The document defines a contemporary curriculum for fashion buying and merchandising. It discusses the core components and four themes that make up the curriculum: Consumer and Product, Product Development and Operations, Marketing and Digital, and Supply Chain Management and Distribution. It also highlights two key challenges addressed throughout - the customer journey and sustainability. A contemporary curriculum must prepare students for constant change in the industry by covering disruptive new technologies, innovations, trends in online shopping and retail space usage, and the need for high distribution efficiency and online marketing skills. The core of the curriculum is informed by contemporary issues, and case studies and input from professionals are emphasized to promote independent learning.

1. Define a
contemporary
curriculum for
fashion buying
and
merchandising
A mini presentation
Kenneth Wilkinson
The Core
The Contemporary
Four Themes
Two Challenges

2. The buyer’s roles
Sources of buying
inspiration
The garment technologist’s
role
The merchandiser’s role
Marketing, branding, and
promotion
Design, supply, and
product development
The retail calendar
Retail formats, channels,
and visual merchandising
Sourcing, importing, and
supply chain
management
Suppliers, sourcing, and
communication/
negotiation
Inventory and logistics
management
Trends and developments
in supply, buying, and
merchandising
The Core

3. The Contemporary
Adapting to market change
The global market/new
markets
Analytics/big data
(forecasting)
Digital marketing and social
media
Ethics and transparency
New distribution and
production technologies
CSR, sustainability, and
green impact on supply
Marketing today prioritizes
customer feedback
Supply models and
designers have to respond
to pressure for very cheap,
very fast fashion
(e.g. the Primark model)
Digital capabilities are
increasing demand for
responsiveness and
change: couriers, PayPal,
Amazon Prime (click and
collect) – the decline of
wholesalers, the rise of new
distribution channels

4. Consumer and
Product
Who wants what and how
do they want it?
Product
Development and
Operations
How can designs address
demand and be efficiently
and greenly made and
delivered?
Marketing and
Digital
How can customers be
reached and what can we
know about them?
Supply Chain
Management and
Distribution
Which methods offer the
greatest efficiencies?
Four Themes

5. The Customer
Journey
Phone-to-drone
Sustainability
Products and processes
Two Challenges
Sustainability in…
 Supply chain designs
 Materials and design
decisions
 Preproduction
operations
 Production operations
 Retail and recovery/
reusability
 Transport
 Facility management

6. A contemporary curriculum
would cover disruptive
developments: new
technologies, model-
stretching innovations, the
growth of online shopping,
the emergence of concept
stores.
Education for a world
where change is the only
constant.
The changing expectations
of customers must be
central, since these have
serious supply chain and
product development
implications.
The use of retail space is
changing too – so visual
merchandising is likely to
evolve.
Together, these demands
will require very high levels
of distribution efficiency and
online marketing capability
– these skills are likely to
become prerequisites for
survival so need to be
incorporated in any relevant
curriculum.

8. CustomerJourney
Sustainability
The how, not just the what,
of teaching:
case studies, information
from professionals (both
inside and outside fashion),
trade fair visits, emphasize
resourcefulness and
independent learning
The core is entirely informed by the contemporary
The curriculum has a core comprised of four themes
Two challenges are addressed throughout: the customer journey and
sustainability
The point of common intersection is the customer

9. CustomerJourney
Sustainability
Thank you for listening
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