KappAhl in Shanghai part 1

Hello, or nǐ hǎo, as you say in China!

For almost three weeks ago, I started my internship at KappAhl in Shanghai. KappAhl is a Swedish fast fashion brand for women, men, children and infants, with head office in Gothenburg. The brand has retail stores located in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland and UK. However, their production is mainly in Asia, and in order to get closer to their suppliers, KappAhl has established local production offices in the countries where the production takes place. One of these offices is in Shanghai, and this is where I got the opportunity to complete my internship for two months.

 

The entrance to the commercial center 

The view from the office

The office has several departments / teams, and I will be joining these for a couple of days each. So far, I have worked with two of the merchandising teams (heavy knit and jersey) and in the inhouse lab. On the first two mentioned departments, there is a lot of contact with the buyers in Sweden as well as the suppliers in China. Daily tasks include to send out inquiries to suppliers, place orders, evaluate samples, etc. based on what the buyers request. To the suppliers we, among other things, ask for samples, give feedback on samples and negotiate prices. In the inhouse lab I performed several tests on samples, including fabric, trims and accessories, based on KappAhl’s physical requirements. Other departments at the office include product development, social compliance, quality control, logistics, technicians, and the merchandising team for woven and outerwear. It is also planned that I will visit the port, and some factories and suppliers.

I feel very excited to be here at this office, but also to be in Shanghai. There is often nice weather during this season, a lot of different food to experience, and it feels like there is endless of shopping, restaurants and things to do here in one of the world’s largest cites, so I really enjoy it here!

Sunny regards from Shanghai,

Filippa