Fashion Marketing and Management

This course is an introduction to marketing and merchandising concepts in fashion retail, with an emphasis on the apparel and accessories. Topics include: the meaning of the ‘brand’ in today consumer market, how to forecast trends, the product supply chain, the vertical business model and outsourcing, visual merchandising, publicity and advertising, different forms of in store and non-store retail, consumer behavior and profiles, information systems, store location and design and assessing the quality/cost equation of products. On site visits to fashion retailers in the Chicago area. Final programming objective will be a Fashion Show held by the students with their own designs or local designers in the community.