What do merchandisers need to succeed? : Development of an apparel merchandising competency framework

Abstract

Based on the analysis of extant research, this study identified the knowledge and skills that merchandising professionals need to succeed in the retail industry. These knowledge and skills were systematically analysed and categorised into in several constructs, categories, and types to create a comprehensive classification. Based on this classification system, an apparel merchandising competency (AMC) framework was proposed. The AMC framework is an important contribution to the body of literature and has significant practical and theoretical implications. Both retailers and educators can use the AMC framework as it is specific to apparel merchandising and exemplifies the relevant knowledge and skills required by apparel merchandisers in the retail industry. This can be useful for developing curricula, guiding corporate training of new employees and interns, thereby, assisting retailers in increasing their competitiveness within the industry by installing the necessary knowledge and skills into their workforce.