Rachelle, Senior Merchandising Manager in Singapore

I went to school for fashion at the best university in the country. In my second year I was lucky enough to land a marketing internship at a luxury retailer. Upon graduating, they offered me a position as an assistant buyer. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was my dream job. 

I worked for two different senior buyers. I had a high capacity for doing good work. But I couldn’t learn fast enough. I was dependent on them for my development, and they had both had their hands full. I was craving a bigger challenge and a promotion. That’s where Retail Assembly’s training came in. I took the retail buying, then merchandise planning courses, to ensure I was looking at things from a broad enough perspective. And when I landed that associate buyer role, immediately enrolled in the negotiation online workshop. #lifesaver

When I was an associate buyer, my boss commented on how well prepared I was for that role. I attribute that to the courses, but also my desire to seek out conversations with a variety of peers in the organization. Just talking about people’s businesses with them helped contribute and give more context to the things I was learning online and on-the-job.

Needless to say, because I was so well prepared for the AB role, I was quickly promoted to buyer, then senior buyer. I worked in Hong Kong and London, where I’m currently senior merchandising manager at a global luxury brand.