Lindsay Smith recently graduated from the Retail Merchandising and Consumer Sciences Program and is currently working at Forty Five Ten in Dallas as a Retail Coordinator for Women's Ready-to-Wear.
What have you learned so far while working in this position?
I have learned a lot even in the short amount of time I have been here. Being in my position, I get to work with a lot of the different teams in the company. I work with the buying, marketing, and visual merchandising teams constantly. This is important for me because I get to be hands on in a lot of different parts of the company.
What does a typical day look like for you?
My morning always starts off with a store-wide meeting where we talk about what is happening in the company as well as what is going on that day within the store. I take notes during this meeting because I write the morning recap email that gets sent out to the company. This is usually the only part of my day that is consistent day to day. After this, every day is different. I spend about 60% of my day on the floor and 40% of the day at my desk. When I am on the floor, I am working with the Buying team to pull clothes to RTV or transfer, working with the Visual Merchandising team to make sure the floor looks top-notch and all products are represented, assisting the Sales Associates to make sure their clients have an amazing experience, and working with whoever else needs my assistance! When I am at my desk, I am running reports on excel and tracking sales, emailing with the corporate office as well as the other Forty Five Ten locations to make sure everything is in sync, and transferring garments between locations. These are my general day to day tasks, but you never know if something else might pop up, which is very likely!
What TXA classes helped prepare you for this position?
If I had to narrow it down to only three class (because there are quite a few that have been extremely helpful), I would say those classes are Textiles/Textile Lab, Principles of Retail Merchandising, and History of Dress II. All three of these classes are vital because you have to have an understanding of the clothes, the background, and the industry itself.
Knowing fibers and textiles gives you a traditional background on understanding garments and their physical make up.
Knowing the ins and outs of the industry and how the business side of fashion works.
Knowing the history of fashion and the industry is so important in understanding how styles and designers got to where they are now.
What advice could you give to future TXA graduates about landing a position after graduation?
Work hard and exceed expectations. It is so important to be open minded and be a team player. The fashion industry is extremely fast paced and at the end of the day employers want someone who is willing to put in the extra work while doing so with a good attitude.
What do you see yourself doing over the next five years?
This was the hardest question for me to answer because who knows! I love where I am now, but I know that the industry is always changing and I am too. I see myself working in fashion and merchandising for a long time (hopefully forever for that matter!) and hopefully that means I will keep working my way up in fashion. So, in the next 5 years, I see myself continuing doing what I love in the industry I love.