Tuesday, July 2, 2013

As an Intern: Week 4 Recap

Week 4 of my internship has come to an end. Before I know it I will be packing my bags and heading back to Texas. Thinking about it is bittersweet. I have great appreciation for my state being in New York, the southern hospitality unparalleled, air condition everywhere, and the space! There are things about New York that I love too! I love walking the streets among hundreds of different types of people. The term cookie cutter does not exist here and I love it. Never have I drank Starbucks as much as I do here, and I am not even ashamed about it....not too much. I am going to miss Central Park! I need to get out there a few more times before.

The entire shoe buying team headed to Miami for SMOTA Shoe Trade Show last week, without me, unfortunately. On the plus side it was the perfect time to be independent and hold myself accountable for office tasks I was given throughout the week. I was given  My buyer set me up to shadow with buyers from other departments too. On Monday and Wednesday I worked with the womens lingerie and socks buyers.On Tuesday and Thursday I was with the newborn and kids pajama buyer. The two worlds were so different than going out and buying shoes. My experience with the clothing aspects were quite similar. Over the course of the four days I went to a womens sock vendor, a little girls panties/bras vendor, and two newborn onesies vendors. Little kids clothing is just so cute and colorful. It was cool to notice similar trend patterns between the clothing and shoes for kids. I also got to share my opinion during appointments about some of the shoe trends we are noticing (sorry folks the trends are classified information be on the lookout for fall in stores).

Friday was a new experience altogether. My team did not come to work that day since their delayed flight did not make it back until the wee hours of the morning and I do not blame them for not coming in. My buyer gave me the task of doing shoe markdowns. I felt so empowered given this responsibility to perform all by myself. 2.5 hours and over 250 markdowns later it was finished and I was off to my lunchbreak. I frequent this self serve place called Cafe Bistro on 34th because they have so many types of foods to choose from. And for a flat rate of 6.99 a lb you can get as much or as little food in a container as you want. Their vast selection of fresh fruits and salads is what I crave. They also have tons of drink options including about 5 different brands of ginger ale, my go to soda when i drink it!

My afternoon task: go out into the city and go window shopping at some of our competitors. I felt like my buyer had placed alot of trust in me to send me out solo for this task. The afternoon was awfully hot as I walked the streets of Manhattan. Luckily Starbucks was having a special, 1/2 price Refreshers from 3-5pm. Since there are over 70 Starbucks in the city I had no trouble finding out and quenching my thirst. I made my rounds in Burlington Coat Factory, Aldo Shoes, Steven Madden, and GEOX before calling it a day. My next task was to use my notes and pictures to create a small presentation for my buyer. I will let you know how that goes when we discuss it on Wednesday.

Everyday I am learning something new about the job or the city in general. Well overall as the weeks go by in my internship and I get more accumulated, I am loving being an intern for Ross more and more. Until next time. Peace!

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. 
                                                           Proverb 3: 13-14

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