RECOMMENDATION

REPORT

Unit 2: Employee Recommendation

Report

Jessie Quaglia
Recommendation Report
for
Danita Becker

Prepared for English 320

By Jessie Quaglia

Distributed

July 26, 2010

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Summary...............................................................................…………………...................3

Introduction...........................................…………………..................................................4

Text…….......................……….…………………................................…….................5-10

Visual Aids..........................................................................................................................11

Conclusions and Recommendations........……………….............................……..............12

Works Cited.........………..............................……..............................………...................13
 SUMMARY

This recommendation report is for Danita Becker, a senior at North

Dakota State University, studying Apparel & Textiles. With this interest in fashion

Danita aspires to gain additional experience after college and wants to eventually

open her own store. She is open to new opportunities and challenges which is

very important when seeking a job position.

Danita has narrowed down several job listings to three. The jobs include

the following: H&M Visual Merchandiser, Forever 21 Visual Merchandiser and

Victoria’s Secret Buyer. I will be discussing the history of each company, all

requirements needed for the specific job position, if the position meets Danita’s

needs/wants and any other additional information that could help Danita in

making her decision, along with my own personal job recommendation. I hope

this report is beneficial for Danita and addresses points about each company she

may not of been aware of.

 INTRODUCTION

Choosing a job to commit to can be no easy task. One must do research in

order to see if the particular job meets their needs/wants along with other

standards. Being educated on the history and background of a company is very

crucial and can be tedious. With this report I hope to not only save the reader

some time in research but discuss many views of a company and point out key

information that will hopefully help Danita in making her final decision as to what

company she wants to join.

Danita is studying Apparel and Textiles at North Dakota State University.

She wants to obtain more knowledge and experience under her belt in the fashion

industry before she eventually opens her own “date night” store, which would

include lingerie, dresses, shoes, ect. She is willing to move to seek more

opportunities, which is very beneficial in the fashion industry.

With an interest in fashion, Danita has narrowed it down to three possible

jobs: H&M Visual Merchandiser, Forever 21 Visual Merchandiser and Victoria’s

Secret Buyer. I will be discussing each company in great detail to help her in her

overall decision. Also, I will be making my own personal recommendation.

 TEXT

H&M BACKGROUND:

H&M is a company that was started in Vasteras, Sweden in 1947. Today

H&M operates in 37 countries and has 76,000 employees around the world! The

company focuses on providing fashion and quality at the best price possible.

Danita was drawn to this company because she really loves high quality pieces at

reasonable prices. Also, a great thing about H&M is that it offers fashion for not

only men and women but for teenagers and children (H&M).

Since Danita is interested in fast-fashion, H&M would be a good choice

because the stores are refreshed with new fashion items daily. This would give

her the opportunity to view the latest fashion trends and be able to work with

new items everyday! An interesting fact about H&M is that they do not own any

factories. They buy their goods from nearly 700 independent suppliers (H&M).

Another thing Danita looked for in a company was being able to grow and

make connections. With H&M they want their company to consist of committed

co-workers that poses courage, responsibility and creativity. “If co-workers don’t

grow, H&M doesn’t grow.” This statement is important for Danita because with

this company she will be able to network and obtain personal growth since

expansion is very important for H&M (H&M).

H&M POSITION:

H&M has many different positions and locations available for applicants.

One of the three job positions Danita narrowed down to included the Visual

Merchandiser position H&M, in Palm Springs, FL. Some qualifications this

positions require include:
 Associate’s degree in a Fashion industry specialty preferred
 2 years of retail visual merchandising experience
 Strong visual merchandising skills and the ability to drive business
through creativity, fashion consciousness and commerciality
 Ability to work in a fast paced, deadline driven environment
 Strong verbal communication, organizational and time
management skills

Danita has worked for Old Navy as a Visual Merchandiser for over 2 years

and posses many of the other requirements for this position. I feel she is more

than qualified for this position (Jobs available).

With this position being located in Palm Springs, FL Danita would have to

move quite a ways away. She expressed that she would be willing to move for

more opportunities however it really depended on where she was in her life after

college. She mentioned the option of working online however with H&M fashion

by internet or catalogue is only available in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland,

the Netherlands, Germany and Austria (H&M).

According to The Consumer Price Index report (which tracks costs from

Miami to West Palm Beach) the South Florida region is dealing with price

pressures. “After housing, food and beverage prices are going up at annual rate of

4.2 percent in South Florida.” With keeping these facts in perspective living in

Florida for Danita may be difficult. Not only are housing and food prices going up,

but gas prices have rose at a 5.7 percent annual rate, which is greater than the

nation’s 4.9 percent rate (Barba, R). These costs may sway Danita’s decision

immensely. See Figure 1.1.

 FOREVER 21 BACKGROUND:

Forever 21 was not always known by this brand name. It originally had the

brand name “Fashion 21,” when founded by Dong-Won Chang and his wife, Jin

Sook in Los Angeles, California in 1984. Surprisingly the first store, which was

opened in Los Angeles, California, still operates under the chain’s original name--

“Fashion 21.” The store consists of “trendy designs” that were commonly seen in

South Korea. They targeted the Los Angeles Korean American Community,

however, not only this community but also many other ethnicities were drawn to

Fashion 21. The companies fast fashion styles led to the stores increasing

popularity and “by the end of the first year, sales had risen from $35,000 to

$700,000.” With this great success the expansion of Fashion 21 stores was a no

brainer. Fashion 21 soon was opening a new store nearly every six months! Also,

shortly they’re after the brand name changed to Forever 21 (Forever 21).

Today Forever 21’s target consumer is trend-savvy and style conscious.

Much like H&M, Forever 21 is not only growing quickly but also, is the source for

the most current fashions at a great value. Like I had mentioned before Danita

really loves current fashion items at reasonable prices. I think it is very important

for one to work for a company they agree with and would stand by.

On the other hand, “Forever 21 has recently been subject of additional

controversy, stemming from an interactive billboard installation in Times Square,

in New York. It is alleged that Forever 21's advertising agency, space150 and

director Nicholaus Goossen, copied a similar piece - created in 2009 - from

London by interactive artist Chris O'Shea. These allegations have lead to heated
exchanges on the Vimeo page showing the work between Goossen and other

users, including well-known members of the interactive and new media art

communities. Both space150 and Goossen have since apologized publicly on

Vimeo” (Forever 21). This controversy may persuade Danita in her decision

because she may not want to be apart of a company with a poor reputation.

FOREVER 21 POSITION:

Forever 21 is a fast growing retailer and has many job opportunities

available. Danita chose the Visual Merchandiser position offered in both Los

Angeles, CA and New York, NY as another job position. According to Yahoo! hot

jobs, some requirements and skills this job title entails include the following:

 Visual or related degree.

 Minimum 2-3 years of display/mannequin-
dressing/merchandising experience required.
 Strong Computer knowledge – Microsoft Office Tools
 Flexible schedule to meet business needs.
 Clear understanding of fashion and trends in all markets.
 Continually looks for inspiration by shopping the competition,
canvassing the media and identifying emerging trends in all
environments.
 Strong interpersonal skills.

Like I mentioned regarding the H&M Visual Merchandiser position, Danita

possess many of these requirements. With her current job experience

adjusting to this job should be no problem. My only concern is the location. This

job is available in both California and New York and each have their pros and

cons. Personally I love New York and would move there in a heartbeat. Their city

life is great; being able to take the subway 24/7 is a definite plus compared to

Los Angeles traffic and depending on what part of New York you reside in many
things are in walking distance. I also feel that New York is where fashion starts in

the States. When entering this industry I feel New York would fu-fill more

opportunities and like the saying goes if you can make it there you can make it

anywhere! See Figure 1.2

VICTORIA’S SECRET BACKGROUND

Victoria’s Secret is one of the top American retailers of women’s wear,

lingerie and beauty products. The retailer is known for its annual fashion show

and its catalogs. One reason this retailer would be a good fit for Danita would be

because she too is aspiring to get into women’s intimate apparel/lingerie.

Learning more about their products and how they are developed could help her

when the time comes for her to start her own store.

Surprisingly enough, not a women but a man named Roy Raymond started

Victoria’s Secret. The store was started due to the fact that Roy felt “embarrassed”

purchasing lingerie for his wife in a department store atmosphere. The store was

started in San Francisco, California in 1977. The start of this store led to the

opening of multiple stores, which were meant to provide a comfortable

atmosphere for men to browse in (Victoria’s Secret).

In 1982, Roy Raymond sold the company to The Limited. The Limited kept

the known image of Victoria’s Secret in tact. Also, the company expanded by

adding a wide range of products such as shoes, evening wear, perfumes, ect in the

stores mailing catalog. Today, there are nearly 1,000 Victoria's Secret lingerie

stores and 100 independent Victoria's Secret Beauty Stores in the US! (Victoria’s
Secret)

VICTORIA’S SECRET POSITION

For Danita’s final job choice she has to choose from is the Buyer position

for Victoria’s Secret. A buyer has a lot of responsibilities for selecting a wide

range of products for a company to sell. The buyer must consider numerous

things when making decisions such as customer demand, market trends, store

policy, and financial budgets. Some other requirements needed to take on this

position include the following:

 Fully understanding customer needs

 Be able to maximize profits
 Keeping up to date with market trends
 Strong organizational skills
 Ability to multi-task and prioritize
 Ability to innovate change through visionary thinking and strategic
management
 Strong communication, presentation, negotiating and influencing
skills
 Ability to lead and inspire

I believe this position would serve as a new challenge for Danita and with

her other experience she would be able to adaptive in this role (Hire retail). Also,

being able to learn more about different garments, fabrics and production more

in depth would be very beneficial for Danita, especially if she is interested in

opening her own store someday.

Another upside of this position is that it is located in New York. Like I had

mentioned earlier in the Forever 21 job posting, living in New York would be a

great opportunity and experience.

VISUAL AIDS
Figure 1.1

http://www.city-data.com/city/Palm-Springs-Florida.html

Figure 1.2
 www.google.com

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

After conducting my detailed research and learning more about each of

the companies, I have concluded that the job I feel would be most beneficial and

meets most of Danita’s needs/wants and requirements is the Victoria’s Secret

Buyer position. With this job would not only make connections and be able to

network but she would learn more about garments she potentially would start a

business with. I also think this job would bring on new challenges rather than

working under the same job title she has at her previous job at Old Navy. Another

aspect is that the store is offered online so if she wanted that option under a

different job title, she would be able to work at home if she were unable to move

far distances due to personal reasons.

 WORKS CITED

1. Barba, R. (2010). South florida cost of living increase

highest in u.s.. Retrieved from
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2007/jul/23/by-robert-
barbabi/
2. Forever 21. (2010, July 17). Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forever_21
3. Hire retail. (2010). Retrieved from
http://www.ihireretail.com/PremiumJobResponse.asp?
PJobID=1470565&campaigntype=SearchEngine&Campaign=
IndeedOrganic
4. H&m . (2010). Retrieved from http://www.hm.com
5. Jobs available. (2010). Retrieved from
https://hm.myvurv.taleo.net/MAIN/careerportal/Job_Profil
e.cfm?szUniqueCareerPortalID=268c159b-ea01-4f60-ba5c-
6863de543b6b&szOrderID=12657
6. Victoria’s Secret . (2010). Retrieved from
http://www.victoriassecret.com
7. Yahoo!hotjobs. (2010). Retrieved from
http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/job-
J9B3B3WLA93;_ylt=ArT01gbq4DjvsBdCvukialH6Q6IX?
source=SRP