Apartment Finding!!!

Everyday granddad tells me that I'm coming back in January and that I should just leave my clothes here since I'll be back. So last night I got home after work and found this on my door...

PICTURES!!!

In my last post I mentioned how my resolution for this 2nd half of my time here I will take pictures since it's something I'm really bad at doing. My friend Diana happened to be in NYC all week for a cousin's Marine commissioning and his house happened to be around the corner from Granddad's! So I met up with her in Central Park on Tuesday and we explored and climbed rocks then went out with her family that night to dance until the sun came up :) Wednesday was the 4th so I went to the Museum of Natural History with granddad, didn't take pictures...sorry. But it was sooo awesome! Loved the underwater and African animals exhibit! I felt like I was walking around in the movie from "Night at the Museum"...well I kinda was :) So below are pictures from hanging out with Diana and pictures of the office I work in. We've been working all week prepping everything for market week which is next week. And when I say prepping, I'm talking about deconstruction, walls being torn down, repainted and new fixtures being hung up to set the mood for Spring 2013 merchandise! I'll take lots of pictures when I go in on Monday of all the completed works and what I worked on all week with Lauren :)

They say in New York you can do anything and eat anything. So if you want your face molded on a plaque go for it :) 

my desk :)

The view behind my desk & Lauren [Men's Furnishings (underwear) Merchandiser] desk

Lauren [Men's Sportswear Merchandising Assistant] working hard

Where Jodie [Men's Sportswear Merchandiser & my supervisor] sits

A view of everything

The closet

The other side of the closet

Bottom half of my building :)

Reminiscing the 4th week on the 4th of July

I can't believe it's already midpoint, time has gone by so quickly! And after a great midpoint evaluation I'm even more motivated to keep working harder. Of course there was sightseeing involved-grabbing burgers with friends in Columbus Circle where JFK would eat, seeing the Prada exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, living in Harlem for a weekend (the only thing bad about is the stereotype), experiencing the NYC nightlife with friends and going to the Museum of Natural History. I wish I could say I was good at taking pictures but I'm unfortunately awful at it but that's going to be my resolution for the rest of the summer is to get better at doing that!

• Take pictures of one of the window displays or ad for your company.  Analyze the display… is it creative, increase sales, encourage shopping, fun & exciting, match your target consumer?

This was the ad shown recently on TV and on YouTube for Father's Day. I think it's a sweet commercial and definitely shows the target customer of a man 25-50 who enjoys outdoor sports. It was meant to as a way to increase sales for Father's Day and spoil your dad and I it was really sweet with the kids playing outside with their dad on the beach doing something he loves with the people he loves. 

• How could you make it better?

It's a father's day ad and you see the dad in one shot and you see the kids in another but you never see the dad and kids in the same shot so that's the main thing I would change, to add a scene where you see the whole family together on the beach. 

• On the job difficulties or mistakes? How did you handle them?

The biggest difficulty has been to stay mentally focused on the job before me and to not think about other things going on personally or other tasks that have to be done. So basically focusing on where I am at the current moment and the project that I'm working on because it has made me have to double check my work sometimes because I will start daydreaming then forget when I'm doing since tasks can get repetitive. 

• New things you have learned (office politics, gossip, buzz words, city in general, about yourself)

One really interesting thing happened this week that also coincided with it being humorous was on Tuesday when I walked in the office kinda seemed in a panic. There was a "Nautica Club Mexico" polo that had been designed to have the Mexican flag on the left chest with the words "Nautica Club Mexico" above it. Then it had "Mexico" on the back. The sample had been sent to us that was already being shipped to customers and stores and it had the Mexican flag on it...minus the crest. ...yea. So it looked similar to an Italian flag but with Mexico all over it. We were making phone calls like crazy to cancel the shipments and figure out what went wrong since the original sample that had been approved had the correct flag on it. Many phone calls and nervous laughs later of "what do we do, customers are receiving this product???" we discovered that the Macy's buyers requested to have the crest taken off because they said Mexican's will not wear the flag if it has the crest. Jodie (my supervisor) asked me to research this and I could find nothing on how Mexican's don't want the crest. In fact it was the complete opposite and they are proud of their flag. Then I started talking to the Outlet Merchandiser and she said that Macy's said the same thing but they ignored it and kept the crest. As far the situation goes we are working on correcting all the product and keeping the product because I personally would never buy a shirt with the wrong flag or one that had an American flag without the stars. 

• Experiences you had in dealing with co-workers, customers, boss?

I went to the Prada exhibit at the MET with the production intern and that was really nice to make another friend. Highly recommend it!! It was super motivational because it showed how they put their inner emotions of life and expressing it through fashion. There were a lot of great quotes on how the women were discovering themselves and the hardships they went through which led the intern and I into a really deep conversation after the exhibit talking about life and personal experiences. 

• What was the most humorous thing that happened this week?

(2 bullet points above :))

• What are you looking forward to next week?

Since this is reminiscing of last week I can say that last week I was looking forward to today and having the day off to get caught up on sleep which I currently am :) 

A Current Outlook on VF Corporation

For my current event this week, I'm discussing the current economic activity with VF Corporations. If there is any confusion for when I say I'm interning for Nautica and then change to VF Corporation, Nautica is a brand that is owned by VF Corporation.VF is known for having brands that specialize in sportswear. Women's Wear Daily posted an article yesterday, "Private Equity Muscles In" that "deal brokers [have] predicted brand consolidation will continue as smaller firms see margins shrink further." It's becoming a new trend and a hot market, especially with more banks giving out loans. The biggest trend is the consolidation of shoe brands, with Payless ShoeSource recently being bought for $660 million by Golden Gate Capital and Blum Capital. This continuing trend is great for brands who have areas of debt that can be picked up and can then have their problem areas sorted out. For instance, when The North Face was bought by VF Corporation they were bankrupt and by selling to VF they were able to become what they are today. When talking to people about this at work there is no surprise since recently the CEO of VF was on Bloomberg discussing global state to VF and how its growing greatly.

Bloomberg. (2012, June 14). VF Corp.'s Wiseman on Acquisitions, Global Economy. Retrieved June 27, 2012 from http://www.bloomberg.com/video/94654943-vf-corp-s-wiseman-on-acquisitions-global-economy.html

Tay, Michelle. (2012, June 25). Private Equity Muscles In. Retrieved June 26, 2012 from http://www.wwd.com/footwear-news/business/private-equity-muscles-in-5988442

"Thanks Turner!"..."I think that's the name of his company..."

Today is the end of week 3 and it's been another great week. I'm definitely picking up a lot while being at the office everyday and hearing the lingo that is used and the process of product development from idea to actual product. Of course a long the way enjoying the great and beautiful city of New York! At least a few days after work I head to a new place that I haven't been too before. This week was Highline Park, Bryant Park for my afterwork sights. This weekend has been full of adventures and meeting new people! Friday night I went with granddad to his church for a fundraiser and we had cannoli's, cappucino's and watched Polish dancing! As we were sitting there we started talking to a photographer from a local newspaper who happened to be a retired fireman who also happened to work with a great friend of mine's Dad and brother...SMALL WORLD!! Long story short, he invited myself and my friend whose Dad he knows to go "buffing" with him one night. "Buffing" is basically going out and seeing all the accidents and fires that he gets reports of from the police and fire department to get the pictures for the newspapers. I'm looking forward to experiencing that and seeing another side of the city that not many get to. On Saturday I hoped the bus to go to the beach with some friends, catch some sun, see a bunch of helicopters swarm around because there was a shark...still went in, which is something that I even surprised myself by! On Sunday, Bernadette, Emily, Granddad and I went to Govenor's Island, rode a quad-cycle around the island, saw the Statue of Liberty, had a dirty water dog and did some exploring. The weather was perfect out....82, blue skies and a light breeze! Then we went to South Street Seaport and EXPERIENCED A FLASH MOB!!  It was soo cool and it was all types of people and all ages, even saw a few pregnant women doing it! Seriously the coolest thing ever and I can check that off my bucket list.

the four of us in the quad-cycle!

entrance to the castle on Governor's Island...got the spelling wrong but they didn't have spell check in 1811 so we'll let it pass ;)

Brooklyn Bridge

Skyline of the city...You can see the rebuilding of the Twin Towers taking place, the architecture of it is stunning!!

Here are the weekly questions about things going on with the internship!

• What do you think about the current advertising campaign?
• The current ad campaign was for father's day and was dad's doing sports outdoors with their family along with a few water sports. I thought it was very appropriate since it's men's clothing and most men wearing Nautica are between there 30s to 50s. 
• Who is the target customer? Describe 
• For wholesale the target customer is a man who wants a fashion item but still wants great quality so they are willing to spend a bit more for their clothing. The outlet target customer is really looking for something a bit more showy so outlet actually makes clothing with larger logos and bigger patches to show that it's Nautica. 
• What do you suggest would be a better avenue to reach this market?
• Since Nautica sells a lot to those who do outdoor sports especially near water, I think if they got into smaller clothing retailers that could reach markets that may not be near malls where they can go in and pick up clothing. 
• Difficulties or mistakes? How did you handle them?
• We have a HUGE copier that has a HUGE price tag and the thing does not like me. Technology does not like me and I'm scared I'm going to break this thing one day and I will spend the rest of my life paying it off. This is my difficulty, fear and hopefully next week pushing the wrong button causing it to self-destruct won't be my mistake...
• New things you have learned (office politics, gossip, buzz words, city in general, about yourself)
• In my last post I talked about how being up here and being on my own around so many different types of people has really helped me begin to truly find myself and not assimilate. I've also learned that this world is small, there's a connection between everyone. I sat in on a total 8.45 hour meeting this week and picked up so much information from textile lingo to production costing. A fun term I learned is called "crocking". It's when a garment is overdyed and the dye gets on other surfaces when you rub against it. Recently had this happen with a pair of jeans onto a pastel yellow purse and a hot rag takes it off! I've also learned other terms to describe fabric make, ideal margins for making a profit, pricing of different fabrics and what can be used as a cheaper subsitute.
• Value of time spent in comparison with experience & knowledge gained?
• Everyday, whether at work or not has been a learning experience if not in the fashion industry but in everyday life!
• What was the most humorous thing that happened this week?
• In the long meeting we had reviewing all the merchandise for Holiday 2013 that went on for a total of 8.45 hours in 2 days people were starting to act up in the meeting since we had been sitting for so long. It was great seeing some CEO's start cutting jokes and then try on different garments and start modeling around the room like a bunch of divos/as.

A Virtual Reality

Throughout the summer my teacher has asked us to keep up with WWD...actually it's even throughout the school year so it has become a new daily read. Today on the headlines they were discussing how a new media trend within fashion is "Social Gaming" where people can create their own careers in the fashion industry and network with other gamers. Throughout the game you are doing different jobs as you would everyday...creating lookbooks, doing photography, putting together fashion shows. You can showcase your work and work with others. How do you earn points? You are rewarded through virtual clothing for your person by different designers with actual logos on the clothes. I was discussing this with merchandisers at the office and a recent merchandiser, who worked with LVMH said that she remebered when they approached them for licensing in the game. She said the presentation was cute but they declined because in the game people actually pay for the virtual shirts for the models and they didn't think people would actually pay for virtual shirts. For instance, an IZOD polo that would normally be $30 would $1.30 on the game. Nike and Aldo have jumped on the social gaming train and who knows who will be next. The purpose is create a connection with loyal customers. Who knows within a few weeks you may look at the person next to you on the subway and their designing a lookbook for fun on their iPhone instead of playing Bejeweled.

Strugatz, Rachel. (2012, June 22). Fashion to Embrace 'Social Gaming'. Retrieved June 22, 2012 from: http://www.wwd.com/media-news/digital/fashion-to-embrace-social-gaming-5981440?module=hp-topstories

Treasured Time

I can't believe today is the 20th. Time is flying by and I feel like I've been here for months! Work is going great, definitely learning a lot. Though I will never complain about being in a 1 hour and 15 min class again because Monday I sat in on a 4 hour meeting which was continued for another 4 hours and 45 mins today. Needless to say I had to do lots of walking afterwards. The meeting was really interested, we were reviewing merchandise for Summer 2013 before they start producing mass amounts, consulting the pricing and see what detailing we could take away to lower our LDP's and raise our gross margins. It reminds me a lot of a CAD class I took where we reviewed fabric costing and detail pricing. I also find it surprising because I always thought I would enjoy more of the creative end of fashion but I've surprised myself and have enjoyed the business analytics and numbers.

Yesterday we had an intern orientation where we met all the other interns working for Nautica...finance, e-commerce, marketing, legal, licensing, etc. Surprisingly there were 10. But it was really great to meet people and everyone was from everywhere. I met one girl who goes to University of Florida and we decided that we could be friends this summer ;). 


Last night, a good friend, Michael took me to Highline Park. It's a park that had been built over an old subway station and goes along the boardwalk. It was beautiful walking along as the sun was setting and enjoying some artwork along the way...

I also met another girl who goes to Auburn and we've become close since she's the only intern on my floor and is in production so we're in meetings together. We got in a really good conversation today about how great it's been to get out of our comfort zone being in New York where there are so many beliefs and different types of people. The diversity really allows you to become your own person and think for yourself. By being on your own up here, you find yourself and grow up. This opportunity of being here has allowed me to mature so much more than I could have imagined in such a short time and it's become an experience that I treasure so much.