Karishmma Gohil is a youngster who took up fashion merchandising as a career. "Merchandisers can work for an export house or a fashion house. As I work for a fashion house, my job entails buying outfits and merchandise from the designers and stocking them for our clients, the buyers," explains Gohil. Always interested in fashion, Gohil pursued a diploma in fashion designing from SNDT College and joined Aza Fashion Private Limited, a well-known fashion house. It's been two years and Gohil, who joined as a junior merchandiser is today a fashion merchandiser and buyer. "You need to know what sells best in the store, and stock up in advance according to your client's requirements. For this, it is important to know the client's likes and dislikes," says this 23-year-old. Catering to clients that include socialites and page-3 people, Gohil buys outfits from designers during fashion weeks and from individual designer's collections. 



There are also requirements for daily-wear clothes, and for this keeping a track of fashion trends around the world is necessary to collect clothes which are more commercially viable. People in this profession cannot afford to be laid-back. Fashion merchandisers must have knowledge of fashion trends, textures, materials and colours on the one hand and understanding of market demand and the production processes on the other. At the same time, it is also important to have analytical ability and communication skills. "Although it is a job with regular hours, youngsters who want to take it up must be prepared to work hard during events and keep themselves updated," Gohil advises. 



With the increasing number of fashion houses in India, fashion merchandising holds great scope as a career. For beginners, the salaries can be around Rs. 10,000-Rs 15,000 a month, which can go up to Rs. 60,000 and even beyond, depending on the brand. Today, there are specialised courses in this field.

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