Apparel, Variants, or Models (Color, Size, and Variants)

Integrating apparel or fashion items with Hii Retail requires handling additional complexity for sizes, colors, and models. Variant items are linked to their model item by setting the model item's ID as the parentId on each variant item.

Fashion items are often the same product with different characteristics (e.g., size, color, style).

Example: An Acme Sports Trainer shoe is the same item in size 38 or 45, or in blue or green. However, it may differ if it's a women's or men's style.

Adding patterns, styles, and seasons increases complexity and requirements for the data model.

Hii Retail offers a flexible model to connect items as needed, and Additional Properties allow information to be present where required.

Best Practice: Define one "master item" (Model) for each apparel item, and regular Stock Items for all variants.

Define a Model item with all relevant information and set ItemType to Model. Then, define all variants as StockItems, each with ItemType set to StockItem.

This structure lets you manage the item via the Model, with Hii Retail propagating data to all variants. UIs can use the Model as the master, listing variants for stock or other info.

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Recommended Item Structure for Apparel

Fashion, shoes, sporting goods, and fragrances often require more complex item structures. Below are recommended properties to support these needs.

Create a Model Item

Property	Member of	Description
id	Item	Unique internal ID for the Item. Should be stable and not tied to GTIN/barcode.
businessUnitGroupId or businessUnitId	Item	The Business Unit or Group for this item. See Business Units.
itemCategoryId	Item	The Item Category ID. See Item Category.
description	Item	Textual description.
name	Item	Name used in receipts, search, and lists.
status	Item	Operational status. Set to Active for general use. See Item Statuses.
type	Item	Must be MODEL for the master Item. See Item Types.
color	AdditionalProperty	Color of the variant. Each unique value creates a color variant for filtering.
size	AdditionalProperty	Size of the item (numeric or text). Each unique value creates a size variant for filtering.
style	AdditionalProperty	Classifies products that share characteristics not varying by GTIN.
brand	Item	Brand name.

Create a Variant Item

Property	Member of	Description
id	Item	Unique internal ID for the Item.
businessUnitGroupId or businessUnitId	Item	The Business Unit or Group for this item.
itemCategoryId	Item	The Item Category ID.
description	Item	Textual description.
name	Item	Name used in receipts, search, and lists.
status	Item	Operational status. Set to Active for general use.
type	Item	Must be STOCK for sellable variants.
color	AdditionalProperty	Color of the variant.
size	AdditionalProperty	Size of the item.
style	AdditionalProperty	Classifies products that share characteristics not varying by GTIN.
brand	Item	Brand name.
parentId	Item	string

Additional Properties for Apparel and Sporting Goods

Retailers may extend Items with properties like Season or Age. These can be applied to both Model and Variant Items.

Additional Properties

Property	Member of	Description
SeasonName	AdditionalProperty	Name of the season (e.g., "Winter").
SeasonCode	AdditionalProperty	Code for the season (e.g., WINTER, SPRING).
SeasonYear	AdditionalProperty	Year of the season (e.g., 2024).
SportingActivityType	AdditionalProperty	Activity type (e.g., FOOTBALL, RUNNING).
TargetGender	AdditionalProperty	Target consumer gender (e.g., MALE).
TargetConsumerAge	AdditionalProperty	Target age range.
ItemVariantCategoryType	AdditionalProperty	Category of Model Item (e.g., SHIRT, JACKET).