Retail: The Art and Science

FOREWORD

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Daniel Moe is a Vice President of Merchandising for Consumer Electronics at Best Buy, the nation's largest retailer of electronics. While at Best Buy, Dan has led the company's Marketing transformation to standardized operation process, served as Vice President of BestBuy.com, and held responsibility for the management of numerous product categories including audio, wireless, and mobile electronics. Mr. Moe is a 25-year veteran of Retail with extensive experience in the office products channel; deep discount drug, grocery, and specialty retail. Throughout his career he has managed a variety of product categories and been instrumental in the development of system and processes to enhance sales and profitability.