VISIONARY, INDEPENDENT, PASSIONATE?

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A R E YO U
VISIONARY,
INDEPENDENT,
PASSIONATE?
A N I N V I T A T I O N T O O U R G R A D UA T E T R A I N I N G S C H E M E
[introduction]
“
We are
after people
with drive and
initiative. We
want individuals
who are capable,
ambitious and
self-motivated.
Liz Cook
HR manager
6
w w w.f en w i c k .co. u k /g r a d u a te s
In the blood:
Mark Fenwick,
Chairman
W EL CO M E
To the Fenwick Graduate
Training Scheme
Fenwick is the UK’s leading independent store
group with a reputation for being distinctive,
innovative and for sourcing the very best
merchandise for our customers. We now have
11 stores in the Group staffed by a loyal and
talented team, many of whom started on our
Watch the
graduate training scheme. Over the following
interviews
pages you can read about the experiences of
To hear more about the
three of our graduates and gain an insight
scheme, visit “careers”
at fenwick.co.uk
into what it is like to be part of the Fenwick
and watch
the videos
team – a team that is dedicated to the
quality and excellence reflected in our
stores. I hope their experiences will
inspire you to come and join us.
fenwick.co.uk
3
[�ns�de
s�o��]
[inside
O U R
D I S COV ER
F EN W I C K
“
AHEAD OF THE TREND
The�e a�e 11
s�o�es �n �he
U�, no� a�� o�
�hem �a��� �he
Fenw��� name
The first Fenwick stores,
in Newcastle then London,
specialised in womenswear.
But when the founder’s son
Fred Fenwick went to Paris
to learn about the ways of
retail in the fashion capital,
he discovered the emergence
of “department stores”. These
shops didn’t just sell one
type of merchandise, they sold
several, all under one roof,
but separated into their own
departments. He returned full
of enthusiasm and the Fenwick
womenswear stores restyled
themselves as modern day
department stores.
If you have the talent you’ll
quickly rise to the top.
O U R
4
S T O R ES
Established in 1882, Fenwick remains a family business but each
of its 11 stores across the UK are independently managed and
run with product ranges singularly designed to appeal to local
customers. “Our customers are the focal point of everything we
do,” explains Chairman Mark Fenwick. “So we have created a
21st century department store group based on delivering local
knowledge, unique product and impeccable service.” The result
is that with Fenwick, you get the security of a big business, but
with the independence of a small one.
PA S T A N D P R E S E N T
ISTO
OUR H
story]
P E O P LE
Buyers and managers are at the heart of our business and on the
Fenwick Graduate Training Scheme you will be on the fast track
king in
to becoming one. You will gain in-depth experience working
a variety of departments and you will quickly become involvved in
every aspect of the retail process, from leading your team, analysing
anal
trends, talking to customers and negotiating with suppliers.
ers.
“Buyers take responsibility for their product from sourcing
cing it to
selling it in store. It is a bit like running your own business,”
business, says
HR manager Liz Cook. “You take responsibility for ever
erything.”
Responsibility is something you will be given plenty of at
Fenwick, so what we look for in our graduate trainees aree those
people who have the drive, creativity and commercial acumen to
make things happen. “If you want your career to fly, it’s the
perfect place to be,” says Liz. “There is no rigid structure to hold
you back from achieving your goals. Just show your potential
ial
and you will be on your way.”
RY
1882
1890
1891
1962
1976
1980
1984
1986
1992
2001
2003
2008
�� Fenw���, who
s�a��ed h�s �a�ee�
as a shop ass�s�an�,
opens h�s ���s�
s�o�e �n New�as��e,
a “Man��e Ma�e� and
Fu���e�”
��’s son F�ed
Fenw��� �o�ns �he
�am��� bus�ness
�� Fenw��� expands
�he bus�ness ��om
�he No��h Eas�,
open�n� a se�ond
Fenw��� s�o�e on
�ash�onab�e Bond
S��ee� �n London
�ohn Fenw���,
��andson o� �he
�ounde�, a�qu��es
�he Le��es�e�
depa��men� s�o�e
�oseph �ohnson
and �eb�ands ��
B�en� ��oss
Shopp�n� �en��e,
�he ���s� o� ��s
��nd �n �he U�,
opens w��h Fenw���
as a ��a�sh�p
depa��men� s�o�e
Fenw��� W�ndso�
opens. The Bond
S��ee� s�o�e
doub�es �n s�ze
Fenwick York
opens
Ricemans store
in Canterbury
is acquired by
Fenwick
Fenwick Tunbridge
Wells opens
Fenwick acquires
the Bentalls
Group and retains
Kingston and
Bracknell
Ricemans is
demolished and
Fenwick opens a
new store in
Canterbury
Fenwick acquires
Williams &
Griffin, the
Colchester
department store
fenwick.co.uk
fenwick.co.uk
5
[first
person]
Q. What was the most important thing you
learnt on the graduate recruitment scheme?
PR
OFILE
Joined: 2008
Favouri�e depar�men�:
Apar� from my own?
Menswear, i� has
really grea� fashion.
Bes� career experience:
Overseeing �he refi� of
�he TV and Audio depar�men�,
i�’s looking really
fan�as�ic now.
A. Wow, that’s almost impossible to answer. I learnt so much.
All the different aspects of buying, how to think commercially,
how to work with customers, how to manage a team.
Everything really. And I’m still learning now. I think one of
the most interesting things I learnt was about me and how
passionate I could get about a product that I previously knew
nothing about. For example, I was Assistant Buyer for Prams
and Nursery. I don’t have kids myself and before doing that
job I had no idea about prams, I just thought they carried
babies. But just like anything else, the customer has all sorts of
other criteria like colour, size, price. Once you get into buying,
you get passionate about any product.
Q. Did you always want to be a buyer?
A. I studied aviation engineering at university, so I don’t think
I was really thinking about it then. But I’d worked in my Dad’s
restaurant as a student, which made me realise I liked working
with people. After university I had a Sales Assistant’s job at
Fenwick before I applied for the graduate scheme and that
was when I started thinking seriously about retail as a career.
People person
From dealing
with customers
to building
relationships
with your
suppliers,
buying is all
about working
with people
“
“
I had no idea about prams. But
once you get into buying you get
passionate about any product.
Q. What’s the most enjoyable part of your job?
A. I love seeing a customer leave with a product you’ve just sold
them and knowing that they’re going to be really happy with it.
Especially in TV and Audio where you spend quite a lot of time
with a customer and you get asked a lot of questions. It feels
good. I like building relationships with suppliers too, knowing
you get good deals because you’ve put in the work. And my
team, of course. I love working together and seeing the same
faces every day. It’s all about the people really.
YO G ES H
R AW LLE Y
TV AND AUDIO BUYER
Ne w c astle
6
fenwick.co.uk
Q. Where do you think your career will go
in the next five years?
A. I’d like to take on more responsibility as a buyer for other
departments. It’s started already, and I mentor a graduate trainee
who’s managing the Prams and Nursery department. That’s the
good thing about Fenwick, they give you all the responsibility
you want and also plenty of support and help to make sure you
don’t feel out of your depth.
fenwick.co.uk
Watch the
interview
Visit fenwick.co.uk/
careers to see
Yogesh talk about
his experience
7
[first
Q. What were the first things you did on the graduate
recruitment scheme?
A. I remember the first day, there were two other graduates and
we were shown around the store and introduced to the heads of
different departments like logistics and merchandising. It was
very much a blast into the store, getting to know everything
about the shop and what was sold. There was lots of induction
over the next two weeks with projects where we’d be asked to
find certain items in the store or to look at a department and say
what products we thought were missing.
Q. What was your first big
responsibility on the scheme?
PROFI
A. I was assigned to women’s fashion and
I managed about 20 members of staff. I had
a mentor and a direct line manager who
would give me guidance. At times it could
be quite tough, there were a lot of people
who had worked there a long time and
I was coming in fresh and managing them.
Resilience was important.
LE
Joined: 2010
Favouri�e depar�men�: I
love my denim depar�men�.
Everyone wan�s a good pair
of jeans and i�’s a real
skill finding �he righ�
ones for �he cus�omer.
Bes� perk of �he job: The
�ravel. I love heading off
�o New York when everyone
else is jus� heading �o
�he office.
“
person]
about fashion and then moving into it. I was an Assistant Buyer
for a year or so and then got this role as a Fashion Buyer about
a year and a half ago.
Q. What does your job involve now?
A. I select all the ranges for the Weekend and Lifestyle sections
of Fashion. It means I go to meet all the suppliers, go to trade
shows, decide how to spend the budget, react to what’s selling,
order new stock. I spend all day with different people, which I
love, I’m very sociable. And I meet the customers too. Although
sometimes I just like to watch them and see what they look at,
what they like and don’t like.
I meet the suppliers,
go to trade shows,
decide how to spend the
budget. I spend all day
with different people.
A. I do, but my problem is that
I’m always looking at clothes nine
months ahead, so I’m always bored
with the clothes I actually own and
just dying for the new season stuff
to come in.
Q. When did you move into buying?
A. After about three months, I started
doing one day a week in the
office working with the buyers.
And then after a year I became
a Buyer’s Assistant. I stayed in
fashion for the whole of my
graduate trainee time because my
boss felt that I would get the best
benefit from learning everything
CAO I M H E
B R A D LE Y
Fashion queen
Caoimhe
spent all
her graduate
trainee time
working with
fashion, as her
boss recognised
where her
skills lay
FASHION BUYER
Bentalls, Kingston and Bra cknell
8
Q. Do you have the most
amazing wardrobe?
fenwick.co.uk
fenwick.co.uk
Watch the
interview
Visit fenwick.co.uk/
careers to see
Caoimhe talk about
her experience
9
[first
LE
PROFI
Joined: 2000
Where: Bren� Cross
Favouri�e depar�men�: Toys
and cookware. I was a Buyer
for �hose depar�men�s
before �his job and I
love going �o see wha�’s
appearing on �he shelves.
Bes� career experience: A
buying �rip where I go� �o
see all �he S�ar Wars �oys
and clips from �he movie
before i� was launched �o
�he public.
Q. What did the graduate recruitment scheme involve?
A. I started on the scheme in 2000 along with three other
graduates and within a couple of months we were given
Christmas departments to run. Mine was Men’s Gifts. It was
a really great opportunity. I had a team of four or five staff to
manage and we had to set up the whole area and put the stock
out so it looked good. I had to do all the staff rotas, manage
stock levels, re-order stock and work in the department,
collecting stock from the warehouse, taking in deliveries,
wheeling trolleys around. It was really busy. I can still remember
the feeling on Christmas Eve when we’d done it, we’d sold
all our stock. It was exhilarating and exhausting. From there
I moved into Childrenswear as a Sales Manager, which was a
bigger department so more responsibility and more turnover. After
that the official graduate scheme ended, but we were still nurtured.
We still are really.
Q. How did your career develop once the graduate
scheme finished?
A. I first moved to be Assistant Buyer in Cookware and
Electricals then became a Buyer in Toys, which I really enjoyed.
It was a bit like being in the film Big where you’re a grown-up
revisiting your childhood. I remember flying a remote control
aeroplane around one morning with the MD staring at me. But
it was work, I had to check it was suitable for the store. I had
some good successes there. Kids crazes can come round so fast
that they catch other stores out, but because we’re in charge of
our own departments and don’t have to run everything by a head
office, we can react quickly. When Scoubidou was all the craze
we were the only department store for miles that had them, we
had queues of people coming to buy them. After Toys, I moved
to Electronic Gifts then Cookware and Electrical before this
opportunity came up to move into the finance side and onto
the Senior Management team. Even though I didn’t have the
accountancy background, my boss thought I’d be good at it and
had the belief in me, so she gave me the opportunity.
K EV I N
B Ö C K ER
HEAD OF FINANCE AND IT
Br ent Cr oss
10
fenwick.co.uk
person]
“
Within a couple of
months we were given
Christmas departments
to run. I can still
remember Christmas
Eve. It was exhilarating
and exhausting.
Toy story
Kevin spent
time as a buyer
in toys before
his move to
Head of Finance
for Brent Cross
Q. What does your job involve now?
A. Like all the jobs I’ve done here, it’s different every day,
which I love. I manage a team of 30 and between us we pay
suppliers, oversee customer accounts and customer services,
manage the staff wages, count the takings, look after the financial
accounts for the store, make sure we meet our targets, compile
reports for the merchandising departments. Finance encompasses
everything so we get involved in whatever comes up. At Christmas
I’ll be on the tills and packing the customer’s shopping.
fenwick.co.uk
Watch the
interview
Visit fenwick.co.uk/
careers to see
Kevin talk about
his experience
11
[in
focus]
T H E F EN W I C K
G R A D UAT E S C H EM E
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
A good buyer and manager has:
ENTHUSIASM
FLAIR
INITIATIVE
CONFIDENCE
COMMERCIAL
AWA R E N E S S
PEOPLE SKILLS
ENERGY
6
w w w.f en w i c k .co . u k /g r a d u a te s
Where does it take place?
You can apply to the Fenwick
graduate recruitment scheme at four
of our stores: Newcastle, Brent Cross,
Canterbury and Bentalls, Kingston.
Perfect fit
Fenwick’s
graduate scheme
is tailored to
its graduates,
there is no “one
size fits all”
Is it the same scheme at
each store?
ore?
Each store runs its own scheme and
looks after its graduates independently,
so there is no “one size fits all”. The
aim of the scheme is to create excellent
buyers and managers, but it will work
with you as an individual to do this.
We will take into account your personal
strengths and interests and the store’s
needs and requirements as we plan
your development.
What will I do on
the scheme?
heme?
In general, the scheme will start with an
induction where you learn everything
about the store and experience the
different departments. You will then
get plenty of commercial experience
on the shop floor so that you can really
understand your customers, what sells,
how to sell it and how to manage a
sales team.
Because of the need to understand
every aspect of the business, you won’t
just be observing others. You will be
unpacking stock as it arrives, bringing it
to the shop floor on trolleys, pricing it
up, designing display units, working the
At a glance
● Four stores to
choose from
● Experience all
aspects of the
retail process
● Learn how to
manage a team and
analyse trends
● Work with buyers
● Gain early
responsibilty
tills - in short you will get thoroughly
immersed in the retail environment.
As part of the graduate scheme you
will also have plenty of opportunities
to learn the key skills of being a buyer.
You might work one day a week in
the office alongside buyers or once
you have grasped the commercial side,
you might become a buyer’s assistant.
You will learn how to analyse data so
you can see what is selling well and
why, you will go out to meet suppliers
fenwick.co.uk
13
[ g r a[diuna tfeo csucsh]e m e ]
and gain experience of negotiating deals
and you will travel to international trade
shows where you can hone your skills for
identifying great products to buy.
Will I always be
based in the store?
ore?
Local shop
Four of our stores run
the graduate scheme:
Newcastle, Brent
Cross, Canterbury
and Kingston
Most of the training is “on the job”,
but not always on the shop floor. There
will be some dedicated teaching time,
including a week at a university learning
management skills.
What job will
I end up with?
The scheme is geared towards creating
confident and successful buyers and
managers who can run their own
department within the Fenwick store.
You might not have this job title by the
end of your first year, but most of our
graduates are well on their way by then.
Do I need a particular
deg to apply?
degree
At Fenwick we are not looking for
a specialised degree, just one that shows
a good level of intelligence. If you have the
right skills and attributes to
be a buyer, we know we will be
able to develop those skills and
train you.
Kevin Böcker
Head of Finance, Brent Cross
and former graduate trainee
When do
app
applications close?
se?
“
At the end of December for
the scheme which starts the
following September.
The scheme is geared
towards creating
confident, successful
buyers who can run
their own department.
How do I apply?
You’ll find an application
form and all the instructions
at www.fenwick.co.uk/aboutfenwick/careers/graduatecareers
14
“
Like all the
jobs I’ve done
here it’s
different
every day,
which I love.
fenwick.co.uk
R.S.V.P.
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