Career growth, new experiences and becoming a specialist ...

posted by Clarks Jobs
13 May 2013

I’m currently on a secondment as a Womens Buying Manager for UK and ROI. It’s definitely been challenging but a fantastic opportunity where I’ve made valuable new contacts and picked up great, new skills. It is a fast paced role which requires a flexible attitude and quick thinking, seeing the results of my work gives me great job satisfaction.

Right now, I’m responsible for putting together a regional requirements strategy document for the next season that looks at our products: what’s worked well in the past, what’s working well now, what I think will work well in the future. It also contains insight into how the UK footwear market is performing and analyses Clarks current position in the UK and ROI market. We then use this insight into forming areas that we want to grow our market share in order to achieve our budgeted numbers for the next season. This document is then submitted to our Global Product Team so they can take this into account when developing product for the next season. This is an integral tool to the development of the range to ensure we have the best product offering for the UK and ROI market. I then conduct range reviews with the Womens Buying and Merchandising team where we make our product selection and grade products to decide which shoes go to which stores to ensure we have the right product mix for our consumer and manage our stock in the most efficient way.

There’s a lot to think about, our competitors, consumer types and variations of consumers across our stores, the UK and ROI market place, and using history to help shape our decisions going forward. In my secondment role I have had lots of new experiences, made some great contacts and developed new ways of working which I can now take to future roles I have within Clarks.  Clarks has a great history in shoemaking and is well respected within the industry and by customers for making good quality beautiful products which makes me very proud of working for such a great brand.

There truly is a family atmosphere at Clarks, you feel looked after, valued, praised and the perks are great too!  I work with some great people who all share the same work ethics as I do and this makes it a great working environment. As well as my secondment, I’ve been supported to do management and leadership courses which has helped me develop my skills as a manager. There are also opportunities for entry level Buyers to take courses with the British Footwear Association. I am proof that there are opportunities to try new roles across the business if you are motivated, driven and work hard. Personally, the fact that Clarks is a massive, market-leading global organisation but they still care about my career makes me want to do my best for the business. If you’re thinking about joining Clarks, I can’t think of a better time.  

Esther Gardner, Buying Manager, Womens.

Categories: People story | Retail | Headquarters | Street | Product | Buying |