Main RMI Number
408-554-4960
SCU - St. Joseph's Hall
Room # 108
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Retail Management Institute Newsletter -Fall '02
Internship at: Crate & Barrel - By Lindsay Phares
Lindsay Phares, a senior Marketing major, completed her internship at Crate & Barrel.
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Floor plans, window displays, planning sales forecasts, and the dreaded inventory count, were just some of the highlights of my internship with Crate and Barrel. During my twelve-week internship at the Palo Alto Crate and Barrel, I was exposed first hand to the daily operations of a retail store. It is obvious that Crate and Barrel places a high emphasis on servicing the customer.
A private company, Crate and Barrel was founded by Gordon Segal who has taken the store from its small beginnings in an elevator factory in 1962, to a thriving housewares retailer with over 100 stores spanning 22 markets.
Today, there is an undeniable feeling of pride in every Crate and Barrel store. The design concepts of lighting, space, color and texture reflect the original store where they covered the oil soaked walls with pine, and turned over the crates and barrels in which their imported merchandise arrived using them to display dishes and glassware. Today, you will notice that all products are stacked on white uprights and pedestals just as they were years ago. There is a belief that merchandising should not compete with the classic and fluid lines of each product.
The structure of Crate and Barrel's internship program provided me a unique opportunity to view the retailer from a store line, design, and corporate perspective. It was fascinating to see how even subtle decisions made at each level impacted the experience of the customer. Whether it was lowering shelves to make merchandise more accessible, a computer system that tracked the level of inventory across all Crate and Barrel stores, to holiday season planning at the pacific warehouse in Hayward, a high level of regard is shown to the customer.
Speaking with the founder of Crate and Barrel, Gordon Segal at the new Santana Row store opening was the highlight of my internship. It was an exciting opportunity as an intern to discuss future store openings (including one in in my hometown of Portland). As a native of Portland, Segal ran through the list of prospective locations discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each. Having applied skills from my RMI coursework, I was able to discuss issues of trade area, income distribution, and potential competitive threats with ease.
As my first exposure to the retail environment has come to a close, I feel lucky to have found a company that takes pride in serving the customer. I am certain that the values of service I have gained will lend itself well to my future retail career |
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Back to Newsletter -Fall '02
Retail Management Institute - Santa Clara University
rmi.scu.edu
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