Buyer’s professional life

As soon as he walked into Ipswich’s COES Kos department store, he caught a glimpse of neatly lined jackets and trousers, and asked “someone was here for you” with the sitcom Grace Brothers, who often played on television repeatedly. Service?” Different, the enthusiastic young sales assistant here stood smiling and told me in front of the leather cufflinks box display. The colorful "Suffolk uniform" Hunt boots were displayed. The noble wooden staircase led me to the spacious and bright women's area.

On the top, the distinctive Orla Kiely bags and cups mark a style change. The person who is tinkering with Ted Baker dresses and dazzling high heels on the floor is Rawlings. In July 2002, she was directly recruited as a fashion professional graduate to the management department. She joined as a buyer's assistant to purchase women's clothing for the shop.

In fact, many of the store’s most loyal customers are women. At Cos department store, women's clothing department has also become the latest development trend. “Women often come here to help their husbands choose clothes. Management believes that female consumers can also buy their own clothes here,” Rawlings said.

Coase is an independent third-generation family business that opened in 1928. This old Suffolk store not only sells hunting, shooting and fishing clothing, but also runs formal and school uniforms. It is located on a small road outside the city, allowing consumers to park at the entrance, feeling away from the bustling city. . Usually, Saturday is the busiest day.

Coase's first women's collection was officially launched in the spring of 2003. Rawlings said: "We also made some mistakes. We soon learned that, for example, women will not dress up their own age," she recalls. "They certainly don't want to wear clothes that others would wear in golf clubs."

Our customers are very old, usually women over the age of 35, and their children are likely to go to school nearby. And, it's not surprising, because the scale of retirement in Suffolk is large and there are many old customers.

The average cost of wearing a dress is between 400-500 pounds. Rawlings revealed that some customers will also buy gifts and jewelry and wardrobes. They buy a classic real wear. If it is good clothes, they will also spend a lot of money to buy.

The size of the goods is usually 8-20, although people often purchase sizes 12-16. However, like most women, customers are generally reluctant to buy bigger clothes.

The local joke is that Ipswich tends to lag behind the rest of the UK in terms of fashion. Rollins glanced at the inventory and revealed the mix of everyday casual wear and evening dress: Olsen's jeans and Ralph Lauren's polo shirt.

Jeans are a classic piece that cleverly supports the buttocks and abdomen. It has now become "a huge success."

Rawlings is a fan of Vivienne Westwood, but she also knows she can't add her personal taste to the department. She must ensure that the store's clothes match the current trends.

She explained: “I like fashion and shopping. An important part of my job is to study the trends in the future. But we should not try too avant-garde designs. It is not that we do not have inventory, but we know that it will attract young customers. .

Rawlings was born and educated locally. She says that she has always had "creative characteristics" and is good at art and design. Before she took a degree in fashion design at the Kent College of Art and Design, she made a choice for her career.

“I always thought that the career of fashion design would be very competitive, and I was weighing whether to continue. In 2002, when I finished my dissertation, I decided to go home to Suffolk and think carefully about what to do next. I Desperate to enter the world of work, then I heard Kos Department Store is looking for assistant buyers.

She got the job, and she has been climbing all the way up to eventually managing the entire department, as well as supervising the procurement and management of the four sales assistants in the Fiona Coe shop, a Kos departmental brother company.

In August 2004, she moved to Kingsland and acquired the company's new branch, Goddard, behind the scenes. In the spring of the second year, she was promoted to manager after returning to Suffolk Women's Clothing, and she also worked for Ipswich and Kingsling. In January last year, she gave birth to son Ison. Then she continued to manage and procure at Ipswich.

Her work depends on the time of the year. The purchase time is usually six months ahead of the relevant season. She needs to leave London to go to continental Europe and meet with the manufacturer's representative. Going to some of the exhibitions is also an indispensable task.

The day of purchase was "very hurried, but very excited," Rollins said. She stressed that fashion buyers need not only talents in vision and creativity, but also figures and accounts, as well as excellent organizational skills.

When asked about the economic recession, Rolinstein said graciously: "I can't pretend it won't affect our sales. When we're lucky enough to have such a loyal customer base," things now have a turn: " December 2010 was the best month since it was opened. The snow did not affect our sales. I want to develop this department into the best department in the store."

Rawlings is very respected in the shop and she is happy to work for such a family business. "I got a good chance and got enough exercise in the previous department," she said. "I'm very fortunate to have very few restrictions in my work. If I can prove the feasibility of an action can be passed." She enjoys a good working relationship with the general manager of the store. “The strong family concept creates a good working atmosphere here and you feel that you have a positive family support.”

Related information Salary: There is no formal salary structure, but there are competition and goal-driven bonus plans.
Working Hours: 3 days a week, Tuesdays and Wednesdays: 9:30am-4:30pm
Saturday: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
However, when you go to London and Europe, your working hours will be much longer.
Work-life balance: I was fortunate enough to have a very flexible employer. He agreed that I should adjust my working hours to take care of my 19-month-old son.
The highest record: The turnover of my department is higher year after year.
The lowest point: Introduced something that customers did not want to buy.
Rawlings is dressed outside of work: jeans and jackets. The car she once had most liked was a black and white plaid Mini, a birthday gift from my husband. Rawlings expects to go to New York to celebrate her 30th birthday in May and plans to go to London to see a fashion illustration exhibition.