Retail Internship: ESCADA.USA

History of Escada:

Escada was established in1976 by a married couple, Margaretha and Wolfgang Ley. The German-based company quickly grew and became a respected retailer for its use of bright colors and elegant feminine apparel.  Within a few years, Escada expanded to new locations in Europe, the United States, and Asia. Their main competitors became Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Hugo Boss.

Escada’s Visual Merchandising Internship:

1. 10-week program; working at the NYC headquarters.
2. Dress and style mannequins to highlight the new collection. 
3. Merchandise showroom following the appropriate plan-o-grams.
4. Create weekly trend reports and analysis.
5. Execute monthly window displays in the New York store.
6. Communicate with corporate office on retail and wholesale accounts.

Week One:
On my first day, my boss, Hector, and I met at the Fifth Avenue Escada store to work on a new window display. Escada was about to begin a promotion for their “Luxury Sale.” Hector explained that we would choose two dresses (one for each window) that had been marked down for the new sale. This would draw customers into the store and make them aware of the beginning of the sale.

I soon found myself dressing a mannequin, positioning her, and adding accessories and shoes to enhance her final look.  I saw many people walking outside and even taking pictures of the new window display. Our next task was to merchandise the New York store and make it visually appealing for customers shopping inside. I rearranged table props and added merchandise from the back stock to clothing racks. By 5:00 pm the store’s windows and interior had a fresh look.  

Week Two:
Spending the majority of my time at Escada’s corporate headquarters allowed me to experience a retail office environment. This is where I learned how to do expense reports, read performance charts, and work with the buying team.

I have often said I wanted to be a buyer when I graduate from college. However, I never knew what exactly went into being a buyer for a company such as Escada. My job for the week was to work closely on Escada’s main line with two of the head buyers. I logged into my computer and began entering numbers from the buyer’s sketch books and calculating how many blouses, trousers, and dresses each store would need. I had to analyze past records to help predict future buys. NUMBERS, NUMBERS, AND MORE NUMBERS would be the basis for most of the forecasting. My focus was to find which type of clothing sold most often and at which location. For example, the Las Vegas boutique sells more cocktail and evening dresses than the New York store, which sells more business suits and tote bags.

I learned a great deal about the importance of record keeping and how seasonal trends affect the decisions of the buying team. 

Week Three:
Researching other designers, especially competitors to compare how Escada’s collections match up to theirs, is essential in the fashion industry. Along with notable designers, celebrities also bring publicity to high-profile places such as red carpet events which can help a company’s reputation.

My assignment was to research and explore fashion magazines such as Vogue, WWD, Elle and web sites such as Style.com. I then compared seasonal trends to the Escada collection. I found that today’s fashion icons such as Cameron Diaz and Meryl Streep are constantly setting new fashion standards. This project was sent out to Escada stores in order to help the managers and employees sell the Fall/Winter "must have" trends. Some examples of the upcoming trends include blouses with volume, skinny, cropped, and wide leg pants, sleeve details, belts and gloves, and patent leather accessories.

Week Four:
Along with dressing mannequins and merchandising the showrooms, being a visual intern also included responsibilities such as shipping props, visual training handbooks, CDs, and campaign photos to each of the US Escada stores. The manuals are manager’s guidelines to what merchandise should be in each window and what should be displayed around the store. The manuals also give details of the fabric used, the name of each group of merchandise, new trends, and three or four possible outfits to be used in windows. Large photos that are produced for the corporate office and the stores are also ordered by the visual team. This season's campaign photo featured a model wearing an emerald-colored satin dress standing on a balcony with the New York City sky line in the background. That week I was asked to sit in a meeting to discuss which photos would be displayed depending on the availability of each store. Four other looks were also chosen to be the basis of the Escada seasonal promotion.

Week Five:
Once every two weeks, all the interns at Escada would have "lunch and learn."  Employees from different departments would speak about what their job required on a daily basis. This was a great way to discover the possible job opportunities that were available with a fashion merchandising degree. Employees representing public relations, wholesale, human resources, and visual departments all spoke.

I gained a lot of knowledge about resume and cover letter writing, interviewing, and contacts and business ethics from Escada’s Vice President of Human Resources. She spoke about the importance of gaining work experience, joining clubs, and doing well in school as a way to improve your resume, but said networking and getting to know the people you work with is also extremely important for future employment. Once you secure a job or internship, volunteering and asking questions will allow you to better your experience. I learned that the more questions you ask at work, the more prepared you are for a future job. Listening to HR’s presentation definitely put my future in perspective. 

Week Six:
It was not long before I began to realize how the importance of the retail terms I had learned in class related to interning at Escada. Before moving to New York, I had taken classes such as Principals of Retailing, Retail Buying, Textiles, Visual Merchandising, and Contemporary Trends in Fashion. My basic fashion merchandising classes were helpful when I found myself having a conversation about techniques used by different designers, history of trends, and the overview of how fashion has evolved. The buying team used many terms discussed in class such as "markups", "wholesale versus retail price", "gross profit", and "percentage of sales." Though there were times I did ask for clarification, overall I felt that I had the knowledge to be working for a corporate fashion company.

Week Seven, Eight, Nine
At the beginning of July, preparation for Market began in both of Escada’s main two showrooms.  Interns from all the departments were asked to focus the majority of our time on unpacking boxes, steaming clothes, and setting up merchandise before the buyers arrived. White carpet was laid in front of a projector and chairs lined the runway. An accessories showroom was also filled with bright colored shoes, belts, and handbags from the Fall/Winter 2008 collection.

This particular market was especially exciting for Escada because it celebrated the arrival of new designer, Damiano Biella. Hired in October 2006, Damiano promises to enhance the Escada brand and uphold its exceptional reputation.

Each day buyers from Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and managers from Escada boutiques came to the corporate office to see the new merchandise. As models presented the collection down the runway, Daniel, a designer, explained to the buyers why the fabric, texture, and color were chosen for each outfit. Buyers were able to see how the merchandise actually fit and was worn. After the runway show, buyers gathered around tables to begin ordering specific merchandise. The store’s total sale percentage estimated the amount of money each buyer was allowed to purchase. Four regional merchandisers walked around and assisted the buyers in answering questions about trends or what they thought would sell best. If your store did not make a 50 percent sell, they were not able to choose their own merchandise.  Many buyers for the top selling stores, however, had certain customers they kept in mind and they would order specifically for those clients.

Week Ten:
Hector and I scheduled a meeting with a highly respected window and props manufacturing company on the west side of Manhattan. The family-owned company is known for making many of the famous Christmas window displays for companies such as Macy's, Saks, and other department stores. In their warehouse, we were able to see how the hand-crafted, detailed exhibits were created. After the tour, we sat at long table with the son, mother, and father to discuss the Escada Christmas windows. Hector explained the ‘box’ concept that Damiano recently launched. Four black wooden boxes were going to be sent to each store with different hues of metal which would be placed behind the mannequins with lights shinning from each direction.

The next day, I was asked to come to the Escada store and work with about ten other employees from 4 pm to midnight to assemble the new boxes. We followed the visual manuals, chose the appropriate outfits, built the boxes, and positioned the lights. It was a lot of hard work, but the final presentation paid off.

Final Thoughts:
While living in New York City, I was able to sightsee and become familiar with much of Manhattan.  I lived in a New York University dorm that was located between Chinatown and the financial district of Lower Manhattan. I lived in a three-bedroom, apartment-style dorm with five other girls. My roommate, Whitney, has been a family friend for many years and recently graduated from North Carolina State and moved to New York to pursue a job in the fashion industry.

My internship was Monday through Friday, so I was able to sightsee and explore the city on the weekends. I enjoyed sunbathing in Central Park, shopping in Soho, and dining in Little Italy. When friends and family visited, we went to the top of Rockefeller Center (Top of the Rock), trapeze by the Hudson River, and saw Wicked and The Lion King on Broadway. 

My favorite thing about living in Lower Manhattan was being able to get up early and go running before work each day.  The Brooklyn Bridge and the West Side Highway, which is located next to the Hudson River, were a few blocks from my dorm.  Both running routes gave great views of the Chrysler Building, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and different parts of New Jersey and Brooklyn. This gave me time to reflect and take pleasure in living in one of the greatest cities in America.

My intern experience at Escada is something I will never forget. I was able to work with an amazing boss and people who inspired me daily. I learned first hand what the corporate fashion industry is like in New York City. There was never a dull moment at the office and I looked forward each new project. Creating window displays on Fifth Avenue and helping merchandise a luxurious showroom is something that will only enhance future jobs. I am already planning to visit New York again very soon.