BRAND SPECIALIST & VISUAL MERCHANDISING PLACEMENT

So my second work placement is going to be much more focused on what i want to learn and develop in store to enable me progress into the career paths i want. I'm returning to Dorothy Perkins as I just loved it so much last year, they're so willing to help and teach me and its a really busy retailer to gain experience from!

I've had much experience over the last year working for OUTFIT and so for this placement i wanted to continue working with Arcadia and gaining that experience with them and looking into where I can progress too!

For my first week I wanted to focus on my Visual Merchandising Skills and developing these. Doing my placement in a smaller solo store allowed me to build my confidence in VM, take responsibility and learn more than what i could ever get the chance to at my own store.

I had so much fun working on the VM in-store and the windows. It was definitely challenging at times but i feel I've improved my skills and built my confidence up!

For My Second Week of Industry Placement I wanted to look into what it requires to be a brand specialist for DP. This would be the first time I would properly look into figures and sales numbers and I was reallylooking forward to it!

For my Third Week at DP i wanted to look into moving forward and also using all my skills I have learnt and developed over the last two weeks.

In-between carryout of tasks that involved Visual Merchandising and Brand Specialist Aspects the DP Store was able to give me information about what Head Office tasks are set for the brand. Through conversations with managers and the Arcadia Magazine I was able to gain an understanding of what the DP Team at Head Office do to produce the collections that are coming into store. I was also able to gain a better understanding of the international news related to the Brand.

Whilst working on new skills that I have gained over the last two weeks it was really helpful to be able to see where these roles could lead too.

After the brands successful launch in India and landing a 3 year deal of becoming official partner of Jabong Online Fashion Week (JOFW), Dorothy Perkins' inspiration for the SS15 collection displayed a huge influence from India; its culture, textiles and prints.

DP STREET SYLE:

Due to creative flare being limited on the store floor with VM's having to adhere to the model store pack and downloads, at Head Office Level creative and forward thinking ideas are what create the DP image and drive the new collections.

In order to merchandise for the target customer it is hugely helpful to see how the brands current products are being styled and who is wearing them. This allows for development as the brand is then catering to the customers style .

By researching street style has allowed me to gain a better understanding of how a creative and visual merchandiser would react to this information and alter guidelines to match the trendy interpretations, and drive the brand forward keeping it current.

OTHER TASKS THROUGHOUT MY PLACMENT

During my placement I also carried out tasks such as launching sales and promotions, working with deliveries and click and collects and also doing tag checks.

This was good practice for my sales advisory skills but also allowed me to look into what price points merchandise was dropping too and how long for. It was also interesting to see what items went into promotion very soon after their arrival (POS) into store and then moving into sale shortly after this.

I also came across new terminology due to focusing on particular areas.

PLANOGRAM – outlining the best way to merchandise product and the store (DP Download & Model Store pack)

CROSS MERCHANDISING – putting merchandise together from different categories/departments to create add on sales.

UNIFIED BRAND EXPERIENCE – Implementing this involves properly training staff, investing in the right tools and having one clear strategy and message.

Although I have been apart and used these methods both in work and on placement It was helpful to learn and understand these terms for future reference.

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