ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the impact of online developments upon product management in retailing. Internet has transformed every aspect of how retailers manage their products. The role of each contributor delineated namely the product designers, buyers, merchandisers and brand marketers or visual presentation managers. Product designers have two important areas of responsibility. The first relates to their management of corporate intelligence with respect to trends and developments in the market. Their second key responsibility is then to assimilate all of the market data identified and use them as the basis to develop and create ideas, concepts, specifications and plans for new or upgraded products for the retailer. Of particular interest to merchandisers and buyers are the range and number of price markdowns undertaken by the competition. The chapter analyses the central importance of trend analysis, supplier selection and the open to buy budget as part of the retail product management process.
