RETAIL STORE secret of the organisation of a big store is never quite realised by the outside public until they know the actual position and duties of the buyer. The word itself is not very illumi nating, and one is apt to regard the buyer as a man whose duties consist of seeing trade representatives and purchasing the stock dealt in by his firm. As a matter of fact, in the economy of store management the buyer plays a much more significant part.
The actual manao.emcnt of a store is usually carried on by either the proprietor himself or a managing director, who interprets the policy of a board, and next in importance to him in store organisation conies the buyer. It would be a far more illuminating title to call him a departmental head, because this is practically what he is in fact. It is impossible for the manager of a big store to supervise the detail work of any department, and he depends for the efficiency of his operations on the services of experts who control the various branches of the business. Tile book-keeping of tihe store which runs many departments is usually founded on the principle that each department is a separate undertaking. For an accurate idea of this method the reader is referred to an article by Mr. John Lawrie, of William Whiteley's, Limited, on STORE MANAGEMENT, which appears in this Encyclopedia.
Next in importance to the store manager conies the buyer, and he is really the head of his department. His duties are frequently the problems of a small store-keeper. In the policy of administration he is credited with an amount which represents virtually the capital of his department. His department, for instance, may be carried on, on a credit of ,L):2000, and that limits the amount he may outlay on the conduct of his section of the business. He is expected, according to the nature of his department, to turn this amount over so nanny times a year at a varying profit, which is largely determined by the goods in which he deals, and of course he is expected to maintain his profits each year and to show tangible progress. Practically so long as he does this, his conduct of the department is rarely questioned by the manager.
Within the limits set him by the policy of a house, the buyer of a department is a free agent. lie is practically in the position of the pro prietor of a business operating on a certain amount of capital, and within the limits of his capital he ha=: the sole right; to determine the policy to be pursued in his department. He buys what he thinks will sell ; he sells at the price which his experience shows him is necessary to secure the right profits, and he supervises practically all arrangements made for the selling of the goods. He is in charge not only of the buying, but of the handling
of the stock, and his duty is to supervise the department in every detail associated with salesmanship.
Most big store managers reserve to themselves the right of making appointments. Appointments would rarely be made without consultation with the buyer, and seldom ended unless by direct complaint on his part. The store manager who makes appointments does not supervise the work done by any given member of his staff, and the control of the departmental hands must always rest upon the buyer in charge. He is also r-sponsible for the methods pursued by his department — the window-dressing, the methods employed by salesmen, and the discipline of the staff; and if he did not administer the actual advertising policy so far as it related to his department, the central advertising department would not act without ample consultation and a full understanding of his needs.
Roughly speaking, he is the store-keeper within the store; for the modern store is nothing less than a collection of many businesses, and thr buyer in each department is practically the head of a subsidiary business. In the store itself buying is a position of great responsibility, and authorities on store management agree that a house largely depends on its choice of buyers. Every store which appoints the wrong buyer is weakened in that department, and a satisfactory solution is not made until the manager interferes and remedies the cause of the weakness—the buyer who sets the policy. It is naturally to the interest of the store manager to have efficient men in all departments; because directly he is satisfied that he has the right man, the burden of detail management is removed from his shoulders. In the retail trade, positions of buyers arc coveted because they represent the highest positions in store organisation' short of actual control,' and the modern store manager of to-day nearly always comes from the ranks of the buyers.
The earning capacity of a buyer in a large business depends largely on circumstances—that is to say, on the importance of his department, the amount of its turnover, and the margin of its profit. The buyer in an average department would have no difficulty in securing an appointment worth .£300 a year, while there are some departments in which the heads draw salaries of from £500 to „VINO a year. Qualifications are a complete knowledge of the trade, which is only to be gained by starting as a youth at the beginning, and going through every side of the business, from apprentice to head salesman, and by serving in various types of businesses, from the small country store to the large city shop.