Merchandising: Sophie Watling

Name: Sophie Watling

Job: Merchandising admin assistant

Employer: Arcadia Group Limited

Area of work: Merchandising

Qualifications: BSc retail management, University of Surrey

I found out about merchandising when I met representatives from Arcadia at a careers fair. It appealed to me because I wanted to use the mathematical skills from my degree but did not want to work in finance or accountancy. I love fashion so this seemed the perfect job.

My job

I work as a merchandising admin assistant for Burtons. In this role it’s important to have a flair for numbers and enjoy analysing trends. I work closely with the buying team to ensure the right product gets to the correct stores on time and in appropriate quantities. I create daily reports on product sales and feed back to my team. My working hours are 9.00 am to 5.00 pm except on Mondays when I start at 8.00 am. I mainly work in the office, but regular store visits are important and take place at least once a week.

I have a direct impact

It’s exciting to see how my role directly impacts on our stores, and I enjoy the responsibility I have within the team. The hardest part of my job is juggling priorities as it can be quite busy. However, I love the pace of working within fashion retail and it’s great to get to know what’s going to be in fashion in six months’ time. I would highly recommend a career in retail as it’s extremely fast moving, continually changing and is part of everyone’s lives – everyone shops!