（播放播放播放...）
“巴黎伦敦纽约到处飞，不用剁手的买买买。”
也许这是很多人眼中无比艳羡的时尚买手工作。
然而，真正的买手，是商人，是设计师，是品牌的营销师，也是时尚品牌中数学最好的人。
不会预测时尚的商人，不是好的时尚买手。
两年前，带着对“时尚买手”这个职业的无限好奇与憧憬，我的硕士毕业论文决定采访10位中国零售/品牌时尚买手，从而系统研究这个职业的工作性质。
后来才发现，这是个坑。
原因有两点：
首先，当时对于一个还在校园里，也并没有真正在“时尚圈”工作过的我来说，connection只能通过身边朋友和搜索引擎来建立。
然而在网上搜“时尚买手”，你会在各大论坛中发现这些神奇的存在：广州十三行买手，淘宝买手，奢侈品买手（代购）。。。
其实这些所谓“买手”，只不过把初级采购换了个高大上的名字。
其次，我找遍了学校图书馆，又跑到大英图书馆，收集到了关于Fashion Buying的学术书籍大概只有20多本。
这是一个连我导师都吃惊的数据。
也许是因为“时尚采购”一词并不久远，也正因为这种“稀缺性”，最后完成论文后，导师说可以发表到英国刊物并向我抛出了博士的橄榄枝。
言归正传，本文基本由两个采访组成，灵感来自于BOF的一篇文章 --
How to Become a Successful Buyer or Merchandiser.
（怎样成为一名成功的买手或采购）
“Buyers look to the future, the merchandiser actually looks to the past to understand buying patterns.”
--Susanne Tide-Frater
买手预测未来，而采购只是依赖过往的采买方式。
-Susanne.
Farfetch的品牌战略总监Susanne Tide-Frater在采访中如是说，她有着超过20年时尚从业经验，并曾在英国Selfridges，Harrods百货和Victoria Beckham 担任创意要职。
（Selfridges, London）
买手一般在公司里属于Buying（采购部）或者Merchandising（商品部）。
进阶过程一般为：
1.Merchandiser Clerk/ Sales Associate(商品文员/销售助理)
2.Buyer Assistant/ Merchandiser Assistant (买手助理/采购助理)
3.Buyer /Merchandiser（买手/采购）
4.Buyer Manager/Merchandising Manager（买手经理）
买手主要做什么？
我们先来看看著名英国买手店Browns描述的买手（配饰部）主要职责：
Ok，说人话。。。
作为一个买手你需要具备：很好的计算能力，分析商品能力，维护关系能力，发掘新品牌能力，了解时尚趋势能力，解决问题能力，利益最大化能力......
“For example, once we had made Selfridges a cool store, we had a very specific way of looking at collections and making sure that only the cool, standout pieces were in the buy.”
简言之，用Susanne的话说：
“如果我们要把Selfridges变成一个很酷的商店，我们必须很仔细的研究产品系列，并且确保我们只买了最酷最出彩的单品。”
怎样区分买手或采购的不同形式？
Susanne指出：
Merchandiser（采购）分为三种形式，第一种，只看以往数据的初级采购。
第二种，指零售买手或品牌买手。不仅分析以往数据，也关注未来时尚趋势。
第三种，我认为是一种很有趣，很少见的存在。他们是会帮助设计团队去构思产品方向，给予很多创意的点子，还会影响品牌做采买决定的人。但他们却不想做买手。比如有一位之前我在Victoria Beckham培训过的来自Stella McCartney的人士。
如何形成对商品好的直觉？
不同公司有着不同的方式--对比高街品牌，好的直觉在有创意性的环境中扮演更重要的角色。
如果一个买手没有很好的直觉，那么他将迎来很困难的时刻。
“Look at your experiences, don’t be too adventurous right away. Be led a little bit more by the numbers to start out.”
“回顾自己的经验，不要太快去冒险。用数字引导自己去开始。”
如果你不仅有好的直觉，也很会数据分析，那么你很快会在公司找到一个适合的职位。
买手在时装周通常会做什么？
去商店买自己喜欢的东西简直是太棒了！--这通常是有钱的顾客们的所作所为。
然而买手们却不同。
“They have what we call in the industry an open to buy. It’s basically the budget for the season which allows them to achieve the turnover that the company needs to increase their sale.”
“他们每一季都有预算，在预算范围内，买手们必须最大化销售额。也就是行业里的Open to Buy。”
当时装周开始，除了高度让人兴奋外，买手们每一天行程都会被排满。 你也许一天会看12到15场秀。 与买手总监，买手助理交换采买意见，与品牌，销售总监洽谈， 在showroom里第一时间看到新系列（更为商业化的系列），这些系列可能和你在秀场上看到的完全不同。因行程极为紧密，采购周期一般为4-5周，买手在此期间扮演最为重要的角色，而每一天又都在无限循环中，可见，买手之压力有多大。
（Reference： BY BOF TEAM，APRIL 16, 2018 ）
Nick Wooster，美国著名精品百货店Neiman Marcus以及Bergdorf Goodman男装时装总监。
Nick Wooster不仅是买手界的元老，其经典隽永、腔调十足的个人着装风格，更让他成为街拍界的大神，四大时装周的明星。
Nick Wooster向来是街拍摄影师们的最爱。
说他是全世界最潮的男人一点不为过。
那么我们再来看看一位也在美国高端百货工作的零售买手怎么说。
How would you describe what you do? 你如何描述你的工作？
At the most basic level the buyer ensures that the correct merchandise is in a store at the correct time with the correct quantities to satisfy the customer. The success of a buyer is quantified by achievement of retail sales and gross margin goals.
买手最基本的职责是，确保店铺中拥有正确的商品，并在正确的时间以正确的数量满足消费者。一个成功的买手必须达到销售额和总毛利率。
How did you get started? 你是怎么开始这份工作的？
As a senior in high school I job shadowed a buyer at the local luxury department store and was very interested in the dynamics of the role. While majoring in retail merchandising (a combination business/fashion degree,) I took a job as a sales associate at a department store and took the role very seriously, working about 35 hours a week. My school required a formal internship junior year and the department store agreed to move me to New York to work in their flagship store for a semester as a store-line management intern. After showing strong performance results I was granted a second internship in the buying office the next summer. This buying office internship, in addition to 6 years of part-time retail experience, opened many doors. Upon college graduation, I was given offers in big-box, specialty and department store buying offices.
在我高中时，我跟随过一位在奢侈品商场工作的买手，并且对买手工作的多样性产生了浓厚的兴趣。而后我选了零售采购专业，先从百货公司的销售开始做起。我非常认真的做着销售，每周工作35小时。后来因为学校要求一个正式的实习工作，百货公司把我调到了纽约旗舰店做管理实习生。因为我的好业绩，第二年暑假我被准许到采购部实习。正是这次实习和6年的兼职零售经验为我打开了很多扇大门。毕业后，我就收到了很多百货商店采购部的offer。
What do you like about what you do? 在工作中，你喜欢哪些方面？
I like almost every aspect of my job but most importantly I like how dynamic it is. While there is certainly an “average” day, most days are filled with a variety of both analytical and creative work. I am regularly challenged to solve a problem that I have not come across before or develop a new business opportunity that I have identified. The ability to travel (to trade shows and visiting stores) keeps me connected to the “results” portion of my job. It is very satisfying to see a project that my team developed come to fruition in a store.
我几乎喜欢我工作中的每一方面，最重要的是我喜欢它的多样性。当然，这期间有很多“枯燥”的日子，大部分时间充满着数据分析和创意的工作。我经常要解决一些我从没遇过的难题或者开发一个新的商机。我也要去店铺考察和看秀，这也是连接我和我“业绩成果”的一种方式。我看到我的团队在店铺里把整个项目完成会感到非常满足。
What do you dislike? 在工作中，你不喜欢哪些方面？
There is a lot of pressure that comes with buying for a large department store. Both internally and externally, there are a lot of relationships to manage and many people with high expectations. My decisions affect thousands of people around the world and can make a vendor’s company thrive or fail. I have an ethical obligation to carefully manage these relationships to ensure both parties benefit.
在为大型百货公司做采购时也伴随着巨大的压力。不论外部还是内部的，因为很多人对你有高期待，你有很多关系要去维护。我的决定影响着这个世界上的数千人，也引导着一个公司的成败。所以我有义务使双方收益。
How much money do you make as a retail fashion buyer? 作为时尚买手，你的年薪如何？
$130,000
How much money do you make starting out? 刚开始时你的薪水如何？
$42,000. The major “raises” in buying are the jumps from assistant buyer (3-4 years) to associate buyer (2 years)
$42,000/年。主要是因为我从买手助理（3-4年）升到了买手（2年）。
What education or skill are needed to do this? 需要什么样的教育背景或能力？
Minimum four year degree in business or retail merchandising is best. Dependent upon varied professional experience it is a role that can be worked into. I know a retail CEO that was a history major!
Required skill set includes strong analytical skills (both quantitative and qualitative,) leadership qualities, excellent relationship building talent and the ability to form and execute a business strategy.
最好是至少4年的商业或零售采购专业。当然，这取决于职位需要的不同程度的专业经验。我认识一个零售业CEO的背景是历史专业！
需要的技能包括：很强的分析能力（数量和品质上），领导力，出色的关系管理和商业战略执行力。
What is most challenging? 你觉得最大的挑战是什么？
“Change is life,” a term especially true in the retail world. The minute you are comfortable in your job and feel like you know what you are doing your company, role, team, location, etc will change! The second challenge of the field is the competitive nature of the industry. A lot of people want your job and are willing to do it for less you make! Finally, you have to enjoy working in a field that is 90percent women. This is a benefit and a drawback. It can be a very dynamic and supportive environment or a very dramatic and catty one.
“生命在于改变”，这个词在零售界极为适用。当你这一秒觉得在工作中已经得心应手，下一秒就将改变！而且行业竞争非常大，很多人想要你的工作，而且会比你愿意付出的更多。最后，你要享受你的工作环境里90%是女人，这同时存在着优劣。它可以是一个多样性且互助的环境也可以拥有多样性也很狡猾。
What advice would you offer someone considering this career? 你会给想当买手的人们什么建议？
Think long and hard before you decide want to do this. I see girls that I mentor that are like “Oh, my god. I so want to be a fashion buyer. It will be so cool.”
You’ve got about five years before you ever touch product, before you ever see product.
To remember that maybe in your first year 70% of the job is analytical and execution. You have to really enjoy business management first and product second and understand that in your career, if you really are truly a good merchant, you should be able to buy widgets, gadgets, and designer clothing exactly the same. You should be as good a buyer buying staple guns for the Home Depot as you are buying Couture.
You really should love to buy nuts and bolts the same way you buy high fashion. You have to be able to understand any sort of product that comes along and learn business models first and learn product second.
认真仔细的想想你到底是否真的想做这行。我听到很多我教过的女孩说：噢我的天！我太想做一个时尚买手了，这太酷了！
在你真正看到和摸到商品前，你大概需要5年时间。
记住，在第一年里，你70%的时间会用在数据分析和执行上。你必须了解，并且真正去享受商业管理，其次才是商品。
如果你真的是一个好买手，你不仅会买设计师服饰，还要会买一个装饰品甚至是小器具。你买一个订书钉的能力要好到像你买高级定制一样。
What’s a common misconception people have about what you do? 人们对这个工作最大的误解是什么？
That it’s very glamorous. Maybe 5 out of 200 major style buyers in my company get to do anything remotely like cool, as far as meeting celebrities, going to fashions shows, unique product offering and whatnot. It happens, and it’s fun when it does, but it is not as often as people think.
那就是它的光鲜亮丽。在我的公司，大概200个人里就只有5个人的工作会被定义为酷，例如见明星，看秀，收到独特的产品等等。是的，这些是有，而且很有趣，但不是人们所想的经常发生。
（Reference: Interview with a Retail buyer, jobshadow.com）
毕竟Nick Wooster这种买手可是万里挑一，所以。。。
当然，也不必被以上条条框框限制了自己那颗热爱时尚的心，毕竟也有很多不是时尚专业出来却很成功的开启了时尚事业的人呢。
梦想那么多，试一下，万一实现了呢？
长按图片，扫描二维码
你可能也喜欢：
异国恋/987万分之一，有属于我的幸福
优雅英式下午茶/伦敦完美的午后时光，我只想在这里打发
Diana Vreeland/她是Anna Wintour的前辈，第一代时尚Devil！
那些年我睡过的“别人家”，特色民宿推荐！
带你逛 伦敦特色复古店（二手奢侈，平价，kilo sale，婚纱）