Many apparel and retail companies offer new styles nearly every month. The number of increased offerings creates an almost continuous styling mode in most design departments. In 98 percent of the companies surveyed (in Appendix), the merchandiser is responsible for coordinating design activities. Merchandising must provide rigorous controls of the product development process to ensure that balanced groupings of styles are ready for each offering. Interviews with retailing executives indicated that product managers coordinated the designing activities for private label apparel.
At the same time, companies are also trying to compress the product development time-line to allow fabric and styling decisions to be made as close to product releases as possible. This allows the product line to be totally responsive to the needs and wants of the target consumer, thereby improving retail sell-through and reducing the risk of markdowns. Careful control of the product development process is vital to the success of an apparel company and retail private label.
The product development process includes many interrelated functions that affect one another. A poor decision or a delay in fabric selection, creating a prototype, developing patterns, or preliminary costing could eventually require redefining the line plan or development of new style concepts. The merchandiser must keep a tight rein on the entire process if a company is to have the most effective styles ready for line release. The merchandising calendar is used to establish time schedules and accountability for each function of product development. The merchandiser must monitor the calendar to see that each function is completed on time or must make adjustments for any missed deadlines.
Participants