End of Week 3: Lauren and working in-store

Hello again!

I'm reporting back on the exciting opportunities from the end of last week. On Wednesday all 36 interns went across town to 39th and 7th where the Lauren by Ralph Lauren Show Room is.

It was extremely pristine. Nothing but clear drinks were allowed onto the floor. I'm not quite sure how literally they meant that. Club soda? Tonic water? Vodka?

Along with the fact that we were seeing new styles for the fall before anyone else, it was also cool to pay attention to how the rooms were set up. The stylists have to create scenes that depict to the buyers how the clothing will be worn. They

also have separate rooms for different parts of the country. California and Florida are especially differentiated. I think we also had a great experience because Ralph Lauren has a very good relationship with Bloomingdale's. That's where he first sold clothing and is willing to do lots of exclusives for the store. If a buyer sees something they like but want to alter, Lauren is very accommodating whether it's colors, length, or size adjustments.

On Thursday all of the interns worked in the 59th Street store. Before the store opened, from 9-10am, there was a "Loss Prevention Shoplifters Fashion Show." They set up a runway surrounded by fold up chairs on the fourth floor and employees strutted down the aisle wearing the designers that have been stolen the most from the store. They were also accessorized with lots of security tags all over the clothing. The clothes they were wearing bulged with extra items stuffed underneath that they pulled out as they passed. The idea was to remind employees how important preventing shortages is, but to also have fun with it.

During the day we were each paired with a store manager to shadow. I was assigned to Mens' Suits, a department I know nothing about. It was particularly interesting because this department is comprised of extremely expensive purchases. Seeing the work that the salespeople do behind the scenes to stay in contact with their loyal customers was incredible. Whether it was sending out letters or making calls when new styles come in, the Bloomingdale's employees were on top of everything. By 5pm I could not wait to get off my feet and relax.

I'm so impressed and have newfound respect for salespeople. There's so much more to it than I ever would have guessed. They treated us all to Forty Carrots frozen yogurt after our long day. Martha, another Penn intern in the Women's RTW dept., was lovin the M&M's :)

Right now I'm working on sweepstakes and giveaways at work. Eleven winners were chosen from thousands who posted pictures of themselves on the Bloomingdale's page wearing certain items. Those eleven are being flown into New York for a weekend in August and having personal shoppers help them pick out $5,000 worth of merchandise from the store. They get all sorts of extra prizes as well, like Jimmy Choo sunglasses, Lagos jewelry, and Jo Malone fragrances.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to a photo shoot downtown where images for the upcoming fall campaign are being shot. The actress Amber Heard is the primary in the shoot. It's going to be my first time at anything like this, and I can't wait to see it!

Until next time,

Keri