Project Management Training: A Fashion That Never Goes Out of Style

Running a retail clothing store is a common small business aspiration, either as a franchise for a national chain, or serving a local clientele, purchasing clothing for resale. Regardless of what you're selling, attending a project management training and taking a project management-type of perspective is worth looking into.

Project management is, ultimately, the art of forecasting and preparing for the future. While project management won't tell you what the latest styles out of Paris or Milan will be, or, even, what the latest fad in the teenaged set will be, it can give you a good set of perspectives for spotting trends.

First, in the fashion industry, everything is seasonal, from intimates to outerwear to shoes, everything has a season. Second, in fashion aimed at women, most purchases are spot-and-want, or impulse buys. (Selling fashion to men is somewhat simpler, if less lucrative, as men value function over form, and men buy considerably fewer clothes on an annual basis than women do, wearing them until they get worn out before replacing them.)

So, first, target the demographic that patronizes your store. It is almost universally and overwhelmingly female for a general fashion outlet, and you very likely cater to a specific age demographic. Are there events coming up in the next few months that will require upscale dressing? This can be as straightforward as prom, or as indirect as a job fair. (Proms require prom dresses; job fairs usually require some sort of business attire for candidates who are going through it.) If you're stationed near a military base, look for when units are rotating home. Women with friends/boyfriends/spouses in the military like to dress up for the arrival day.

Second, look for trend lines in what to buy. While tank tops don't sell in the middle of December, there are other subtler trends as well - listen to what people in your target demographic are talking about, and start stocking it in small amounts to see how it moves. If you've spotted a trend early, don't be afraid to jump on it while it's hot.

Third, look for generational trends. Everything old is new again - if you want to have a better than 50/50 chance of guessing what will be hot next year, look for what was hot 25 years ago - old high school year books are excellent for this and can be found in the local library, or even at the local high school!

Finally, as a project management technique, track your inventory - look at what items sold well last year, and what items you had to sell off at discount to clear rack space. While seasonal discounts are part of the industry, to the point where many consumers can predict when they're going to occur, and write the estimated dates for clearance sales on their calendars, you can minimize the problems by working from past sales records before buying your new inventory for the season.

All in all, properly managing your business - taking a project management type of approach, will help support you through all the seasons of the fashion industry, and help remove some of the stress as well!

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