Apparel Industry Management

Apparel Industry Management 3(3+0)

Lesson 14 :Major Departments in an Apparel Industry

Marketing Department

The marketing department carries out three major functions, which according to the size and organizational structure of the company, may be combined or may be separate entities.

The primary functions of this department are;

1. Marketing
2. Merchandising
3. Sales
4. Other functions

1. Marketing:
   It involves all the activities for direction the flow of goods from producers to consumers. Regardless of the size of the company and its organizational structure, the marketing function deals with the following subjects;
• Marketing calendar
• Product pricing
• Price evaluation
• Bracketing prices
• Product planning
• Customers.
2. Merchandising:
   This is a specific activity, which concerns itself with product development, overall production strategy and the delivery of merchandise to customers. Merchandising not only has to adjust rapidly to market variations, but also has to anticipate these changes.
   Distribution is the second major element of marketing and is involved with the physical movement of merchandise from the factory warehouse to the retailer shops or central stores. Most clothing factories use what are called as direct channel of distribution whereby goods are delivered to the retailers’ premises or sub-distributors without going through a second party such as wholesaler.
   Apart from the physical distribution of goods, merchandising section is responsible for:
• The warehousing of finished goods,
• Allocating customers orders,
• Packing the orders when necessary,
• Deciding on the appropriate methods of transportation,
• Continuous inventory control,
• Ensuring that garments are delivered with a fresh and attractive appearance.
3. Sales:
   The third element of marketing is ‘sales promotion’. This is aimed at motivating retailers and public alike to purchase merchandise product under a specific brand or designer name. Promotion is based on effective communication. The four channels of communication used are:
• Advertising,
• Publicity,
• Personal selling (one –to – one selling),
• Presentations (fashion Shows).
4. The other functions of the marketing department are;
   

   Market Research:
   It is another activity of the marketing department. It deals with gathering, processing and presentation of information, which will serve as basis for future decisions and planning. Some of objectives are to determine:

   • The market potential in a particular area,
   • What share of market might be achieved,
   • Characteristics of given market,
   • The distribution requirements for the market concerned,
   • Whether it is necessary to divide a market into separate territories,
   • The organization and staff required to service the market,
   • The viability of selling through the company’s own staff or through agents.

   Selling:
   The actual selling of company’s products can be achieved through the following channels:

   1. Show room based staff,
   2. Representatives,
   3. Agents.

   Sales Forecasting and Budgeting:
   The sales budget for a season is derived from sales forecast and its preparation is a highly important function of marketing department. The sales forecast provides the basis for all other planning and such must be accurate. Two related forecasts for sales budget are:

   1. Forecasting selling prices of different categories of garments in final collection.
   2. Forecast volume of sales for each category of product.

   The sales forecast is also a key document for the production and operations departments because apart from forecasting the quantity of sales, it also details the anticipated dates for the initial bulk deliveries of merchandise.
   The marketing department plays a decisive role in determining the overall and detailed selling strategy of an apparel industry.