• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.41-54
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• 1999

The purposes of the study were to investigate the job content of fashion merchandisers. The study examined the differences in the job content according to the types of merchandisers and their demographic characteristics. A questionnaire was developed by the authors and distributed to 150 fashion merchandisers, and 130 questionnaires were used for the study. The questions were revised through the pilot study and interviews with fashion merchandisers. The results of the study were as follows: Planning merchandise was the most important job to the planning merchandisers, purchasing merchandise to the buying merchandisers, planning sales and sales promotion to sales merchandiers. All three types of merchandisers were involved very much in the information analysis work. This study, on the basis of the above results, was expected to contribute to make the fashion merchandisers and students who want to be fashion merchandisers recognize their job content more clearly.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.67-81
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• 1999

Fashion designers and fashion merchandisers are the experts who play critical roles in the apparel industry. But their job turnover rate is quite high compared with other industries and/or other positions. The purpose of the study was to investigate the level and the major causes of job stress, and the causes of the high rate of job turnover of fashion merchandisers and fashion designers. The study also compared differences between the levels of job stress, job results and job turnover rate which perceived by fashion designers and fashion merchandisers. The results of the study were as follows: 1. The designers felt more role conflict than merchandisers during job and feel more job stress about career development and their income. 2. The designers feel their job achievement more positively than merchandisers. 3. The designers have their turnover intentions more frequently than merchandisers. This study, on the basis of the above conclusion, is expected to contribute to make fashion merchandisers and fashion designers recognize the importance of managing their job stress and their supervisor obtain the directions for the efficient management of personnel by offering them better working environment.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.91-101
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• 2004

This research classified fashion merchandisers into different categories depending on the type of companies they worked for and inquired into their line of work. In so doing, the authors attempted to outline the work for merchandise mix performed by each type of merchandiser and provide some raw data, which can be utilized to enhance their work efficiency. The evaluation tool used for this study was the questionnaire made on the basis of preceding studies, literature, and trade journals, which was then modified through one on one interviews with fashion merchandisers. The questionnaire contained 15 questions about merchandise mix. For data analysis, SPSS Package Program was used to conduct frequency analysis, ANOVA, and Tukey's test. The findings are as follows 1. National brand merchandisers spent most time on merchandise planning, then department store buyers, followed by imported brand merchandisers, and lastly buying office merchandisers. 2. In merchandise planning, National brand merchandisers did more work overall compared to other merchandisers. In production planning, buying office merchandisers spent more time than any others on searching for new suppliers and decision-making. 3. Production planning took up a greater portion of their work for National brand merchandisers and buying office merchandisers compared to department store buyers and imported brand merchandisers. 4. Imported brand merchandisers spent more time on purchase planning and actual purchase compared to any others.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.15 no.3 s.39
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• pp.251-262
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• 1991

The roles of fashion merchandisers (merchandise managers) in women's apparel industry and their perceptions of the job requirements as a fashion merchandiser were investigated to understand present fashion merchandising activities in the industry and suggest desirable roles of fashion merchandiser for further development of the industry. The research questionnaires were administered to fashion merchandisers working in the ten national brand women's apparel firms. The results of the study were as follows . 1. Annual sales volumes of most surveyed firms were more than five billions won and eight out of ten surveyed firms have fashion merchandisers in their firms. 2. Fashion merchandisers worked at a specific brand merchandising division sales and operations division or merchandise planning division. A fashion merchandiser generally supervised one brand. 3. Fashion merchandiser's work experience ranged from four to fifteen years showing a great deal of experience in the apparel industry. Their majors at university were mostly business and few majored in clothing and textiles, or textiles. 4. In general, the role of fashion merchandiser was a management specialist who was responsible for identifying target markets analyzing fashion trends, planning of the merchandise development budget planning, manufacturing planning, selling, advertising and sales promotion and distributing the merchandise. At some firms fashion merchandi-sers were not responsible for advertising, display, and receiving the orders. 5. Surveyed fashion merchandisers perceived the desirable fashion merchandiser's role as a management specialist conducting overall business activities in the areas of merchandise planning, manufacturing, selling and distribution. They also mentioned the following personal characteristics such as vision leadership, and persuasion as desirable characteri-stics for those who aspire to a career in fashion merchandising. 6. Surveyed fashion merchandisers emphasized relevant and realistic experiences in fashion merchandising education. Several ways were suggested to help the educator keep in touch with business and bring reality to students. They are . field work, bringing professionals into the classroom to speak to the students, emphasizing clothing and textiles education including merchandising area, and establishing a Department of Fashion Merchandising.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.34-45
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• 2008

This research was designed to find decision factors through color assortment planning process by Korean women's clothing merchandisers and to look for if there exists difference with American women's clothing merchandisers. A merchandise assortment is a collection of various quantities of styles, colors, sizes, and prices of related merchandise, usually grouped under one classification within a department. The subjects were 20 women's clothing merchandisers who work for clothing retail stores from 5 to 22 years in US and Korea. The authoring process was done for qualitative data analysis. The decision factors of color assortment planning were identified with four stages; information search, qualitative evaluation, quantitative evaluation, and selection. There were differences of color assortment decision factors due to different business types, business sizes, fashion-ability, sourcing ways, and merchandise turnover. Noticeable color assortment decision factor differences caused by country difference were not found except considering the target market ethnicity and skin color in US market. Korea merchandisers seem to be more sensitive to present sales data usages and spot order availability in color assortments because of more local production use than American merchandisers.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.43 no.3 s.205
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• pp.75-89
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the mentoring function and its levels as perceived by the fashion merchandisers and designers in the fashion industry who are playing major roles in providing organizational socialization for mentees. A survey questionnaire was developed and conducted among 200 fashion merchandisers and designers in Seoul. For data analysis, the SPSS 10.0 program was employed and frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, recurrence analysis, T-test, and ANOVA were used to test the research questions. The results were as follows: (1) Although the overall level of the mentoring function recognized by the fashion merchandisers and designers in the study appeared to be high, there were no significant differences by their demographic attributes. (2) The level of the mentoring function acknowledged by the respondents demonstrated substantial differences according to their perception by the personal attributes and the degree of openness. (3) The level of the mentoring function and organizational socialization perceived by the respondents had a significant correlation. As the level of perceived mentoring function of the respondents increased, it appeared that the degree of their job satisfaction and organizational commitment increased. On the other hand, their role ambiguity and turnover intention decreased.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.137-157
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• 2008

Fashion merchandiser profession is a highly information-intensive job. In fact, a merchandiser is to acquire a variety of information mainly from external environment and to analyze it in order to come to an informed decision. Despite a significant amount of past studies on environment scanning, their main concern was of managerial work. And, some fashion design studies have only touched the issue of information source in a descriptive tone. Here, we attempt to analyze empirically fashion merchandisers' environmental scanning activities. Our results can be stated as follows : 1) Though the quality of information source has a positive relationship with its use, the accessibility does not. 2) There is no significant difference between the use of relational source and the use of non-relational source. 3) Internet is being used more at the initial stage(opening) of information seeking than at the orientation and consolidation stage.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.995-1003
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• 2000

This study examined the role of apparel merchandisers’in Korea. Data were collected by interviewing 7 apparel merchandisers who had worked for major apparel manufacturers. The interviews were analyzed by use of chronologically sequenced events. Korean apparel merchandisers take part in planning and production of the merchandise, sales management, and promotion. Merchandisers’activities related to merchandise planning were as follows: analysis of fashion trend and market, concept evolvement, planning of assortment and volume assortment, time table set up, color pallette decision, fabrication, line adoption, pricing, line preview, production planning, and placing order of materials. Merchandisers’activities related to apparel production were planning and controlling production and consolidation. In sales, merchandisers analyze retail sales and control inventory by reorder or conducting markdown sale. In relation to promotion, apparel merchandisers monitor merchandise advertisement, and educate salesman.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.1103-1114
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• 2000

The purpose of the study was to investigate the level and the major causes of job stress, and the causes of the high level of job turnover rate of fashion merchandisers and fashion designers. The study also examined the correlations among the major causes of job stress, job results and job turnover rate. A part of the questionnaire consisted of questions on major causes of job stress, job result, and intention and trial to leave a job. The subjects were to rate on 5 point Likert-type scales. The other part included the questions on demographic and individual characteristics of the subjects and their company characteristics. For the survey, the subjects were 99 fashion merchandisers and 128 fashion designers who are employed by mens or womens wear manufacturers. The SAS PC+ package was used to calculate frequency, Cronbach $\alpha$, multiple regressions. The results of the study were as follows: 1. The high degree of the job results were resulted from the high degree of specialties in their job characteristics, high contentment in human relations, career development and income, and low role conflict. 2. Stronger intentions and more trials to leave their job were correlated to better task performance in the workplace, lower commitment to their job, and lower job satisfaction. 3. Higher level of job stress caused by interpersonal relationship in the organization and contentment in career development and income affected stronger intentions and more trials to leave their job.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.36 no.11
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• pp.141-156
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• 1998

The purpose of this study was to investigate current QR technology usages and merchandisers' roles and information activities in the Korean apparel industry. Data were collected by interview and questionnaire with merchandisers in apparel companies, manufacturing apparels for both men and women. Statistical analyses were t-test, ANOVA, frequency with SAS program. The results of the study were as follows: 1. The usage of QR technology was generally low. But POS, bar-coding, logistics and small lot order were highly used compared to other technologies. CAD, automated sewing operation, unit product system, logistics, and small lot order were more used in domestic national brand than in import license brand. POS applications were more used in product planning division than in others. 2. Merchandisers played important roles in making major decisions on cost price, sales price, manufacturing request, delivery data, production quantity, produce mix, budget planning, market timing and delivery channels. Products planning was conducted mostly on a monthly basis. Price was determined mainly according to cost price, while the production quantity depended on the last year's sales. Usually sales were analyzed on a daily basis. 3. Merchandisers got more information on fashion them and color trend from foreign information sources than from domestic, while more information on fabrication from domestic sources. For fashion design information they used the equal amount from domestic and foreign sources. Over all degree of utilization in each field of fashion information was fugured rather high.