A Q&A with our Merchandising Intern, Olivia

Why did you apply for a Merchandising Intern role at Continental Textiles?

I am studying Fashion Buying & Merchandising at the University of Manchester and the idea of a year in industry really appealed to me. I was ready to work full time for a year and wanted to gain some experience in the fashion industry, to help me in my final year.

The wholesale aspect of the company really interested me, and I thought it would give me experience in a range of areas.

Categories such as Swimwear and Nightwear are areas that I am interested in, but they were never covered in detail at University.

I also already owned clothes from South Beach and loved the style and quality of them!

 

Photo from nightwear e- Commerce photo shoot

 

So far, what has been your favourite part of your day-to-day role?

Every day is different! I have enjoyed working on orders for different customers such as Debenhams, I Saw It First & Quiz – I had no idea that Continental Textiles worked with brands like these when I started.

It is also great to be given responsibility for stock orders, which I monitor from raising the PO with the factory up until delivery into our warehouse. This broad range of tasks means that I am always busy and the days go fast.

 

What are you looking forward to in the coming year?

I am looking forward to being part of an order from start to finish, from first placing the order with a factory, all the way to it being delivered to the customer.

It will be great to see how the brand progresses over the next year & I hope to gain experience in as many areas as possible.

The sample sales are also a great perk!

 

What advice would you give to someone considering undertaking a placement year in the fashion industry?

I would say that applying for work placements is a great decision, I have learnt so much already that will be useful for my final year at university.

I think it’s important not to be discouraged if you don’t get a placement straight away as the interview experience and feedback you get is so valuable and shows you where you can improve.