Our main focus at the minute is to ensure that all Spring / Summer orders have been delivered on time and are selling through OK. We then monitor and assess each styles performance and move forward from here. Easter through to early Summer is one of the most crucial times for branded footwear as people prepare to go on holiday and are looking for the latest styles. We see a large peak in sales, across all stores with additional hot spots in areas like Knotty Ash in Liverpool during this period.
We work very closely with our brands to build good working relationships and we are currently completing our buying for Autumn/Winter 2011, which is known in the trade as Quarter 4. All the major brands we stock update their ranges every three months, hence the four quarters of the year. Products we place now will be available in stores and online to purchase from October this year. We have now completed orders for the key brands such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reebok and also men’s brands such as Timberland, Hush Puppies and Kickers.
One of our best selling styles – Adidas Samba Super Suede.
The challenge is to know what will work this far in Advance and the key to this is studying our best selling styles and trends for the future, while sticking to budget.
Also the key is to remain competitive in a price sensitive market. Realistically, people are having to make savings but they still want to look good and wear the latest styles so we have to work extra hard when buying brands so that we can continue to offer the best value we can.
To boost performance we run regular TV campaigns and have just updated our website. One other key area of the job is the communication between the buying department and merchandising department to ensure everything is displayed and presented in the correct way. We are always looking at new areas of growth such as the outdoor area with branded waterproof boots. To explore this area further we have set up a trial within our Rochdale store to give branded walking footwear its own designated area. This has proven a big success and is something to watch out for in the future.
Working so far ahead with placing orders and monitoring what is happening in the stores right now certainly has the effect of making time fly by. Before we know it we will be chasing all the suppliers’ for an update on our back to school orders to ensure everything is running to time, as this will be our next major trading period for the brands within Wynsors! Oh well, soon be Christmas.
