 Divisional Merchandising Manager"Whenever you promote somebody, whether it's somebody you recruited from college or a sales associate at staff level that you think has potential, it is memorable."
 | What do you like best about your work environment? |
What's kept me here 20 years is that it's very, very entrepreneurial, and we've been fortunate that our company has been populated by very good people. There are very good people here and that's really what's kept me at Macy's, Inc.
| Why did you join Bloomingdale's and why have you stayed? |
I started out as a temporary Christmas employee with absolutely no intentions of staying and being in retail, but you kind of get caught up in it. The pace is very frenetic, which I like. There is a lot of independence and a lot of responsibility. I like working on my own, and being entrepreneurial - you can impact the business in a day. It's very people-driven and very team-oriented.
| What has been your most memorable moment since joining the company? |
Whenever you promote somebody, whether it's somebody you recruited from college or a sales associate at staff level that you think has potential, it is memorable. Especially when you get to see them become an executive and get promoted at that level. Those are the best moments - when you feel like you really impacted someone's career and life.
| What do you enjoy most about what you do and what are your overall job responsibilities? |
Overall, I am responsible for the merchandising, planning, and execution of men's tailored clothing, outerwear, designer sportswear and shoe areas. It's very comprehensive, whether it's assortment planning, merchandise planning, financial planning, or marketing - anything to get the product to the floor and sell it. But you really can impact it with your own vision and your own direction. There is a lot of stuff to buy out there and a lot of directions you can take. When you come to a fork in the road and you take the right path it's really satisfying to see something work. It's really understanding who the customer is and looking at the product and saying 'this is great but it's just not right' or 'this is a better choice.' It's about knowing the company and your customer and directing the assortment from that. For example, I have an outerwear buyer who's brilliant and she's only been with the company for two years. But she just has a feeling for the division and the product, much like people who have been here for 20 years. She understands who we are and how we are different.
| What contribution do you make to your division and how do you feel you make a difference? |
It's about leadership and motivation. The people who work for you have to feel supported - they have to feel that someone is guiding them to the right path. They will take the ball and run with it, but you have to pass them the ball. If they feel led and pushed in the right direction, if they are being motivated and know you're behind them, that is the biggest contribution you can make. The other big piece of it is that they have to know that we are all in this as a team. We work together well, and we are all on the same path, going down the same road steering the assortments and business together. There is congruency across the families of business and they feel that. It's important for them to feel that we're all going down the right path together. That builds a sense of teamwork and camaraderie.
| What personal interests/hobbies do you have and how do you balance them with your work? |
My division is very entertaining and was always retail's theater. Theater is something I like very much. You learn a lot about culture by going to movies and plays and seeing what's out there and how culture impacts what people are wearing and what they want. There is a connection to the customer, whether it's music, movies or whatever. They respond to that and are very influenced by it - what they wear, where they want to eat, where they want to go. That's really a part of understanding the customer. It's important to know what people are interested in, and I try to stay in touch with that.
| What advice would you give to a new associate joining the company? What helped you establish yourself and move ahead with your career goals? |
It's important to really understand who we are relative to the competition. If they have the skills to be successful in retail, there is probably very few better places to be. But they really need to understand the culture and the customer, because it is different. We have the beauty of the name that hangs above the door, which is a very significant birthright. There is a lot of pride in being associated with that and being with something that's so unique. Our name is an icon here, it's internationally known. People coming in have to understand that and respect it and realize the potential that we have here. The name that hangs above the door is very important.
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