Farewell Lai Chi Kok--Amanda Ritter

My seventh week at Li and Fung approached too quickly. I've met so many people that I will never forget. One of my most memorable experiences at the company was my farewell lunch hosted by some of my LF co-workers. Ten or so co-workers surprised me with my favorite Chinese food, dim sum. We spent the entire lunch laughing and enjoying each others company. I even tried new foods, surprisingly, considering that I am such a picky eater. Jello pork cubes and Chinese tea were some of the items I tried. 

I also learned when someone refills your tea, you tap the table with two fingers to say thank you. This only works for tea. If someone serves you food or dessert you would verbally thank them. The rest of the week, I surprised my other co-workers at lunch by tapping the table during tea service. It put a smile on their face knowing that I was learning Chinese traditions.

Enjoying Dim Sum at a local Chinese Restaurant in Lai Chi Kok with LF Sourcing Co-Worker Eldi.

For the remainder of the day, the staff tried their hardest to make my last few days very memorable. On our way to work, they took me by a beach display in a mall, knowing that I live near the beach. I couldn't believe they remembered or even thought of doing this for me! They told me to go sit in the chair and pretend I was at home for a bit. This was the hardest I laughed being in Hong Kong due to looking like such a stereotypical American. Nevertheless, I felt so flattered that my co-workers would go out of their way to show me a little piece of home. 

The beach display in the mall that my co-workers made me sit at to feel at home.

I am truly going to miss the company of my new friends at LF Sourcing. Not only have they taught me valuable skills and tasks inside the office, but they have also gone out of their way to make me feel at home. I hope to reunite with all of them one day in the future.

Amanda Ritter
L & F

Market Shopping in Hong Kong

Wallets, magnets, bags, bags, bags. At Ladies Market.

         Hong Kong has several street markets: clothing markets, fish markets, flower markets, antique markets, and more. The street markets I went to mostly sold clothing, accessories, and electronics. The markets were Ladies Market in Mong Kok, Fa Yuen Market in Prince Edward, Central Street Markets, and Temple Street Market at Yau Mei Tai.
       The bad part about shopping at these markets is you're not allowed to try on the clothes. They justify it by saying that they are already selling the clothing at cheap prices. So, you have to make your best judgment by putting the garment against your body and looking in the mirror. However, the nice part about markets is that if it's not in a retail store, you can bargain! The art of bargaining comes with experience, but it's definitely worth trying. Who doesn't want to buy a good for less than the initial price? One thing I learned is that if you buy more from them, the seller will be more lenient in lowering the price.

       When I went to Temple Street Market with two other UD students to buy Longchamp bags, we were able to bargain with a seller based on the fact that we were each buying a bag. If we had tried to bargain individually, it would have been much more difficult. The end result was not bad- we were given the price of 3 bags for $300 HKD and ended up paying $270 in total. 

Ladies Market in Mong Kok! It's one of the most popular markets amongst locals and tourists.

        Once you bargain a couple times, it actually becomes fun! It was nice to experience what bargaining was like since that is something we do not have back in the U.S. It's not that hard to learn and as long as you stay strong, you can save lots of money! 

ANN Incredible Internship--Angelina DiFrancesco

For my Hong Kong internship this summer, I worked for Ann Taylor Sourcing Far East Ltd. in the Ann Taylor Factory (ATF) and LOFT Outlet (LOS) division. Specifically, I was on the merchandising team for woven styles for ATF refined, ATF suits, ATF dresses, LOS refined and LOS dresses. The refined lines include best selling styles from Ann Taylor and LOFT that have been modified to 2^nd tier quality to be sold at a lower price point. There are no Ann Inc. stores in Asia, nor does Hong Kong have any in house designers. All designs come from the design team in New York. The New York office has the final say on everything from fabric approval, to color matching, to trims. Because of this, we are in constant communication with our counterparts in New York.

These are the color standards and pattern artwork sent from our counterparts at the New York office. I helped to make physical copies to pass along to the mill and factory, as well as digital copies to store in our shared K drive.

At the Hong Kong office, our main activities can be broken down into development and production. Development involves fabric sourcing, line building, ordering sample yardage, line review samples, trim sourcing, and approving print or dye colors. Production activities include approving trims and ordering them in bulk, the fitting process, bulk fabric testing, garment production and shipping. Although development and production are two distinct areas, it is difficult to separate the two because both occur simultaneously. For example, while we may be ordering sample yardage for one style, we are also getting zippers approved for another style. Even styles from the same line can be at drastically different phases of completion. Throughout my internship, I worked on the winter 2013 and spring 2014 lines.

I helped to send these two trim samples to the design team in New York so they could decide which finish they preferred for one of the Spring '14 ATF refined styles. They chose blacken nickel, but ended up using antique silver on another style.

My daily responsibilities involved uploading fabric information sheets (FIS) and development test reports as they were completed. I assisted in communications with textile mills, factories, and our counterparts in New York. I placed orders for sample yardage and sent the color standards to mills for them to match them as closely as possible. I requested cost information and lead times from factories to coordinate sample development and delivery. When I communicated with New York, I asked them to place sample requests and facilitated the shipment of trim samples and line review samples. 

Fashion really is a global industry and I corresponded with people from New York, China, and Indonesia on a regular basis. Everyone in my office was constantly juggling multiple tasks and by the end, I had to prioritize my list of tasks based on the ever-looming deadlines, as well. I am so thankful for everything I have learned throughout this experience and I feel confident that fashion is the perfect industry for me. Despite the stress of deadlines, I tend to thrive under pressure. Most importantly, my career in fashion will always be filled with new and exciting challenges.

This fabric passed the initial inspection, but the factory found a flaw during sample making. The slight skew of the pattern made it so the pattern did not line up properly. In order for it to line up, the skirt would pucker along the side seam. In this situation, the New York office must choose whether to proceed anyway or to drop the style from the line.

Angelina DiFrancesco

Ann Taylor Sourcing Far East Ltd.

Campus Life--Melani Cullen

During my internship, I had an amazing opportunity to travel to one of the footwear factories that manufactures Columbia’s shoes in Mainland China. It was a great experience seeing the assembly lines, and learning about how the company takes an innovative idea and turns it into the products we see in the retail stores. It was so cool to see the process because all the steps that go into creating the 3D objects are often over looked. I never thought about all the pieces that are sewn prior to assembly, or the actual assembly line and how a pair of shoes may by touched by up to a hundred people. Similarly, Columbia exposed me to a more personal side of the industry that people never think about.

Life outside the factory is a topic that is often overlooked. These workers don't experience the typical dorm lifestyle that we generally visualize. They have to travel to the part of the country where the factories are in order to find work, and that means leaving their hometown and loved ones behind. The workers stay for almost a year, and during Chinese New Years they return to their hometown until it is time to return to the factory. The factory provides on-property housing in a dorm like setting. It’s sad to think that the factory becomes all the workers see. They work at the factory 6 days a week, eleven hours a day, and when it’s time to go “home,” they take a 30-second walk across the parking lot to their temporary home. Unfortunately, there are times when workers have to go even longer without a day off due to peak production season in the summer.

The tour through the dorms was mind blowing. Hundreds of workers are in and out of the dorms daily so with out a doubt, everything was almost worn out in regards to the facility’s aesthetics. Even though the rooms had four sets of bunk beds, they were the size of a typical dorm room, which is not big at all. The workers were assigned individual storage cubbies that the workers could lock if they wanted to store anything of value. Each bed also had a curtain around it in order to provide privacy and their own space. Additionally, each dorm room had an air conditioner so that the workers could stay cool and be more comfortable, and there is a children’s room where their kids can stay during the day if they are visiting. There is a schoolroom where they are given lessons, and a playroom as well. Moreover, the dorm had a huge cafeteria on the ground level, which serves breakfast (1 RMB), lunch (2.50 RMB), and dinner (2.50 RMB) for an affordable price, which totals to 6 RMB a day (About $1). The dorms were nothing special and seemed very minimalistic, but you could tell the workers appreciate the things that they do have.

Melani Cullen

Columbia Sportswear

A Day in the Life of a GUESS Merchandising Manager - Lexi Baril

Last week, my supervisor surprised me by taking me to GUESS’ handbag showroom to see the new handbag collections for spring 2014. The handbag showroom is in a different GUESS office here in Hong Kong. I went with my supervisor, along with two buyers for the Hong Kong/Macau region who are on the team. Upon arriving at the office, we were brought to the showroom, which was stocked with all kinds of snacks and drinks for us to enjoy. The showroom was completely white, with clear glass furnishings and clear glass cubes hanging from the ceilings, which displayed the handbags and wallets. We went around the room and looked at each bag –  testing color, detailing, feel, and weight. Afterward, the buyers went around the room again and made their own notes on what would and would not be successful in the Hong Kong/Macau region. They will use this information to place the order for Spring 2014 handbags at the end of July.

Handbag advertisement photos line the hallway at the GUESS handbag office!

After going to the handbag showroom, my supervisor took me with her to see a fitting! She wanted to show me a “day in the life” of a merchandising manager. We went to yet another GUESS office about a half hour away. I met GUESS Asia’s fit model, GiGi. She was fitted for knit, denim, and outerwear for Fall and Winter 2013-2014. The team critiqued the fit, color, stitching, and embellishment placement of each garment – placing pins in areas that needed improvement. They took GiGi’s opinion into consideration a lot as well – asking her about the feel, comfort, and fit of each garment she put on. It was awesome to be able to see first-hand what goes on at a fitting!

Unfortunately I could not take pictures of the fitting, but one of the jackets GiGi tried on was similar to this one above - from GUESS' last winter collection!

Although it was a long day, it was so rewarding to be able to get a behind the scenes look at what a merchandising manager does on a day-to-day basis.



Lexi Baril - GUESS 

On My Way to Work...--Shirley Cheung

Part of the long trek downhill from Mid-Levels to Central station

On my way to work, I have to take a long trek downhill to get to the Central MRT station.  I can take a bus, but usually waiting for the bus takes longer.  The walk back uphill is near impossible, especially when the sun is out, so I always take the bus to come back to the hotel. I am only one MRT stop away from my job, and then I have a short walk before I get to my company. I get there half an hour before my actual start time so I can enjoy breakfast at a restaurant there.

Looking down to the region where they call Central

I was told I could walk from Central to Sheung Wan (the MRT stop where my workplace is) and it would probably save time but after that downhill trek I decided to give myself a break. Especially since I think that riding the MRT is much easier than finding my way through the messy streets and all the buildings that look the same. It is probably a good idea to invest in a detailed map or at least a guide book that shows the small streets of Hong Kong to effectively keep you from getting lost in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is a mix of green and skyscrapers,
beautiful for the scenery, but watch out for bugs!

Other things to watch out for include the fact that Hong Kong is normally made up of tall skyscrapers but is also surrounded by vegetation that resembles small woods. When walking through or around bushes and forest areas, bug spray is a good thing to bring because five minutes of standing under the shade could lead to a plethora of bug bites on your legs if you’re wearing shorts. Believe me, I experience it… Hong Kong is made up of hilly paths and older regions.

Shirley Cheung 

Company Blog

It's Showtime!--Milena Ho

      This past week, I spent a lot of time in the showroom, whether it was for a meeting or taking photos of denim washes. The showroom is huge and absolutely stunning. We display our womenswear, menswear, denim, GUESS wall and denim shelves, handbags, accessories, sunglasses, watches, and some jewelry. The space is amazing and has a wonderful feel.

      The store operations team, design the basic store setup showing where the bags should be placed, where a specific style should be featured, and so on. Once the store setup is agreed on, the store operations team takes photos and sends them to all accounts. It would be strange for each GUESS store to have vastly different window displays and store layouts, so they avoid this by giving them guidelines. These guidelines include how to dress the mannequins, what to put in the window display, how the tables should be positioned, etc. Of course, every single store does not have to match the sample store setup 100 percent; some stores may choose to change a few garments around in the store for example. Besides, each store has a different amount of space; it would be unrealistic to have each and every store look exactly the same.

This is the womenswear and handbags section of the showroom.

            Before this internship, I never stepped inside a showroom. So of course, my first reaction was, “Oh, wow!” I was honestly amazed at how well lit the showroom was, how spacious it was, and how real it seemed; it closely resembled a GUESS store. But now, after making multiple visits to the showroom, it feels like any normal place.

             Since spending hours on end in the office is not something I love, entering the showroom is definitely like a breath of fresh air.  I love how the whole floor combines the behind-the-scenes office with the hands-on and design-requiring showroom. The fact that we have samples in the room makes me excited and serves as a constant reminder of our brand image. When looking at any piece of GUESS merchandise, one can quickly notice the fun, the sexy, the adventurous, and the sophisticated looks.

Fun Fact: This is Paul Marciano's office here in Hong Kong!

Milena Ho

Guess