MOST WOMEN LIKE fashion, and it is good to follow a course that interests you. I studied textile and clothing marketing at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It was a sandwich course, so in the third year I had to gain work experience and so took a placement as a merchandising assistant. I went to a small company that made mainly ladieswear, exporting to Europe and Japan. It was a good opportunity to learn skills that were quite different from what I had learned in school. I helped with clerical work, replied to customer e-mails, communicated with mainland factories, and made some basic production sketches. My job is quite different now. I am the customer who buys garments from trading companies. For a company like ours, the role of merchandiser is very important. All the profit comes from sales of the product, so the person who designs or determines the product is key. There are several aspects to my job. The first is purchasing. I have to purchase according to a plan that outlines how much I buy, at what time, and at what price. I choose the styles and make them fit the market, and I keep track of the sales performance of each item. Of course, I also have to control the inventory. When I see a product with problems and not selling well, I have to make a discount, or find a solution. I have to deal with internal staff to convey the product message. With the sales staff, for example, I have to sell the product to them so they can sell it to the customer. Externally, I have to communicate with the vendor, overseas and local. Mostly this is order follow-up; once we have placed the order, we have to confirm the details - delivery, pricing, shipment and compensation in case of late delivery or damage. I do not have to do too much daily routine work. It goes in phases, because the business is seasonal. Every season we have to review and analyse the performance of products and plan for the next season's lines. We have just finished the review of Holiday '04, and we are planning to buy for Holiday '05. Mostly, I research styles on the internet, where you can see the fashion shows in Paris or Milan and view the trends for next year. Our main office is in Shanghai. I travel there about once every two months. I enjoy travelling. It can be tiring but you get to see different countries. I also go to New York twice a year to visit our head office. I find my job very satisfying, especially if my plans are successful. I am happy when the customer likes a product or style. My biggest challenge is the mainland market. China is a huge production centre now. Even Giorgio Armani has a production base on the mainland. It is very new to me. In 2003, I was stationed in Shanghai for a year. My Putonghua was not too good, and I had to start from the basics, and learn from my Chinese colleagues about the operation on the mainland. I have been working in the mainland market for about three years but I am still not very familiar with it. The Hong Kong and mainland markets are quite different. The mainland has many regulations while Hong Kong is quite free.
