- Name: Ben
- University: Sheffield Hallam University
- Degree: Sport Business Management
Description:
I grew up wanting to be a professional rugby player. I was part of a
professional academy but was released at 18. From here, I studied Sport
Business Management at Sheffield Hallam University. I found parts of my
degree really helped in my application. For example, knowing how to
analyse annual reports that enabled me understand the financial position
of the company. My degree also helped me recognise the interest I had in
data analysis and spotting trends.
After a few weeks of being at Next, your team will slowly build your
workload and assign you tasks to do throughout the week. But take Monday
for example, first thing to do is check the sales for the previous week,
see which brands/areas performed the best and highlight individual
bestsellers.
As a team we would then catch up and discuss which lines/brands
performed poorly and which performed well. If an item has sold stronger
than we had planned, we may need to reforecast future sales too or
equally plan sales down if its performed badly.
A big responsibility of a trainee merchandiser is to manage deliveries
and ensure the stock arrives when we need it to. So, I’d manage which
deliveries are coming in this week and contact brands if any stock was
late.
From my experience, other jobs include
• Making price changes
• Making items live on our system
• Liaising with the warehouse
• Contracting stock
• Inputting items onto our system
• Managing budgets
Next is a global fashion retailer that has a reputation of looking
after their staff. Next is on trend, the company recognises the need to
act sustainably and has forged fantastic relationships with suppliers,
partners and staff. The business is continuing to grow and this provides
a good level of job security which was appealing to me as a graduate.
Furthermore, the size of the organisation also represents fantastic
career opportunities. As a trainee merchandiser, management have laid
out a clear progression path which is inspiring. I know if I work hard
there is potential to progress and that my efforts will be rewarded.
What interested me in the job specifically was that it suited my
strengths. I love being part of a team and I love analysing data and
spotting trends. I also liked that the job wasn’t just looking at
numbers but more understanding what the numbers mean and the
implications them.
My favourite thing about working for next is the people. Everyone is
super friendly and more than happy to help wherever they can. I love
learning new things everyday and I love the variety of work that this
job brings. The prospect of visiting suppliers and brands in London and
abroad (when covid allows) is also very exciting!
Be yourself - the application process enables you to show your
personality! Think about what you would bring to the role, what
experiences do you have that are relevant to the role? Try your best to
emphasise your organisational and analytical skills, find examples where
you have had to use these skills. Also, research the company, no
research is bad research! It will all come in handy – check out
competitors, how next are currently performing, what are strengths of
the business and what challenges are next currently facing?
