Overview
Course summary
An often underrated element of the buying and merchandising process is the management of stock from DC to stores – allocation and replenishment.
The best designed and bought ranges will always miss sales and profit potential if the stock isn’t sent out to stores in the most appropriate way. That means trading stock to the right place in the right quantities at the right time – failure to do this well leads to overstocks, markdowns and unnecessary profit loss.
All stores are different in terms of demographic and location therefore products have a myriad of features including price, colour, fabric and seasonality. The challenge of targeting stock appropriately to these variances and attributes is a fascinating and rewarding area of fashion retailing.
Too often, businesses assume that this can all be done by a system but human intervention in the process is to truly achieve potential.
It is fundamentally a course about managing stock volumes but commercially linking them to the key store and product profiles that drive sales growth. No matter if you have 2 or 200 stores, the same principles apply.
Who is this course for?
This course is suitable for:
- Those beginning their career in fashion via study or creating a startup brand and want to understand more about this key aspect of fashion retailing.
- People running their own fashion business with 2 or more stores or wanting to expand their A 7 R knowledge whilst working for medium-sized/ larger retailers.
Discounts and offers
Groups
If you are booking as a group or institution, please contact us before you book as you may be able to benefit from our 15% group or corporate discounts.
Returning short course delegates
We offer a 10% discount to returning short course delegates. If you’re not booking your first short course or professional qualification with us and this discount is not applied to your course at checkout, please contact us.
UoW undergraduate/postgraduate students, alumni and colleagues
We also offer a 20% discount to our undergraduate and postgraduate students, alumni, and colleagues. To receive your discount code, please contact us before booking your course.
Course structure
Allocation and replenishment:
- What is it?
- The distribution centre
- Store grading pace, demographics and localisation
- Key factors of allocation strategy
- Stock targets
- Initial allocation
- The role of replenishment
Teaching and assessment
You will learn through a mix of short tutor-led presentations and group discussions. This is a non-assessed course, with progress measured through participation and peer feedback.
Entry requirements
No formal entry requirements. A keen interest and appreciation of the importance of stock management in profitability is key.
Tutor information
Tony is a retail expert with 35 years’ experience in buying and merchandising — this course draws on real-world successes from roles such as Head of Merchandising and Product Director at George Clothing and Per Una, and a decade of retail consultancy.
Tony’s proven methods have delivered significant sales and profit growth for fashion and lifestyle retailers of all sizes. He has also lectured in Fashion Business at the University of Westminster for the past five years.
Accreditation
You'll receive a digital certificate from the University once you have successfully completed the course.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Understand the role of allocation and replenishment and its relationship to profit
- Appreciate the role of the DC and its link to the B&M process
- Construct a store grading matrix based on key parameters
- Adopt allocation strategies according to product types, attributes and seasonal factors
- Set stock targets and link to the order construction
- Understand the role of replenishment in delivering profitability
Benefits for your organisation include:
- Gain practical skills to manage stock volumes more strategically
- Align inventory decisions with key store and product performance drivers
- Link stock management directly to sales growth opportunities
- Apply proven principles across businesses of any size — from 2 to 200 stores
- Reduce waste and excess inventory through smarter forecasting
- Improve stock availability and responsiveness to demand
- Boost overall profitability through data-driven decision-making
Booking information
Thank you for your interest in this new course. Bookings will open soon - fill in our enquiry form to be the first to know when bookings open. If you have questions about the course in the meantime, please contact us via the details at the bottom of this page.
