Ann-Marie

Commercial - Clothing

Merchandise Planning Manager
Kidswear (Schoolwear)

Joined Tesco April 2005

I wanted to be part of that expansion and actually have a part to play in that growth - and working for a growing business is challenging and exciting. That's why Tesco appealed to me.

I've always been interested in retail, and actually started working part-time at Tesco while at university. Having seen the company expand and diversify from the shop floor the potential I could see really excited me, so I applied and was successful in joining in a Merchandising role on graduation.

I wanted to work for a fast moving retailer and I'm particularly interested in my area of strategy, which is to grow the market share in non-food areas like clothing. I wanted to be part of that expansion and actually have a part to play in that growth - and working for a growing business is challenging and exciting. That's why Tesco appealed to me.

Currently, my main role is to work with a buyer to devise and implement the strategy for our product area, Schoolwear. This involves doing analysis and building a sales plan that will grow our market share. We then carry out trips to the Far East to discuss our plans with our suppliers and to agree styles and the quantities we want to buy - which is very exciting in itself. It's then my responsibility to ensure we launch our product on time in stores and that we have enough stock to achieve our targets.

Each day can vary greatly; it could involve discussing the latest product trends with the buyer, talking to the marketing team about their ideas for 'Back to School', talking to our stock planning team about store stocks, or going out on store visits. Who would have thought I'd only been here 16 months?

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