Learning Crocs' Company Culture--Shirley Cheung

My very own desk cubicle and a Dell Laptop for me to use!

I was given my own cubicle with a desk and 3 drawers and a laptop to use. Also provided were basics for me to borrow like stapler, tape, ruler and pens and pencils. They also provided me with a notebook and folders that I could have. As part of endorsing the Crocs culture, I was also given a coupon for a free pair of Crocs shoes that I was to wear to work daily.  Another task they created was to have all their employees work two shifts a year at a company-owned retail store so that the employees could understand the Crocs customer.

First things to get accustomed to when working in a corporate office are abbreviations of words; like GSM, MDS and also abbreviations of the country names are important to a company like mine that takes care of consolidating companies in different countries. Then you should get familiar with their use of vocabulary. In America, what we would call an ‘orientation’ to introduce and teach new concepts to a newcomer, in Crocs, they like to call ‘briefing.’ I have never heard of this term before and did not have the confidence to ask what it was and instead participated in all these “briefings” until I had a slight idea of the term and ended up Google searching the definition online.

The Retail Marketing section of the company floor, the Crocs' office is consisted of
many sectioned cubicles. The "front desk" is actually the first 3 desks by the front
door in the office and the HR region is in the upper right corner section.

It is uncommon to use the term “foresee,” which is frequently used by my company to refer to measuring consumer experience satisfaction, I assumed the term would stand for an act of foreshadowing what customers would want in the future.  Crocs refers to its Foresee manager as the one who deals with consumer experience and satisfaction. 

When I was asked whether or not I knew this term, I said exactly what I thought it meant through observation of how others used it. My team leader did not hesitate in pointing out my mistake in front of the whole group at the meeting and I became the laughing stock. Hong Kong people are known to be very open with their thoughts. But they usually don’t mean any harm, they probably wouldn’t even notice that they may have upset you. The next day this same lady asked me about where I usually eat and introduced me to a favorite place of the employees.

Shirley Cheung
Crocs

More than just work, more than just the office--Abby Wongsuwan

Interning at VF Asia Ltd. has been one of the most amazing experiences for me. I’ve not only learned about the works in the fashion industry, but I’ve also learned about the corporate culture and the office environment. It’s important to know how to interact with people in the working environment appropriately. The way people act in “The Real World” is very different from how they act in school or in college. Also maintaining a good relationship within and outside the department helps ensure the work to go smoothly. A lot of time these things cannot simply be taught in class. I am very grateful that I got the opportunity to learn this through the real world experience. Surely, these skills will help me pursue my goal in the future professional career.

I learned these people skills by interacting with the people in the office. At VF office, they have pantry area for the staff to eat and enjoy their break. It’s located on every floor. Beside the seating area, the area includes coffee machine, refrigerator, and vending machine. The office provides coffee, tea, water, and other refreshment.  A lot of people also use this area to socialize, talking about work or other topics. Also, the area is used for the meeting when the meeting room is occupied. It provides more of a casual environment for a less serious meeting.

Pantry on the 8^th floor.

Since VF is rather a big company, they put together many activities to provide the employees an opportunity to get to know each other both in and outside the department. Coming up is the Ice Cream Day, which will be Friday, June 28 in the afternoon. It will be at the pantry on the 8th floor; I work on the same floor. VF once held friends and family day on the weekend. From these events, photos were collected and shown on the TV monitor on the 8th floor entrance.

Pantry on the 8^th floor

One of my favorite events that the company organized was the sample sale. VF has the annual sample sale, that includes every brand, twice a year. Other than that, each brand also has its own sample sale. The brands offer the products to the employees with a very special discount. I went to the annual sample sale, which lasted two days. Almost everyone came to the sale. I recognized all the managers and staff from all different departments, the IT specialist from the help desk center, and the staffs from the mailroom. Surely almost everyone in VF participated in this event and they seemed to enjoy it every much.

Abby Wongsuwan

VF

Nearly Free Samples--Angelina DiFrancesco

During my first week at Ann Taylor in Hong Kong, I received a curious email that immediately caught my attention. "Sample sale this Thursday & Friday! All pieces  $15.00. Preview this Wednesday with damaged and marked samples for only $3.00!" To put that into perspective, 15 Hong Kong dollars is only $1.93 USD and 3 Hong Kong dollars is 39 cents. You can't get much better than that!

Here I am digging through the tops at the sample sale with my associates.

You can see that the whole room is full of tables piled high with garments.

The sample sale is a seasonal event held as a way to unload garment samples and make some money back. Samples are created by the factories and then sent to the office in Hong Kong. The first sample is the line review sample, of which there are three copies. We mark one sample and send it to our counterparts at the New York office for approval and fitting. We keep the other two samples in Hong Kong. One is for the tech team and one is for our local QA, or quality assurance team. Once a sample passes all tests and is approved by New York, we can order in bulk. Sometimes the first fit is approved, but other times New York requests another, called the 2nd fit sample. For more complex garments, a 3rd fit may be necessary.

My associates Kitty, Sindy, and Clara enjoying the sample sale.

They were very helpful and picked out clothes for me to try on.

With all these samples floating around, it is no wonder that Ann Inc. gets stuck with a lot of extra garments. Samples cannot be sold in stores and the sample sale is open to employees only. I walked into what is usually a meeting room, but instead it held large tables piled high with numerous garments. That was when the madness ensued. Everyone was digging through the piles and grabbing whatever they could get their hands on. I had a hard time getting into the fray, so my associates kindly picked garments out for me and gave me feedback on the fit. The garments were marked "SAMPLE," "1st," or "2nd," indicating there place in the development process. Unfortunately for my small-framed associates and I, all of the samples are size 8 or size 8 petite. With the help of a belt and the serendipitous fact that loose fits are in, I was able to pick out an Ann Taylor jacket and a LOFT sweater for only $3.86 USD. Ann encourages us to wear its clothing, but it doesn't have any stores in Asia. Many of my associates have never been to the brick and mortar stores, so the sample sale is an important way for them to experience the brand.

Angelina DiFrancesco

Ann Taylor Sourcing Far East Ltd.

One-Week Factory Visit in Mainland China--Eva Hu

Week 3, the experience working in China was totally different than working in Hong Kong. Instead of sitting in the office, I could finally discover my wonders about what is inside of “Made in China” in person.  As company scheduled I visited 4 factories with my colleagues in P.R.C to understand the production flow.  The factories that I visited manufacture handbags, luggage, fabric and ox hide for Kipling and Eastpak.

When I walked into the first factory mill, Winning Dragon, I was overwhelmed by the work environment. Repeating noisy sound coming out from thousands of sewing machines, hot humid air smelt bad with machine oil and people’s perspirations. I felt like I was going to die in 10 seconds and hope to never work in this kind of environment. However when I turned around and saw those hardworking people, I suddenly raised my sympathy and regret. Some of workers looked similar like my age but we seemed in totally different status. They quitted to pursue higher educations in order to make money and feed families. In contrast, I was there to learn, to understand the production side of knowledge, in order to enhance my career development for my own interest. The supervisor who guided me is from Taiwan, told me he has been staying in Mainland China for 10 years managing the factory. He has seen a huge skill development on Chinese workers from zero to ten. That is becoming a part of reason why some the labor cost in China is increasing, in addition to some regulations from government, now a lot of manufactures are moving out of the country. For instance, Eastpak has moved their factories in Bengal, Cambodia and Thailand to save on cost. But on another aspects, China is moving forward to make better quality goods associate with prestige.

This is my factory mill called Winning Dragon. They produce 85% handbags for Kipling.

During the time spent there, I realized using technology is becoming an important role in Chinese manufacturing. Computerized pattern making machines and camera surveillances are widely used in factory mills. The company installed “water windows” to prevent worker dehydration and this helped cool down the overall temperature in factory mills. The function is similar like using air-conditioning, however, that is more energy and cost friendly.

The factory has improved a lot of technology. It's using computer software to sketch the blueprint of each individual piece.

My last factory visiting to a leather manufacturer was the worst experience I ever had. The harsh environment in that workshop was challenging to my body.  I spent two hours in the factory mill to understand the flow of making animal leathers, which is a procedure to change raw leather into a ready fabric. The stench of animal leather almost made me faint. A lot of chemical products were used on leathers to make unique textures and color effects, which made the smell even worse. While doing the chemical part, I did not see any workers with masks on or other protections. This made me worry about the workers’ safety and health. I cannot image the workers working in those conditions for 8 hours, 5 days a week without AC. Indeed, most of workers looked about 20 years old, but what surprised me were their facial expressions. There was no emotion attached, and ironically, they look like robots.

Harsh environment in the leather factory, workers usually do not have any protection in this factory mill. The smell in the factory was terrible because of the animal skin and chemical products.

After this factory trip in China, I start to realize the importance of the supply chain and sourcing in the overall production flow. I don't want to mention too much about the workers and their personal well being, but I think they deserve to be paid more given the tough working conditions they experience. 

Mengyi Hu (Eva)

VF

A Summer Internship at GUESS!--Lexi Baril

This summer, I am working at GUESS in Hong Kong. I intern with the merchandising team. The office here is very casual, and everyone is so friendly! The walls are even covered with photos from GUESS' past and present advertising campaigns - creating a very fun and vibrant environment to work in.

A few of the images that cover the walls here at GUESS -they're the latest ad campaign!

During my first week working at GUESS, I was mainly given the task of pasting photos and other information into Excel spreadsheets (which was definitely not the most thrilling of jobs). Although I was less than excited about the initial, mundane work, it really helped me to get a feel for the formatting of the line sheets that GUESS uses. It was an opportunity to refresh some of my Excel skills, which was much needed. 

At the end of last week, however, I was finally given a new project! I was called into a meeting with the buying manager of the China and Hong Kong areas. He showed me a business report that he had drawn up, which shows the success of GUESS by Marciano in relation to the original GUESS line in China. GUESS by Marciano is a more mature, refined, and expensive collection than the original. Recently, GUESS by Marciano clothing has been placed in a corner of every GUESS store in China. The report showed a number of figures which compare the two to show the success of GUESS by Marciano in GUESS' global line. My assignment for the next four weeks will be to draw up my own report of GUESS by Marciano's sales here in Hong Kong. Although this task seemed daunting at first, I am definitely excited to be challenged during my time here. I am already learning so much, and cannot wait to see where this journey takes me!

The reception area - so colorful and fun!

Lexi Baril

GUESS