STORE MANAGER - TINA NILSSON

"I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT THE WORK I DO AND WOULD LOVE TO SEE ALL MY CO-WORKERS SHARE THE SAME ENTHUSIASM"

Naturally, our store has to run at a profit. My role as store manager entails a high level of responsibility and independence and I want to do my job to the best of my ability. It is essential to have happy, fulfilled staff. If they are happy then this is reflected in the performance of our store.
I have had the privilege of recruiting 80 percent of those who work for me. Feedback meetings are a valuable tool. We examine how weaknesses can become strengths. It can be tough at times, but the key is to be straightforward and honest. I am passionate about the work I do and would love to see such enthusiasm in all my co-workers, not just a spark of interest. If there’s no enthusiasm it makes me wonder if they are really happy in their jobs at KappAhl.

ORIGINALLY A SEAMSTRESS
I trained to be a seamstress and ran my own dressmaking business during the 1980s. In the early 90s, I came into contact with KappAhl and joined them as an alterations seamstress. This gave me an inside look at KappAhl. I’ve been able to apply the experience of running my own business to my work as store manager in a number of ways, for example, in taking responsibility for my actions and decisions. I began working as a store manager for KappAhl in 1995 and have to say that the more experience I gain and can draw on, the more interesting my work becomes.

ALWAYS HELP ONE ANOTHER
My day usually starts between seven and eight o’clock. The visual merchandiser and I are the first to arrive. Every day, we analyse the previous day’s results and draw up a schedule for the day ahead in order of priority. The hub of the store is the storeroom where everyone works on a rolling rota. All employees are “on stage” in the store when we open up for the day. If there’s a gap to fill, we cover for one another.

GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT
There are many opportunities for me to develop in my role as the store manager. I constantly want to change, improve and simplify things. A great deal of my own development comes from helping others to develop. I have had the privilege of being a mentor on a KappAhl leadership programme on four occasions. The mentor programme enables me to share my knowledge and experience and I always gain something in return. KappAhl is a fantastic company that offers numerous opportunities for development. We frequently have trainees working with us and there are opportunities open to them too! My deputy store manager started as a trainee four years ago. Our goals are high and we aim to deliver first-rate results. My goal is for my co-workers to become as skilled and experienced as possible and perhaps one day become visual merchandisers or store managers themselves, if they want to.

VISUAL MERCHANDISER - EMELIE ÖSTENSSON

“VISUAL MERCHANDISERS ALWAYS HAVE PLENTY TO DO”

Becoming a visual merchandiser was the best thing that could have happened to me. I’m the sort of person who really does not like sitting still. There’s always something to do here – I’m everywhere – they call med the polecat!
My work involves printing signs, building zones, folding fabrics and dressing mannequins. The entire store is divided into zones. Each of the zones has a different presentation theme. This means you might have jeans in one zone, casual in another, party in another and classic in a fourth zone. Why? So that it’s easy for customers to find what they are looking for at a glance.

STARTS THE DAY WITH A ROUND OF THE STORE
I start at eight thirty on a normal working day. First I walk around the store checking that everything looks alright – making sure a mannequin hasn’t lost a hand or that nothing else is amiss. I usually do some tidying up in the morning, before the customers come in. Once the doors open, I get straight on with the campaigns because they have to be ready by noon. I then go to the various departments and help out there if needed. I'm continually redressing the mannequins and printing signs for inside and outside the store. Some of the signs arrive pre-printed, but not all of them. They have to be adjusted for whatever combinations I’ve created.

FROM TRAINEE TO EMPLOYEE
My work as a visual merchandiser began when I was unemployed and was offered a trainee position at KappAhl. I helped the visual merchandiser a lot during my trainee period. I’m now in my second job as a visual merchandiser at KappAhl and I love everything about it! It feels like all the KappAhl stores’ visual merchandisers know one another. We’re like one big family and are very supportive of one another. We hold workshops to exchange ideas and discuss new approaches. We receive a lot of internal training at KappAhl, including text writing, rules on hanging clothes and regular updates. If I need mannequins, an iron or whatever, KappAhl is always quick to help me solve the problem.

FUN JOB THAT REQUIRES FASHION SENSE
Flexibility is one of the key attributes of a visual merchandiser – the ability to be in lots of different places in the store at the same time. A lot of what I do is decided by KappAhl – campaigns and such like. But you need to have a good fashion sense.

SALES PERSON - CHARLY YOUNES

“EVEN MY FACEBOOK IS UPDATED WITH KAPPAHL’S OFFERS"

I work on the principle that the customer is always right. That way, the customer thinks that KappAhl is a decent company.

I want to give customers the best possible service and whet their buying appetites. The goal is to give them some advice that will hopefully inspire them to purchase something they hadn't thought of when they stepped inside the store. Fashion is my passion and my work is my hobby too – what more could I ask for!

SOCIABLE AND WELL-DRESSED
I leave everything that's annoying and disagreeable at home when I go to work. I think you should conduct yourself professionally and always try to have a positive attitude. I try especially hard to be obliging if the customer is grumpy. If the customer leaves the store smiling, I know I’ve done a good deed for the day. I always wear KappAhl clothes because I want the customers to be inspired in their choice of clothes. That’s why you have to like our clothes if you want to enjoy working here. I think that in order to be a good sales person, it's important to be patient, first and foremost, as well as pleasant and outgoing. An interest in clothes is good too. But I promise that you soon develop an interest anyway.

FROM TRAINEE POSITION TO FACEBOOK AMBASSADOR
I did a college course in commerce and administration and chose KappAhl for my workplace training. What I find exciting is KappAhl’s broad range of women’s, men’s and children’s clothing. After my training period I was offered a temporary position and then a permanent job. That was ten years ago and it just gets more and more interesting all the time. I couldn’t imagine working with any other company in the industry. I feel I’ve grown up at KappAhl. Even my Facebook is updated with KappAhl’s offers – I want to be selling even when I’m not at work!

TEAMWORK IS THE KEY
On a normal day, we start by filling spaces with the products sold the previous day and then we want to get the new deliveries of goods out into the store as fast as possible. We work like a team in the store. We have schedules to follow but we jump in wherever help is needed.

DESIGNER - LOUISE PLATO

“THE CHALLENGE IS TO PRODUCE A BEST-SELLER - THE PRODUCT THAT EVERYBODY WANTS”

The fit is a critical part of the design. If a garment doesn’t fit well, you won’t want to wear it. I love it when I get the feeling that a garment is so good it’s going to fit like a dream!

I am a lingerie designer and I think it’s the most fun job in the world. It’s my responsibility to develop the collection in collaboration with the purchaser. The challenge is to produce a best-seller - the product that everybody wants. Obviously it’s awful if something in the collection goes wrong. But it's important to dare to try new things because that’s when great ideas start flowing.

LONG PROCESS FROM START TO STORE
The process from an idea to a finished garment begins a whole year before the product comes onto the market. I follow trends – everything from films to the latest creations by famous designers. Once I’ve gathered all the material, my design colleagues and I choose the trends and decide what we think will sell and what will be good for KappAhl. I then design the garment on the computer. Lingerie and bras in particular have lots of details so the descriptions I produce need to be meticulous. I hand my work on to the production engineer who generates lists of measurements which form the basis for the fit of the garment. When the garment has been sewn it has to be tried out on a real model. It is very important to make sure the fit is perfect at this stage. The fit is a critical part of the design. If a garment doesn’t fit well, you won’t want to wear it. Once we have made the final adjustments to the tryout, it is ready to be manufactured and sent out to the stores. We then watch the progress of sales with excitement.

A CARING COMPANY
I really appreciate how our company recognises and acknowledges its employees by offering fitness incentives and other staff benefits. There is a positive climate among employees. We score top marks in our employee satisfaction index. That’s probably because the management believes in us. And that feels extremely good. Relevant training and education are naturally important when working as a designer at KappAhl but it's also essential to be motivated, alive to innovation and willing to explore new avenues. And an interest in fashion is a given. 

BUYER - MARCUS WENNERGRUND

“WE HAVE TO SATISFY A DIVERSITY OF CUSTOMER STYLES AT KAPPAHL, MAKING IT QUITE A CHALLENGE TO GET IT JUST RIGHT”

I am a bit of a project manager and responsible for the styles we buy in, the quantities and what they can cost. Working alongside the designer and purchasing team, I help develop all the styles from the initial idea to the sales to customers.

I’m responsible for handling the arrangements for the manufacture of the garment, including price discussions and placement of orders. Purchasing offices in China, India and Bangladesh are the link in the manufacturing chain. The work involves some travel. I visit the Far East every season. Part of my job is to develop long-term working relationships with the factories I work with. I meet our suppliers in their facilities to discuss garment and manufacturing details. Price negotiations are a key part of the job. I always aim for the best quality at the most reasonable price possible. When the clothes reach the stores, I keep close tabs on sales. If a product is selling better than expected, we quickly place new orders. If it’s not selling as planned, we have to act by reducing the price of the product or recommending changes to the product display.

COMBINING PROFESSIONALISM WITH FASHION SENSE
I have been working in the world of clothes for more than fifteen years. First as a sales assistant in a number of different stores and then as a store manager for a few years. I find myself drawing on that experience every day because what I learned from working in the stores has helped me understand how the customer thinks. KappAhl offered me the chance to move from the store to the men's department to work as a trainee purchasing co-ordinator. A good purchasing co-ordinator is genuinely interested in fashion and sales. It’s important to be socially adept in this job as you meet lots of people at home and abroad. A qualification in economics is a requirement as the work involves lots of costing and cost management. It’s also an advantage to have a structured and flexible approach combined with a high stress tolerance. The goods have to be delivered to the stores on time. 

IMPORTANT TO FIND WHAT’S RIGHT FOR THE CUSTOMER
We have to satisfy a diversity of customer styles at KappAhl, making it quite a challenge to get it just right. It's often more difficult to say what will be a best-seller across the board than it is to identify the season’s top trends. We’re setting our sights high for the future, but we’ve also got loads of great ideas about how we can create an even better range and increase our sales. And that’s where the real challenge lies.