Retail Buying in the United Kingdom

Retail buying in the United Kingdom has undergone considerable change in the last 20 years. Faced with a lack of satisfactory published material concerning what retail buyers actually do, the author carried out a survey of buyers in multiple food and apparel retailers. This paper discusses the main changes to have taken place in retail buying in recent years, describes what buyers do, their interface with other functional departments in the business, the characteristics needed by successful buyers, and how buyers are appraised. Finally, it is concluded that the perceived status of buyers does not always reflect their impact on the marketing activity and success of their companies.