NAME: Dana Connell, 37 / EMPLOYER: Marshall Field and Co. / SALARY RANGE: $40,000 plus
Why did you choose this field?
I started out as a Christmas hire when I was in high school. I worked in sales in cosmetics. If you talk to most people in this business you’ll find out they almost all started out as a Christmas hire.
In college at Southern Illinois University, I began as an interior design major and was working part time in a store to pay expenses. I liked the store so much I decided to switch my major to retail management.
What is your educational background?
I graduated in 1983 from Southern Illinois. You can find retail management programs within the business schools at many colleges. I initially took a sales positions at Marshall Field’s and then Neiman Marcus, but was interested in management. At first I became a clerical and then an assistant department manager.
In 1985, I joined Marshall Field’s 16-week executive training program. Then I had a four-week internship in a buying office and that was my first exposure to retail buying and I loved it. I decided that was the direction I wanted to go. But the way the program worked at that time, you had to go through various steps before you actually got to be a buyer.
At the completion of my training program, my first step was to be an assistant buyer in women’s accessories. Then I was promoted to department manager.
In 1989, I became a buyer for women’s sportswear. In 1990, however, Dayton Hudson acquired Marshall Field’s and they consolidated all buying at the headquarters in Minneapolis and I lost my job.
I took buying and management positions at Neiman Marcus and Mark Shale, but came back to Field’s in December of 1994 when Dayton Hudson decided they were going to put buyers back in Chicago. I’ve been a buyer in accessories and jewelry since then.
What is an average day like?
You have to figure out what the customer wants. Some things sell well in some stores and not in others. I spend time looking at sales reports by store to find out who is selling what. I talk to vendors a lot; hearing about new products and seeing new products. I’m on the phone and the computer a lot.
What is an average week like?
I set up special events at the stores — trunk shows or personal appearances by designers. I travel to each (Field’s) store twice a year and I go to New York five times a year.
At the stores, I talk to the sales associates on the floor about what the needs of their guests are. I try to match those needs. In New York, I go to individual showrooms and take a lot of notes and a million pictures.
When I come back here I lay it all out and decide what I am going to buy.
What’s the best thing about the job?
I like buying because it is like running your own business. It is constantly changing and it’s a real challenge. You have to trust your hunches and determine what will work. Sometimes you can be a little early with a trend. Some things that don’t sell right now may be fabulous six months from now.
I watch award shows and try to get an inkling on jewelry trends. Two years ago, I started to key into unique-looking jewelry from what I saw on those shows. I do the same thing with movies.
The movie “Titanic” was a huge deal for jewelry in general and hair jewelry in particular gained popularity after that movie. And freshwater pearl necklaces became a big deal after the movie “Tin Cup.”
When I watch movies and TV it is not just for entertainment. I am watching what people are wearing. The same thing when I look at magazines.
What’s the worst thing about the job?
You can never get it all done. There’s always something more to do.
What three attributes are essential to doing your job well?
Initiative, perseverance, and having a sense of humor.
Where will you go from here?
The next step after a senior buyer position would be to take on another senior buyer position with greater volume. Everything we do is based on dollar volume, so it would be to get a bigger area. Or another option would be to become a divisional merchandise manager.
What advice would you give to people interested in this area?
I would say you have to be patient in terms of where you are going. But if you know where you want to go and you know what position you want to have — whether it’s buyer or whatever — then set your sights on it and go above and beyond the call of duty to get where you want to go. You have to take on extra projects and keep learning to get to the next step.
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