Apparel Merchandising Job and Interview Questions with Answers

Apparel Merchandising Job and Interview Questions with Answers 

Noor Ahmed Raaz
Specialized in Apparel Manufacturing
Owner and Editor in chief Textile Merchandising
Asst. Prof., Department of Textile Engineering
Atish Dipankar University of Science & Technology
Email: mnnabi@adust.edu.bd

Apparel Merchandising:

Apparel merchandising is a very challenging profession in the textile industry. Especially the textile sector of Asian reason is extremely wide day by day. Therefore, an apparel merchandiser should have vast knowledge about the different department of textile. The major aim of an apparel merchandiser should be order establishment and order execution. That’s why merchandiser should consider some issue such as buyer satisfaction, quality of goods, the reputation of his/her factory and also for himself or herself. Some of time few of my follower ask to give some ideas and tips about merchandising jobs and interviews. For this reason today I am going to discuss this issue.

Interview Questions and Answers for Basic Apparel Merchandising:  

The most common merchandising questions and answers are given below-

1. What is Accessories?

Accessories mean items need to complete a garment. There are different kinds of accessories used in garments industry such as thread, zipper, interlining, buttons, label, pocketing fabric, elastic, etc.

2. What is AQL?

AQL is connected to the quality of products. In textile industry Acceptance Quality Level is shortly designated by AQL.

3. Wha is Apparel Industry?

This is the number of manufacturers those are involved in the manufacturing of clothing. Apparel industry includes with garments, lathers, technical textile, etc. industry.

4. What is Testing Temperature?

Testing temperature is an ideal temperature where temperature maintain with relative humanity. To become a testing temperature relative humanity should 65% ± 2% and temperature should 20°C ± 2°C.

5. What is Basic Block?

Basic block is an individual component of apparel without any allowance, design or style which is called basic block.

6. What is Allowance?

During the garment manufacturing process need to add extra measurement with the total measurement of the garment is known as allowance.

7. What is Approved Sample?

When a sample full fill all the trams and condition according to the buyer requirement then that sample is known as approved sample.

8. What is Ligne Number?

Ligne number is a measuring unit of the button.  By the help of ligne number we can easily find out the diameter of button. The relation of button diameter and linge number is proportional.

9. What is Air Way Will?

Air Way Will is known as an export document. The carrying agreement between exporter and air carrier which is found from the airline used to ship the goods.

10. What is Base Fabric?

Basic fabric is known as grey fabric. Grey fabric can be color or finish according to the buyer requirement.

11. What is Book Inventory?

Book inventory is related to fashion accounting. Inventory book means the dollar value of inventory, as stated in accounting records.

12. What is Buying Office?

Buying office is an independent or store owned office which is situated at a market area and buys for one chain or for many stores. Buying office is also well-known as buying house.

13. What is Purchase Order (PO)?

PO is a document of a general description of the types and quantities of merchandise that a buyer or importer expect to purchase for delivery within a lead time. It is also known as buying plan.

14. What is Bill of Lading?

Bill of loading a document which gives all the terms of the contract between the exporter or shipper and the transportation or logistics company to move fright between stated points at a specified charge.

15. What is CAD?

CAD is related to the fabric cutting in garments. CAD is stands for Computer Aided Design which is used as a theoretical tool to design and develop of garment products.

16. What is Lab-dip?

Lap-dip is 10×10 cm swatch dyed in laboratory of mill for checking color standards given on Pantone is known as lab dip. This swatch is dyed to get color approval from buyer. The merchandiser has to prepare 4-5 lab dip option for each color because he/she has to keep one as counter.

17. What is Lead Time?

From the date of submitting an order to the delivery date this period is known as lead time. Normally, export order lead time has 90-120 days. Lead time is also known as preparing time for order execution.

18. What is Letter of Credit (L/C)?

The meaning of L/C is letter of credit which provided by the buyer via bank. In export order execution, L/C is a document of order which is provide buyer to manufacturer where all the terms and conditions are mention.

19. What is Line Balancing?

Line balancing is a plan of balancing the production schedule as per the time and action calendar (TNA). Line balancing is also applied in garments sewing floor for smooth order execution.

20. What is Dummy?

Dummy is an artificial human body like doll which is used to obtain actual human body shape for measuring garment fittings.

21. What is Offshore Assembly?

Offshore assembly is known as purchase the fabric and cut it but gives it to the other country for sewing. Example we can say that, fabric purchase and cut in the China, but sent to the Bangladesh for sewing.

22. What is Partial Shipment?

If the production is only half done and buyer gave us a permission to ship the first half goods we can ship the first half goods and then remaining this shipment is known as partial shipment. Partial shipment is also known as prance shipment in garments.

23. What is Pantone?

Pantone is known as a universal color shade card. Nowadays pantone is used in all industries for DTM (dye to match). In the pantone card there are 6 digit numbers for each color. Those colors are help to minimize the garments shade variation problem.

24. What is Pattern?

Pattern is a hard thick paper which is used to get the actual shape of different component of a garment. Pattern is also help to use as guide of a marker paper.

25. What is Style Number?

Style number a series of style which is easy to get the style references.

26. What is SMV?

SMV is means the Standard Minute Value. Standard Minute Value is related with garments work study, time study, method study.

27. What is Trimming?

 The materials which are added with the body part of garments by sewing are known as trimmings.

28. What is Time and Action Plan (TNA)?

In garments Time and action is stands for time and action calendar or time and action plan. It is also known as issuing plan or production schedule or time and action plan. Time and action plan related with lead time of export order shipment.

29. What is Thread Run?

The stitching thread and color for the same is known as thread run.

30. What is Up-charge?

Up-charge is an additional cost which will get added into cost of production as per the buyer’s instructions. Up charge will get added into these things like embroidery, labels, packing method etc.

31. What is Vendor?

Vendor is very known word in Ready Made Garments (RMG) industry. In others word we know that vendor is a seller, resource, manufacturer or supplier.

32. What is Vessel-sailing-time?

Vessel-sailing-time is known as the time which will get taken by ship or transportation to ship the products.

33. What is Yarn Dip?

Yarn dip is as like lab dip. If a fabric is a yarn dyed checks or strips then yarns will get dyed into laboratory and those yarns merchandiser has to send to the buyer for color approval is known as yarn dips.

34. What is CMT?

CMT describe the Cut Make and Trims. In this condition, apparel manufacturer are quotes the buyer a proposed value which includes making, trimmings and accessories cot of a garment.

35. What is CPM?

CPM stands for Cost per Minute. CPM can help to find out per hour, shift, day and week cost of garments.

36. What is CM?

CM stands for Cost of Making. That cost may include with trimmings, Cutting, making, trimmings cost, cost of making time etc.

37. What is Cutting Order?

Cutting order is a company paper to maintain cut and produce a specific quantity of garments.

38. What is Cut-to-order?

A cutting order based on order received. Cut-to-order relates to garments sampling and product development department.

39. What is C.F.R?

C.F.R stands for cost and freight. It indicates that the exporter will deliver the products onto vessel and pay all the normal charges to get the cargo to the named port or seaport.

40. What is C.I.F?

C.I.F stands for Cost Freight and Insurance. A pricing term under which the seller pays all operating cost involved in the placing of products on board and in addition prepays the freight and insures the goods to an agreed destination.

41. What is Cut-off-date?

Cut –off-date is a last date till which a shipping line will accept the packed goods for a particular vessel or ship. Usually cut-off-date is 5-10 days before actual ship moving date.

42. What is Down-charge?

Down-charge is a smaller amount cost because of fewer trimmings into finished product. If buyer says he/she wants just finished product without any trimmings or embroidery or prints we should down-charge the buyer means we will decrease production cost.

43. What is Ex- works?

Ex-works denotes point of origin- a pricing term under which exporter s only responsibility is to clear the goods for export and make them available to the buyer at agreed destination.

44. What is Fabrication?

Fabrication is the procedures of garments fabric preparation before bulk production Therefore, fabrication is known as a pre-production procedure.

45. What is Factory out Late Stores?

Factory out late stores is one kind of store which sells the manufactures overrun directly to consumers.

46. What is Fashion Director?

Fashion director is a fashion expert of an organization who working with buyer or designers.

47. What is F.C.L?

F.C.L stands for the full container load. This is the excellent sign for business dealings of both buyer and manufacturer.

48. What is Grading?

Grading is a process of either increasing or decreasing the size of the sample pattern. In this process pattern larger or smaller size depends on sample size range.

49. What is Gross Margin?

Gross margin is connected to calculation of manufacturing cost. The difference in dollars between net sales and the net costs of merchandise or product during a given period.

50. What is FOB?

FOB describes Free on Board. Here, exporter provide all the cost such as fabric, accessories, CM (cost of making), overhead cost, C&F commission, commission,  and transportation cost from manufacturer factory to shipping port.

51. What is Knit-down?

Knit-down is a tiny knitted fabric swatch (which is knitted as per buyers artwork like checks or strips to check the repeat and size) which merchandiser sends to the buyer for approval is known as knit –down.

52. What is L.C.L?

L.C.L is means Less Container Load. When short amount of order execution then less container load for export or import from manufacturer.

53. What is Mark Down?

Mark down is known as the difference between the original retail price and a reduced price.

54. What is Mark-up?

Mark-up is known as the difference between the original retail price and a raised price. It means the difference between manufacturing or cost price and selling price.

55. What is Modular Manufacturing?

The modular manufacturing is known as the manufacturing method utilizing of a small group of people who work together to produce a finished garment.

56. What is Strike-off?

Strike-off is one kinds of trail sample which is get done by buyers artwork section to get an approval for print or embroidery and repeat and size for the same. This trail samples made by printer or computerized embroidery, which merchandiser sends to buyer for approval is known as strike –off.

More Questions are coming soon……..