Course curriculum

  • 1
    Welcome
    • Welcome
    • If you'd like to, download or print the slides now
  • 2
    Chapter One – Introduction
    • Lesson 1 – Welcome
    • Lesson 2 – Buying in the retail context
  • 3
    Chapter Two – Buying Strategies
    • Download the Annual Buying Cycle Example table
    • Lesson 3 – The Annual Buying Cycle
    • Create an annual buying plan
    • Lesson 4 – Creating a Product Selection Strategy
    • Download the Line by Line Analysis table
    • Lesson 5 – Past and current performance
    • Lesson 6 – Competition
    • Lesson 7 – SWOT and review
    • Here's how that product strategy could look in practice
    • Perform a SWOT Analysis of your product offer
  • 4
    Chapter Three – Ranges, Categories and Budgets
    • Lesson 8 – Planning the range
    • Download a Range Plan example
    • Lesson 9 – Ranges and categories
    • Create a range plan
    • Lesson 10 – Sales and stock budgets
    • Lesson 11 – Lines and categories
    • Download the Ranges and Categories table
    • Lesson 12 – Categories
  • 5
    Chapter Four – Selecting Products and Working with Suppliers
    • Lesson 13 – Selection criteria
    • Additional reading on price elasticity
    • Lesson 14 – Suppliers
    • Lesson 15 – Managing suppliers I
    • Lesson 16 – Managing suppliers II
    • Lesson 17 – Supplier terms
  • 6
    Chapter Five – Bespoke vs Bought In
    • Lesson 18 – Bespoke or bought in
    • Lesson 19 – Bespoke merchandise
    • Finding suppliers of Bespoke merchandise
    • Lesson 20 – Bespoke product development and implementation
  • 7
    Chapter Six – Pricing, Ordering and Launch
    • Lesson 21 – Pricing and margin
    • Take the target margins quiz
    • Lesson 22 – Launch and recap
    • Lesson 23 – Orders
    • Lesson 24 – Ordering at trade shows
  • 8
    Chapter Seven – Evaluation
    • Lesson 25 – Evaluation
    • Try out the Boston Consulting Group Matrix - can you place your shop products on the grid?
    • Lesson 26 – Total performance and wrap up
  • 9
    Testing your learning, and thank you
    • Test your learning
    • You have now finished the Buying Essentials course
    • Course review
    • More reading and learning