Main RMI Number
408-554-4960
SCU - St. Joseph's Hall
Room # 108
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Retail Management Institute Newsletter -Winter '02
RMI Students Visit Gap, Inc. Headquarters
By Jill Curran ‘04
At the Gap, Inc. students were exposed to the finer details of merchandising.
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On January 16th, students in the Retail Management Institute had the opportunity to visit Gap, Inc. corporate headquarters in San Francisco. We gathered in a conference room where employees of Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy discussed their future clothing lines for the upcoming season. Mike Martin, from Human Resources gave us a company overview with an insightful look at how Gap has made it to the top of the retail world. Next, employees Ryan Wolfe and Mark Breitbard, part of the merchandise planning team, gave us a summary of what their job entails. Currently, they are deciding which fashions consumers will be wearing in Fall 2002.
Traveling to the San Francisco headquarters was a wonderful learning experience with Ryan and Mark because they described their daily activities to us. They also invited us to participate in a merchandise game. They presented to us a line of clothes from Old Navy that we had to sort in order of what we thought would sell best. My team’s task was to rank various styles of men’s Old Navy sweatshirts, which included hooded, zipped, and graphic designs. This interactive activity was harder than I expected. As a merchant, you must take the mind set of the customer when making decisions; rather than depending on your personal taste. Instead of thinking like a nineteen year-old female, I had to imagine what a man would want to buy. The speakers told us the research information they use when ordering sweatshirts. From previous sales analysis, we learned that the sweatshirt with the classic Old Navy logo was the best seller. Our team used this quantitative information, along with our creativity, to organize the numerous sweatshirts. After an in-depth discussion, our team came to the consensus on which sweatshirts we thought would sell the best. After our corporate leaders reviewed our selection, they surprisingly commented that we put the sweatshirts in a similar order in which they had chosen. We ended our visit with a tour of Gap, Inc.’s newly constructed office building. The employees at Gap, Inc. presented us with a new appreciation for the fast-paced retail world as well as a feeling of anticipation for our chance to take part in this stimulating and exciting work environment. |
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RMI Newsletter
