Internship at an online fashion store, 1/3

I’m doing my internship at a smaller online fashion store based in Gothenburg that resells premium brands such as Malina, Gant, Barbour, and Busnel. I have now completed my first weeks and I have already gained valuable insights into several areas of the company. Mainly these weeks have been about getting familiar with the daily operations, such as warehouse tasks involving packing orders, putting new products in their system, and marketing.One of the most interesting parts so far has been participating in buying meetings with other brands. Here, I have observed how decisions are made regarding which product to buy from up-coming collections. 

What I noticed was how strongly these decisions are guided by the target customers. Rather than simply following trends, there is a clear focus on selecting pieces that fit the brand’s identity and what they believe their customers will actually buy. They have a more mature customer which has different needs/preferences when looking for clothes than someone my age that is around 25. This made me think more of how important it is to balance intuition, experience, knowing your customer, and market awareness in buying decisions.

I have also been adding new products into the company’s system, including writing product descriptions. Writing product descriptions made me aware of how important it is to be very detailed about how a garment feel, look, and function, as it is the only source of knowledge about the product. The way a product is described may influence how it is perceived and give somewhat an idea of how it looks in real life since the customers can’t try it before they buy it.

Another area I have been working with is content creation for their social media. Here, I noticed that marketing decisions are closely connected to inventory. For example, it is important not to promote products that are low in stock since then the customer can’t buy what is marketed. But also promote products that are high in stock and that haven’t sold as much. This made me reflect on how different parts of the business such as marketing and logistics, are highly interconnected and need to be aligned.

These first weeks have given me a broader understanding of how a premium fashion retailer operates, and I am looking forward to continuing exploring how these different elements come together. I have already noticed how different functions within the company influence each other. From buying and product presentation to marketing and communication, everything plays a role in shaping the overall customer experience.