| Topic Name: |
Fasion Career-money or fame?!? |
| Message Name: |
duties... |
| Date Posted: |
06/24/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
I was very interested in understanding more about your function in business development. Could you please give me a summary of your principal job duties? More specifically, also some insight as to how much of your job is creative vs. number crunching.
I too have a business background, but am looking to find a more creative platform to use it in, and preferrably even some creative control. Any advice? Thankyou! |
| Message: |
the core of my work is quite similar to what i was doing in corporate strategy. let me stress that this is purely where i work and does not reflect anywhere else.
* protecting existing brands and markets. i help coordinate our PR, advertising, and marketing departments react to changes in both the fashion and business environments. if blue is in this season and our whole collection is red, we had better do something to react.
* finding new business. we are continuously incubating new brands in new markets, both through different types of retail outlets (online and offline) and in different geographies. we use several multi-boutiques to gauge demand for the newer designers and plan our marketing strategy accordingly.
* deal structuring. a hot new designer from germany is selling like mad. we want to sell it here, obviously - so we structure a variety of deals: joint venture, direct import, licensing, or small-batch buying. if there is synergy with our existing brands, in rare occasions we will perform M&A.
* MD / VMD coordination. i do this mainly because it's a smallish firm, but i'll go out and look at sites for new boutiques and even select or recommend architects for projects.
i don't do a great deal of number-crunching. obviously i'll open up excel to handle basic financials, but nothing intensive. most of this industry is rather 'from the gut,' so a keen instinct is a key factor; unfortunately, it's also one of the most difficult qualities to quantify or express to a potential employer. the very essence of this business is subjective, so it's really a mixed bag of luck and skill.
in general, a business role at a smaller designer will afford you more control and less security - basically the way it is with most firms. happy hunting...
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