Merchandising is a versatile career as the industry is developing to be multidisciplinary and moving towards globalization.

Josephine Kea, Deputy Chair of The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply – Hong Kong Branch (CIPS), says, “Merchandisers have to be multi-skilled nowadays because we are talking about global sourcing and supply chain now.”

All-round Professionals
What are the qualities required? A broad network to source products and services, up-to-date product knowledge, problem-solving skills, sound judgment, to name but a few.

Kea says, “To be a successful merchandiser, one should have the “learn to learn” ability, and they have to learn fast.”

Nowadays, merchandisers are not mere buyers. They have a lot to handle in the whole supply chain. For example, when they source products or services from China or overseas suppliers, they need to learn the culture of these suppliers. They need to have an analytical mind to choose the right supplier. They have to be familiarized with the procurement flow and import/export procedures. Throughout the procurement process, they need to negotiate with different parties. Hence, soft skills such as negotiation and presentation skills, and analytical power are important. Kea points out that maintaining an ethical standard is the most important as the work of merchandisers involves money and they would face lots of temptation.

Though it seems employers look for personal qualities rather than academic qualifications of job seekers, some large corporations prefer to hire university graduates and provide training programmes to them. Kea foresees that more employers would hire people with higher academic qualifications.

According to Kea, the market demand for merchandisers is very high. “Many companies find it hard to look for suitable staff. Merchandisers have to be hardworking, willing to travel, smart, proactive, sensible, competent in languages, and be able to work under pressure.”

Advice to Fresh Graduates
She advises job seekers especially fresh graduates to show in job interviews a positive working attitude and a willingness to pursue new endeavours. “For fresh graduates, they may not have working experience, but they can share their internship experience with interviewers.”

To help fresh graduates prepare for a career in merchandising, the CIPS coordinates with large corporations in providing internships and organizing career talks for students. The CIPS also provides support to students and young merchandisers in enhancing their professional knowledge.

Bright Prospects
To advance in the industry, it depends very much on the ability of individuals. New entrants usually work as assistant merchandisers, and if they can demonstrate their ability, they can be promoted to merchandisers after one year. To go to supervisory positions, it usually takes three to five years. Further five to ten years will be required for one to be promoted to a manager. Kea reveals that merchandising managers need to travel even much more than junior staff, but they will be responsible for non-operational work such as managing partnerships and QA programmes.

In the coming future, development of the industry is expected to be promising. “There has always been a need for merchandisers and we believe that graduates are able to find jobs on the market,” Kea says.