The divisional merchandise manager might be able to differentiate between the businesses that are going ahead and those that are going behind. In some cases they must take open-to-buy dollars away from one buyer to give to another buyer, that's part of their role. Also, they must be able to step back far enough from the business to allow the buyer to make the actual decision on the commodity purchased. The divisional couldn't have cared less whether the dress was green or blue or purple or in any one of these styles, as long as it fit the description of the departmental mission. Some divisionals want to make those decisions for their buyers, and that's the most difficult step as far as management is concerned.
The divisional merchandise managers really have to have an overview of the company, they need to deal in specifics. Most divisionals are responsible for more than one division, and if they have a men's department that's trending down, they may have another men's department that's trending up, so money would have to be taken from one buyer to give to another buyer. If they've got two going ahead and they've got no money to take from anybody, then the divisional has got to go to the general merchandise manager to replenish the stock on the needed items.
Question - How much time do you spend on your job?
Answer - My wife would probably tell you eighty hours. It probably works out to fifty-five or sixty. Sometimes I work ten- or twelve-hour days, sometimes I work eight-hour days, and I work on Saturday. It's all according to what's going on at the time.
Thirty-five hours on the average. I would say that for a new buyer it's higher than that, but since I've been a buyer for a number of years, I have learned to maximize my effective use of time.
I would say usually between forty-five and fifty hours a week. That varies. Most of my time is spent when we're beginning a major season, fall or spring, Whenever we're going through that transition, we spend a lot of time. The week after major market weeks, once we've been to New York and come back, I usually end up having very long weeks.
Question - How do you spend your time?
Answer - One thing that I really like about retailing is that I never have two days the same. I can't even describe a typical day, where I'm going to have a cup of coffee at 8:30, I'm going to review sales at 9:00, I'm going to go to an advertising meeting at 10:00. I just never know. There are certain meetings scheduled each week at the same time. For instance, every other Tuesday at 2:00 I have an advertising meeting. I had a lot of meetings scheduled this morning, one was at a branch store, so I drove out there. Yesterday we were taking inventory. Right now I'm reviewing orders that are going to come in here in a month to see if I need to change any quantities. I'm going through that right now, because it's the twenty-fifth, and the orders will be coming in here on the first of the month, so I need about a week out to make sure the goods are flowing properly. I'm going to be writing some debits today, because we just got through with inventory and found a couple of damaged pieces that need to be repaired.
I would say that I spend 30 percent of my day in analysis and planning, and another 30 percent in direct contact with my buyers. Perhaps 10 percent is in communication with my boss, the general merchandise manager, and an additional 10 percent communicating with our vendors. The balance of my day is spent communicating with the sales supporting functions of the store-advertising, control, branch stores, or my counterparts throughout the country.
It depends on what day it is. Four times a week we get computer runs that tell us what is selling. I would say that on those four days, initially I am* looking at those reports, finding out what's selling and what's not selling. If something isn't selling, I spend my time getting in touch with the branches to find out where they've got it and why one branch is selling more than another. I spend time actually writing orders and making purchase decisions. When I have trainees, I also try to spend a part of every day teaching them something.
Question - What is your relationship with the support groups and sales management?
Answer - The department managers report to the store manager. It's a touchy situation. As a buyer, I can't call them and say I want them to do such and such. I can suggest that it might help their branches, but the store manager is the boss and. the one who signs their review.
All buyers want their merchandise in the prime spot, and that's not always physically possible. You learn that you have to work within the confines of what the other buyers expect. You can be demanding to a certain point, but you also have to take into consideration that the group manager is caught in the middle of all this.
Question - What are the key skills necessary to be a buyer?
Answer - In descending order, the key skills are communication, organization, discipline and control, and, lastly, aggressiveness. Communication is essential. Inability to communicate is disastrous in this job.
I think you have to communicate very effectively. You have to know how to get people to do exactly what you want, without alienating them. You're put in the position to negotiate some things that are very positive and some that are very negative. You have to maintain your rapport with people, even though you ask them to do something they don't want to do. That's crucial.
You almost have to like the pressure, because it is so great that if you don't like it, then it will eat you alive.
Smart trainees won't let the buyer take a manufacturer into the office and close the door. They'll walk right in and say, "I'd like to sit in on this and listen to how you negotiate." Then after the assistant has been there a while, the buyer will probably say, "We've got a manufacturer coming in today. I want you to listen and tell me whether we should buy it or not, give me all the reasons-the pros and the cons- where it fits into our assortment, everything." Aggressiveness is a key ingredient for a successful buyer.
