Introduction to retail buying: the buyer's role in contemporary buying; central buying for chain organizations; buying for full-line and specialized department store operations; buying for catalogues, home buying networks and Internet services; resident buying offices and other outside information sources. Fundamentals of effective buying: what to buy; how much to buy; from whom and when to buy; purchasing off-price; a trip to the market. The global nature of buying: the global marketplace; evaluating and buying from foreign markets; developing import programmes; negotiating the purchase and writing the order. Additional buyer responsibilities: merchandise pricing; the development of private label programmes; the buyer's role in planning advertising, visual merchandizing and other promotional activities.
