Week 3

This week has been very different from what we have been doing the past two weeks. Not only have we worked at a Men's Polo Shop in Belk, but also a Men's shop in Macy's and with the Lauren by Ralph Lauren brand in Bloomingdale's. Seeing the difference between Men's Polo and Ladies' Lauren brands has been very eye opening, and we wouldn't have had the wonderful opportunity to gain this insight without the help of Kymberley Blair.

Towards the beginning of the week we worked a lot with mark downs and price changes. Seeing how Ralph Lauren strategizes with these pricing tactics is very interesting. We made the same changes at both Belk and Macy's. 

We worked with Kymberley on Thursday and Friday of this past week at Belk and Bloomingdales respectively.   Unlike men's shops, Lauren accounts don't usually receive the entire package of product at the same time, which makes merchandising this product a completely different ball game from Polo. We were given directives, the look book and let loose, each doing our own tables following more of a lifestyle than direct classifications.   It was really fun and exciting because there is a bit more flexibility in the Lauren Stores. Lauren also doesn't do BSR like Polo does, concentrating more on fashion pieces and concepts. Which makes sense when thinking of marketing to women as a whole. One thing I think we both found interesting is how different Mark and Kymberley's roles are with the company. Kymberley controls Missy, Today's Woman, Petites, Handbags and Belts and Dresses for LRL. In both stores these were found on multiple floors and in different locations, which called for a lot of walking around! 

Overall, this week was helpful to us for a multitude of reasons.  We worked in two separate locations, and for three different department stores. Our merchandising skills have developed enough that we are able to recognize different possibilities for floor displays without frequently checking the look book. We've gained a greater depth of knowledge about the Ralph Lauren brand image as a whole, and can appreciate it more because of that fact.