Glossary of Terms in

Merchandising
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Accessories

A range of products that are designed to accompany items of clothing to

complete an overall look. Usually intended to be decorative. Common
examples include ties, belts, bags, scarves, hats and jewellery.

Base fabric

All fabric, woven and knitted, needs to be approved for quality before it is
used in garment construction. Fashion buyers give approval at two
different stages referred to as ‘base’ and ‘bulk’ fabric approval. Base
fabric is approved for stability and suitability for end used before the
fabric is committed for further development.
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Bulk fabric

Refers to the completed fabric that is used in the make-up of garments.

The fabric is dyed to a specific colour, will often contain printed designs

and possess certain ‘finishes’ which provide it with specific benefits. As

such, the approval tests are more focused on colour fastness and the

specific benefits provided by the finishing process – e.g. wrinkle free

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Bar Codes (bar coding)

 Bar codes or bar coding is a unique way to give each fashion product
an individual identity that can be read by laser scanner at the point
of sale.
 This ensures that the retailer is then aware of what line/size/color of
garment has been sold.
 They are found on most consumer products.
 On fashion products they are printed onto a cardboard swing tag
attached to the garment.
 They are internationally recognizable and have been developed to
ensure that retailers are able to monitor sales quickly and control
their stock levels accurately
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Buyer

The job of a fashion buyer varies according to the nature and size of a
business. A boutique buyer will often also be its owner and will buy
branded or designer-label stock to sell to customers. A buyer for a fashion
retail brand will be involved in a more complex buying process involving
design, sourcing and production.

Buying Ethics

A self-imposed code that ensures that fashion buying is carried out in a

decent, moral and honorable manner. It covers such issues as buying
bribes, environmental issues and poorly paid or child workers. Many
fashion retailers will give buyers clear written guidelines on these issues.
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Buying Team

The team of individuals that is responsible for planning and buying a

specific range of merchandise within a fashion company. Usually it
consists of a buyer and merchandiser, together with their individual
support staff. Normally a buying team is product- or garment-specific,
although sometimes a team may be responsible for a range for products.

Category

Sometimes called a ‘product group’, it is used to group together garments

or similar lines into one group. It ensures that a fashion retailer is able to
quickly see how one type of group of lines is performing as whole. It
helps in the monitoring of sales performance and overall stock control.
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CIF – Carriage, Insurance and Freight

The term refers to the agreement on the delivery of foreign goods that is
included within the cost price. The cost price paid by the buyer includes
transport of merchandise by vessel to a country specified by the buyer. It
is up to the seller to arrange insurance and delivery of the merchandise
within the price they agree.
CMT
‘Cut, Make and Trim’. Generally used in the production of more complex
or tailored garments, where a clothing manufacturer receives fabric
owned by the retailer or another party to make up into a finished
garment. The price paid for the process is only for the cutting, making up
and provision of items used to trim the garment.
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Color Way
A colour option of a product style
COO – Country of Origin
Most products have the country in which they were manufactured
recorded on a label attached to the garment. This is not however a legal
requirement in the United Kingdom and most European countries.
Cost price
The price paid for a product before a mark-up is added to achieve a
selling price. Generally the cost price of a fashion product bought for
resale by a retailer includes all tickets, hangers, protective covers and
packaging. Transport to the retailer will be included according to different
cost terms.
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Couture
Derived from the French word for ‘dressmaking’, it generally refers to
extremely individual and unique hand-made garments made in the
studios and workrooms of international haute couture designers.
Delivery schedule
A timetable scheduling deliveries of products from suppliers. The
deliveries into the business occur every week and are updated
accordingly, providing a record of outstanding stock.
Department store
Large-space retailer, usually with several floors selling a wide variety of
goods including clothing and household goods in dedicated areas or
departments. Originally a French invention, they are found in most
developed countries and normally deliver high levels of customer service.
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Designer
A person who is involved in a creative process turning customer needs
into value outcomes. Outcomes may range widely according to the
specific role of the designer, but could include manufactured products,
corporate logos or packaging.
Distribution centre (DC)
A facility which redistributes products to retail outlets having received
them as deliveries from suppliers.
Factory outlet
A distribution channel located at manufacturing facilities and used by
brands to sell off end-of-line products. The products are usually sold at a
significant discount to normally distributed retail goods.
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Fashion
Traditionally defined as the current style of dressing or appearance that is
adopted by the majority of people. Although more commonly expressed
through clothing, hairstyles and other aspects of individuals’ appearance,
fashion is increasingly concerned with other ‘visible’ aspects of peoples’
life-styles. Home interiors, gardens, plants, cars, mobile telephones and
club memberships are all influenced by fashion trends.
Fashionability
An industry term to refer to the way in which a particular season’s fashion
is expressed in products. In garments, the fashion trends may be
reflected through the manipulation of silhouette, fabric, colour, print,
patterns and trimmings.
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Fashion merchandising
In buying and merchandising terms it refers to the analytical stock control
and distribution role accompanying buying in fashion retailing. Other
definitions can refer to the presentation of stock in stores.
Fit
Refers to the suitability of the shape and size of a garment to a person.
Principally concerned with comfort and appearance, although the latter
can be very influenced by styling trends.
Fit model
A model, usually a size 12 in women's wear, who tries on fit samples in
order that garment technologists and buyers can make appropriate
adjustments to prototype garments as part of the quality control process.
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Fit sample
A prototype of the garment style booked for production. Accurate in
fabric and to the design specification dimensions of the garment, fit
samples are not accurate for colour, print, pattern and trimmings. Any
adjustments made are communicated to the supplier who sends an
amended version, which is sealed once considered to be satisfactory.
FOB – Free on Board
This is a cost-price term which does not include complete delivery to the
buyer in the cost price. The cost price includes delivery onto a vessel at a
port in the country of manufacture. Subsequent insurance and
transportation of the merchandise from the port to the final destination is
the buyer’s responsibility. Many fashion retailers prefer to buy FOB as
they can control the cost and lead-times associated with shipping to their
country.
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Forecast
A view of where the business will be in the future based on the best
known historic and current information. It can be applied to subjective
issues such as fashion trends, but is more usually applied to the forward
view of likely sales or stock levels. Forecasting is a regular merchandising
task that helps to ensure that the business has the right balance and level
of stock delivered in readiness for anticipated sales.
Forward buying
Relates to the process of buying ahead to meet anticipated future sales
and stock levels. The degree to which a buyer forward buys depends very
much upon the length of the manufacturing process from conception to
delivery.
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Hanging stock
Most garments delivered to a fashion business arrive from the
manufacturer on hangers. This enables them to be immediately put out
on the sales floor. This eases handling when delivering into the DC and
then on to the shop. It has the advantage of reducing garment creasing
prevalent with boxed deliveries.
High street
An industry term to refer to the middle-market fashion retail sector
typically represented in main urban shopping areas. Traditionally the
centre of a town was referred to as the ‘high street’ and this was the
location for the major retailers.
Information jockey
An American term increasingly being used to describe that person
responsible for the dissemination of all types of information throughout
the company.
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Inventory
A detailed list of stock or goods held. Inventory is sometimes used
instead of the word ‘stock’.
Jobber
An individual who buys faulty stock at a greatly reduced price for resale.
Stock which is ‘jobbed off’ by fashion retailers generally falls into two
categories: that stock which is rejected owing to quality control faults and
that which is returned by customers to the stores. The stock can be sold
in the domestic country or internationally, but will have identifying labels,
tickets and hangers removed.
Lab-dip
A piece of fabric dyed to a particular colour specification and submitted to
buyers for bulk fabric approval.
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Lead-time
The period of time from design conception to delivery into retail stores.
The definition of a lead-time may vary according to the particular stage in
the supply chain which is being considered. For example, some buyers
may refer to a manufacturing to store delivery lead-time, while another
may refer to the shipping lead-time.
Mark-down/Mark-up
Indicates a price movement either downwards or upwards. Prices are
reduced to make slow-welling merchandise sell more quickly, while price
increases tend to reduce the rate of sale. Fashion businesses alter prices
regularly to ensure that stock sells out at the planned rate. Fashion
businesses keep an on-going record of all mark-downs/make-ups taken
throughout the course of the season/year. It is normally expressed as a
percentage.
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Sample
Usually a prototype of a product or key product component such as fabric
or trim, which is submitted for approval by the buying team. Also a
finished product which is used in promoting the range.
Sealing sample
A sample which has been approved by the buying team. It will be used as
a standard reference to compare that future deliveries have achieved the
required standard.
Silhouette
The outline shape of a garment.
Trade show
A generic term to refer to a meeting place for buyers and sellers, usually
manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.
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Visual merchandising
The creative display of goods in-store and in windows. Historically, the
term was specifically associated with window display. Atmospherics and
visual marketing using sound and interactive technology have increased
the overall sophistication of visual merchandising.

Wholesaler
An individual or business that buys merchandise in bulk for resale to
smaller retailers. Usually these are smaller retailers who are able to
benefit from the economies of scale enjoyed by the wholesaler. It is
becoming less used as a result of the increasing dominance of larger
fashion chains.