Week 2

This week is turning out to be even more exciting than the last. We saw two more stores to experience different locations, developed our merchandising skills on our own, and were able to observe a Belk special event. Our supervisor Mark has been an amazing teacher who has been enthusiastic to share his experiences with us. Mark is showing us everything there is to know about the Polo Ralph Lauren brand and allows us the freedom to practice on our own. As we set up our own displays and build on our skills we can't help but sometimes miss NC State and Professor Gibson's lessons in visual merchandising.

Monday and Tuesday were relaxed days to work at Phipps and on our project. We were able to observe a special event presented in the women's department on current trends, dressing for your body type, and how to look fashionable while still professional when at the workplace. The demonstration included a give away from Lancome and a string of fresh water pearls from the jewelry department. On Tuesday we spent the day working on our project and organizing our presentation.

Monday's Special Event

On Wednesday we headed out to the Centerville shop to help them prepare for Father's Day. In addition to merchandising the floor, we were also able to observe an informal interview conducted by Mark. We hadn't been to a store like this one yet, which gave us a better idea of how different they can be. This store was smaller than the others, with limited hanging space and merchandise. Mark had a conference call that morning and gave us some freedom in setting up the Northport and Havana Club display tables. We followed the directives as best we could, but with limited merchandise, we were forced to improvise to an extent. Mark was impressed with our displays and we were excited to have the opportunity to work unsupervised.

Havana Club Centerville

Northport Centerville

Thursday was the longest travel day we've had so far and also the busiest. We went to Greenville, SC for Mark's meeting and to get some experience in a different store with a varied consumer base. We met Rusty just before the meeting at 10am. While he and Mark went to the meeting, Aaron and I worked on the Havana Club table. This time was different from what we did in Centerville because we now had plenty of product to work with. The task at hand was no longer to improvise and substitute BSR where necessary, but now to get as much product on the table as we could in the most appealing and appropriate way. We replaced all the Athletic Club merchandise on the table with Havana Club, and were proud to be excelling in merchandising. 

Havana Club Greenville

Today and Saturday we are back at Phipps, mostly to help out on the floor. It is expected to be a busy weekend for Father's Day, and on Monday we will be repricing everything. Next week is going to be a busy one, in which Aaron and I will be helping prepare for a corporate visit in women's and experiencing the differences between Macy's and Belk. We are hoping for a busy day tomorrow followed by an exciting third week, thanks to a great supervisor!