Week 2 Current Event

Current Event Post - Week 2

Company: Sea Island

Summary: I read a post called "Zoom on This: The Best Clothes of Resort 2014," from Nymag.com. It explains how designers are already focused on Resort 2014 and it touches on a few trends to look out for. According to the article, tropical inspired bight colors and embellishments will be huge for Resort 2014. This is positive for Sea Island because customers come here to shop for beachy clothing. They want the bright colors and the tropical inspiration. The post focused on Tory Burch's line, which is very floral. I think these pieces would sell great at Sea Island.

This affects Sea Island through the buying aspect. Yesterday when I shadowed the buyer, she explained that the only place you can preview a Tory Burch line is in their showroom in New York. She also said that they don't have the budget in the Sea Island Retail Department to take several trips to New York so they buy from line sheets pretty often. She showed me one from Tory Burch Fall 2013. It did include actual pictures but they were of very poor quality. I couldn't believe that is what they rely on for buying! She said sometimes a product will come in and it isn't at all what they were expecting because it didn't look like the picture they were sent. That has to be frustrating and a downside to being so far away from NYC.

My co-worker, Cidney, think that this floral Tory Burch line will do great in the Sea Island Shop. Since Tory Burch is already a must-have for the store, she thinks the tropical inspiration of this new line will make the buyers order a lot of Tory Burch product for Resort 2014.

Tsui, Diana. (2013, May 28). Zoom on This: The Best Clothes of Resort 2014. Retrieved on May 31, 2013 from http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/05/zoom-on-this-the-best-clothes-of-resort-2014.html

Week 2 at Sea Island

This week at Sea Island has been really exciting. I have moved around to several stores to get a feel for all of them. They are all so different and I have had so much fun learning how each of them are run differently. I have mostly been working in the Sea Island Shop, which has high-end designer merchandise and is the nicest shop on the island. They carry men's and women's clothing and accessories, as well as gifts. Peter Millar is the number one vendor for Sea Island and it is carried in all of the shops on the island. I wasn't familiar with the brand before I started working here but I have quickly learned that it is very loved by many of the customers. The Sea Island Shop requires extra care of the guests. But I have also worked in the Surf Shop, which is in the Beach Club. It’s extremely busy all day, every day and it carries beach toys and swimsuits. It’s near the beach so its much more casual in the way that shoppers can have only a bathing suit on, whereas the Sea Island Shop is much nicer. I didn’t think I would like working at the Surf Shop because I had been warned how crazy it can be but I’m actually very glad I worked there to be able to compare the two shops. I think I best fit the Sea Island Shop because I’m more soft spoken and the environment is more my personality. I also worked in the Spa Shop one day this week. It is very different from the other two shops because the majority of its merchandise is lotions and facial products. It was very quiet all day and we didn’t have much traffic in the store. Then I also spent a day in the retail offices shadowing the buyer, the receiver, and the administrative position. I actually really liked this side of their system. Being on the floor and interacting with customers is fun and very informative, but I know I am good at desk work and I think I may want to pursue something on the administrative side. 

The reputation of Sea Island is incredible. It is a 5 star resort and it is known all over the world. I  have been told it is ranked as one of the top 5 places to visit in the world. They are known for their customer service and from working here, I can tell it is something they work really hard at. I have had really good experiences with everyone I have worked with. Everyone is extremely nice and is always willing to answer any questions. I think I fit the company culture because the company fits my personality and they have a family atmosphere. I haven't had any difficulties yet but I have had one disappointment this week. We were told that a rep from Peter Millar was coming this week to merchandise their product in the Sea Island Shop. I emailed my manager and asked if I could be placed in the store when she comes because I would love to observe. My manager was thrilled and happily let me come to the store while the rep was there. I was disappointed with the visit because the rep began by saying "this isn't something I can teach you." She was very unwilling to show me her thought process or answer questions. She gave me a table of shirts to fold to keep me busy. However, it was worth a shot and I'm glad I at least asked to observe.

I have learned so many new things already. I think my favorite day was shadowing in the retail offices. I loved seeing the "behind the scenes" of everything that goes on to be able to run the stores.

I have really great living arrangement on St. Simons Island. I am living with a UGA FM grad, Whitney Stone, and a UGA marketing major. None of us knew each other before we moved in together but it has worked out really well so far.

Next week I am looking forward to visiting the retail offices again. There is a rep coming for the buyers to preview a line and place orders. I have never seen the process before so I am very excited to be able to get involved.

Week 1 Current Event

Current Event Post - Week 1
Company: Sea Island

Summary: I read the article "Who has Signed the Bangladesh Safety Accord - Update," written by Katie Smith on May 24, 2013. It touches on the Accord on Fire and Building Safety that was recently signed by 40 different countries after a factory in Bangladesh had collapsed. The accord will last for 5 years and require safety inspections and public reports filed on the factories. Renovations and safety upgrades will also be mandatory for Bangladeshi suppliers. Companies that have signed the agreement are:

COMPANY	GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS
Abercrombie & Fitch	US
Aldi	Germany
Arcadia	UK
Benetton	Italy
Bonmarche	UK
C&A	Germany
Carrefour	France
Charles Vögele	Switzerland
El Corte Inglés	Spain
Ernstings's Family	Germany
Esprit	Hong Kong
Fat Face	UK
G-Star	Netherlands
Hennes & Mauritz (H&M)	Sweden
Helly Hansen	Norway
Hema	Denmark
Hess Natur	Germany
Inditex	Spain
JCB	Belgium
John Lewis	UK
KiK	Germany
Lidl	Germany
Loblaw	Canada
Mango	Spain
Marks & Spencer (M&S)	UK
Mothercare	UK
N Brown Group	UK
New Look	UK
Next	UK
Otto Group	Germany
Primark	UK
PVH	US
Sainsbury’s	UK
Shop Direct	UK
Stockmann	Finland
Switcher	Switzerland
Tchibo	Germany
Tesco	UK
V&D	Denmark
We Europe	Netherlands

This might affect Sea Island through its vendors that they use. If some of the vendors source to Bangladesh or have factories in Bangladesh, they will have to adhere to the safety restrictions and fully pay for any renovations that are needed. Since the money has to come out-of-pocket from the company, this could affect finances and the overall logistics of sourcing and manufacturing the product.

I think this accord is very positive and I hope other countries creates similar accords. There is so much abuse that happens in factories abroad and these safety restrictions that are legally binding will hopefully lead to improvements of conditions for workers. The other companies that have factories in Bangladesh should also sign the accord.

Co-worker's opinion: My co-worker, Cidney, also thinks this document is extremely positive and beneficial to the Bangladeshi workers. She is in agreement with me in hopes of other countries creating accords similar to this. We also discussed the issue of the end of the 5 year mark and whether or not these companies will resign the accord after the additional expenses of safety renovations.

Smith, K. (2013, May 24). Who has signed the Bangladesh safety accord - update. Retrieved on May 24, 2013 from: http://www.just-style.com/analysis/who-has-signed-the-bangladesh-safety-accord-update_id117856.aspx

Week 1 at Sea Island

I am working for Sea Island in Sea Island, Georgia in the Retail Department this summer. I am a Fashion Merchandising Intern and my main tasks will be working in the three retail shops but I will occasionally also work in the stock room learning how to receive shipments and the office learning the position of the buyers. I was required to attend a company-wide training course called Traditions of Excellence before I began working. I attended that course on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Then I had Wednesday off and I will be working through the weekend since this coming Monday is Memorial Day and the resort will be extra full. Yesterday was my first day and I worked in the Sea Island Shop from 10-6. The Retail Shops Manager was there and she trained me and another intern. The day was pretty relaxed as our manager told us she wanted us to mainly observe on the first day. I haven't encountered any difficulties yet besides finding my way around. There is a basement to every building at Sea Island and the basements are so huge, it's like another world down there. The hallways have names like streets if that gives you any indication of how big it is. I haven't made any mistakes yet but I'm sure I will and I will ask my supervisor how to correct them. I have learned so much about Sea Island this week - everything from the history of the resort dating back to its founding in 1928 to logistics of each department's finances and how they manage their budgets. The experiences I've had with customers, coworkers, and my bosses have all been very pleasant so far. My coworkers are all extremely nice - I think that goes along with working at a 5 star resort (everyone has to be constantly cheerful and honestly, it becomes a habit). I haven't encountered any upset or difficult customers yet but I know like any business, there will be some that are hard to please. When I do encounter these types of customers, I will try extra hard to do everything I can to please them. Part of Sea Island's mission is to improve the experience of the guest (customer) with every contact they have with the staff. The time spent at work in comparison to the knowledge gained is positive. I have learned so much valuable information so far in just my first four days of working here. The funniest thing that has happened this week was an I Love Lucy clip that we watched in our training course. I am looking forward to working in the offices this upcoming week to work with the buyers and see what they do on a daily basis.