Seven Habits of Highly Effective Merchants

6.Stay Focused on Brand. HEMs use techniques that position their company as the authority, make customers more receptive to new merchandise, and encourage purchase of "already seen" merchandise.

7.Spot Trends. HEMs know how to spot what's hot and what's not, when to get into a trend and when to get out of it. Understanding the difference between a flash-in-the-pan fad product and one that is trending up is key to giving customers what they want. This ability comes from reading the trade papers for your merchandise segment; scouring the Internet; shopping or getting reports from overseas; subscribing to trend reports; and generally having a finger on the market's pulse. —Edward Fischer