I remember when the executive vice president of Best Buy Retail asked me to teach him about merchandising so that he could better understand the end-to-end picture of a retail marketing organization. An odd request? Hardly. Dozens of people ask me the same question every year. They are the accountants, store managers, advertising associates, and senior leaders. And each of them has recognized that the merchant or buyer is central to any retail organization, and they want some insight into how it works.
The role of the retail merchant/buyer has changed over time, much like the face of retail itself. Think back to the '50s. Department stores (Sears, Wards) and variety (S.S. Kressge, G.C. Murphy, Ben Franklin) dominated the landscape. In the early '60s, the deep discount retailers emerged (Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target). In the '70s, warehouse clubs (Price, Sam's, Costco) came into vogue, and the '80s gave us specialty superstores (Office Depot, Staples, Sports Authority, Best Buy). Megastores followed (Wal-Mart Supercenters, Super Target) in the '90s.
As these formats evolved, so did the role of the merchant. The old school buyer selected vendors and items, placed orders, approved payments, negotiated freight terms . . . basically, they did it all. Over time, inventory specialization relieved the merchant of that chore. The role became more focused. Category management became popular in the late '80s and throughout the '90s, especially in the food and drug channels. Toda
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