need to order extra merchandise and ensure the display remains fully stocked during the promotional period. If grocery store management decides to carry a new product, stockers need to place the item in the appropriate shelf location.

Job Duties

From an employment perspective, stocking duties are more physical in nature while the merchandising role requires more analytical and creative abilities. Stockers spend much of their time transporting and lifting merchandise while in the process of filling shelves and building displays. The merchandising role requires the analysis of sales data and trends, such as when determining what items to carry or to put on sale. Creative ability is helpful for thinking of innovative and profitable ways to display products.