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M
E R C H A N D I S
I N G
"Everyone
has a say in what we sell – merchants, store management, marketing
– even finance. It works because we all know we’re working for
the same boss – the customer."
— JIM METSCHER - EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF MERCHANDISING
OFFICER
GETTING
THE MERCHANDISING RIGHT is
practically an obsession at Talbots. Like everything else we do, it
starts by understanding our customer. That’s why our store
associates provide weekly territory reports that track what our
customer is buying and – even more important – what she’s
looking for.
Meanwhile,
our designers and buyers work to evolve our product assortment and
bring fresh perspectives to classic styles. Sometimes it’s as
subtle as a new silhouette. Other times it’s a splash of bold
color or a new fabric texture. When they feel they’ve struck the
proper balance of classic and stylish, it’s off to our Executive
Merchandising Committee meeting. There, senior members of our
Merchandising, Stores, Catalog and Marketing groups work to ensure
each item is right for our customer – and her changing lifestyle.
Just to be sure, we test as much as 10% of our assortment to gauge
customer reaction before full-scale commitment.
This
focus on merchandising is complemented by an equally obsessive
approach to inventory management. We work to keep the product line
lean, but productive with more sizes and colors for key items, and
we reserve open-to-buy dollars for greater flexibility. We
constantly work to shrink lead times for reorders and identifying
popular items, so our suppliers can stockpile fabric and match
production to demand data.
For
our customer, it means always being able to find exactly what she’s
looking for – whether she’s replacing a wardrobe staple or
trying out something new and exciting. For Talbots, it means being
able to increase sales while reducing inventory, and to reduce the
need for markdowns and special promotions. We were able to increase
our full-price sales from 60% in 1997 to 70% last year.
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