I have been trying to find someone with buying experience who would be willing to be my industry mentor, as part of the live element of this project. For weeks now I have been contacting buyers in the industry, but unfortunately with no success.
However, as luck would have it I have just been given a contact for a buyer who works on the Kate Moss collection at Topshop, and she has agreed to be my mentor!
Although Amy and I haven't been able to meet in person, as we are both tight on time, we have been in correspondence over email. Amy has agreed to give me any feedback and advice on my progress, so I have emailed her copies of my final outcome (my range plan and in store guide) so she can take a look and give me her opinion.
Here are the emails containing the feedback I have received.
Hello Beth,
I am so sorry for the delay.
So I have had a look over your Range Plan and it looks great, I have just a few comments below:
- Think about the weighting of the departments, the category mixes ie how many bottoms you have compared to tops and then compared to dresses
- Is this going to All of the stores or just one store or selected stores? If only 1 store then think about the volumes on each line, if it is going to more than 1 store think about if each store will receive the same package? or will they look slightly different?
- Always think about the margin overall, if some styles are making a much lower margin then you will not be able to place as much volume on them and this could then affect the look of the package.
Does this help?
Pls let me know if you need more feedback?
Ax
Hello Beth,
Hope the feedback so far was useful and relevant!?
I have looked over the in store guide too (don't know why I didn't include this on the initial email!?) - pls see my comments:
- again looks fab - professional, clear, concise. Well throughout and thorough - its good to give stores as much information as possible so they can get excited about new things and also interpret it how you have envisaged it too.
- could the outfit build pages be condensed slightly, maybe 2 on a page as that section feels quite lengthy and you do loose interest.
- again if this is going to more than 1 store and stores are receiving different packages that are more town specific maybe mark on which items are going/not going to the relevant stores?
- other information that is good to include is if/when they will be receiving new options/styles or if this is a one hit thing?
Hope that helps.
Let me know how you get on and if you need more help?
Ax
Amy has been a fantastic help to me and I have found her advice really useful and relevant. However, as I have received this feedback at such a late stage in my project, I will unfortunately not be able to act on all of her advice, as I have already had my magazine printed and delivered due to time constraints.
Although I am definitely going to take her advice on board and consider these issues in any future buying projects and later in my career.
