Work Experience at Matalan- Critical Analysis

Week 1:

During my first week at Matalan, I felt I had gained a real insight as to what a trainee buyer would do on a day to day basis. It was a fast paced environment which I thoroughly enjoyed as it kept me interested in what I was doing. The first week was mainly about getting to know the building, staff, and how things worked in general, so I was taught by one of the trainee buyers; Krysie. She had only been working at Matalan for about a month herself so as she was telling me what to do, occasionally she'd discover something new for herself too. My daily duties included; posting samples such as colour swatches and fabric samples, checking what had been sent to us and putting it into the computer system to make sure all the information on the labels were correct, taking items up to Quality Assurance and other departments, sitting in on meetings with manufacturers discussing problems that had arisen during the sampling process, meetings about quality control and how important it is to produce and sell safe products as there could be serious consequences if not controlled properly, and meetings about upcoming trends which could be featured in the upcoming collections. I did these tasks for both the first and second week I was at Matalan (however I was more independent come the second week). My attendance and punctuality was high, I didn't miss a day and I was in the office just before 8:30am every morning (start time was 8:30am), and the day finished at 5pm. I interacted with the staff on the children's wear team, including the designers and merchandise team and sat in on meetings with them, where trends and statistics were discussed; this was really useful as it helped me understand more about the brand and where they get their inspiration from. I was also interesting as I got to see the business side, whereas I am more used to looking at the creative side such as designing and buying. I realised merchandising would not be for me, as it involves lots of figures and statistics, and critically analysing everything from what sold well to what colours were most popular. I enjoyed my opportunity to sit with a designer for children's nightwear, as this gave me an insight into what she did on a daily basis. Her job was a lot more creative, and she would use Photoshop and Illustrator to create CADS, prints and moodboards. Having done this made me realise that this would be more what I would like to go into once I have finished my degree, rather than in buying. I was also introduced to new technology, such as the Wacom, which allowed the designers to use Photoshop and Illustrator as if they were drawing with a pen, there was no need for a mouse as this device made their job easier and outcomes were more precise than if they were to use a mouse. I also got to see a smaller technical device which was used for cutting out fabric samples in a neat circle, and these samples would usually be used to send to manufacturers and suppliers so that they knew exactly what the fabric itself would be like, and the colour. The building itself and the office I was working in was very modern and spacious. I assume this is because they moved into this new building just a couple of years ago, as they were previously based in Skelmersdale. Being able to work in a spacious modern environment  encourages employees to put more effort into their work as they feel more comfortable in their surroundings, rather than working in a building that is out dated and less inspiring. Their distribution centre is based next to the offices, in a large warehouse. This is where the items are sent out to customers ordering items online, and items being sent to stores across the UK. 

Week 2:

During my second week I began to feel more comfortable and confident in the tasks I was being set, and this allowed me to complete the task properly and more efficiently without me feeling unsure or hesitant. An example of me being more independent on my second week would be when I was told to take out the post and put all the information (garment style number, size and quantity) into the system by myself, therefore I felt like this gave me a lot of responsibility, as my wrong doings could be detrimental to the flow of production on the buying team. I had also gotten used to the layout of the building by my second week, so I got told to take certain items to different employees within the Matalan offices. One of these tasks was mainly to take a bunch of items that had just been sent in the post from the manufacturers, to Sarah who worked on the Quality Assurance department. Sarah had many years of experience working in this field in the business, and had worked for other companies doing the same (or a very similar) job. She had do check that everything was perfect with the garments, for example they fitted correctly, the colour and fabrics used were correct, and the measurements were correct too. The quality assurance team was quite big, with a couple of people working for different departments such as womenswear- accessories, lingerie, shoes. If the products aren't perfect or pose a threat to any buying customers, then they aren't allowed to be produced and put onto the shelves, unless the problem is fixed. Having these regular visits to the QA department made me realise that this is not the job role for me, as it wouldn't allow me to be as creative as i'd like. However visiting this department was very interesting and I ended up learning a lot about it that I didn't know. In addition to doing this independently, I was also asked to create fabric swatches to go onto colour boards and mood boards, I had quite enjoyed doing this task as it was one of the more creative tasks I got to do. Every colour had its own code number so I had to find the correct colour to create a swatch out of for my boards, and there were 12 folders full of many colours.I realised the second week that I had been given a bigger variety of jobs, as in the first week, I was mainly clearing out the sample room and tidying it up so that new stock could be stored there. I was happy to hear during the second week that I was able to do more different jobs by myself. 

 As the two weeks came to an end I noticed I had changed in myself; I was more confident in speaking to new people, I took initiative when I didn't have someone there to tell me what to do, and I have gained many skills that I will take on with me when applying for future jobs in the industry. I have learned the importance of meeting deadlines, and that tasks need to be completed accurately, otherwise the end result will be disappointing. In addition to this, I think it has been a really useful opportunity to allow me to see what role I would like to do if I was to join a company when I finish university; I would prefer to work on the design team as this is more suited to me as a person and what I enjoy the most and am most good at. I think my least favourite role would have to be a merchandiser, as I know i'm not that strong working with numbers and statistics, and it doesn't excite me, therefore I wouldn't put my all into it. Over all, I had a very pleasant and useful experience at Matalan, and would like to go back one day to see what it would be like to work on the design team.

Work Experience at Matalan- Role, responsibilities and jobs availability

When I was taking part in my work experience with Matalan, I was acting as a trainee buyer on the children's nightwear team, assisting the assistant buyers. My role included attending meetings on quality assurance and helping choose what should be included on next seasons collections. I also collected post and recorded what items had been delivered in the system. Once they had been recorded I would take them to the head buyer to see if she was happy with them, I would then go to QA where they checked them over. I would also post samples out to manufacturers; these would either be colour swatches or fabric samples. Another task I carried out was creating fabric colour swatches that would be displayed on mood boards. I also carried out less interesting tasks such as tidying the sample room, however this was necessary for new samples to fit in. There wasn't a job opportunity for me after i'd finished my work placement, however I was welcome to come back and get more experience at any time, and it didn't just have to be on the buying team, it could've been on any, including the design department. If I was to stay after my placement doing the job I was doing the job title would've been Assistant Buyer (to the children's wear team).   The job description for 'buying' on the Matalan website is "our buyers are involved in the whole process from initial design to overseas sourcing and negotiations. Part of our work is about translating designers products onto the high street, so as well as being in touch with what's happening on the catwalk, you need to be capable of disciplined commercial decision making."

Fashion merchandisers

Fashion buyers

Work Experience at Matalan- Marketing and promoting the product

Matalan has always had a huge emphasis on providing outstanding value for modern families. Each year they 12 million UK families spend their precious family budget on products provided by Matalan. They were recently awarded the Gold Award at the Mumsnet Family Friendly awards for the third year running, thus it is vital that Matalan keep up this high stand work ethic to create new and innovative, but also affordable products for young modern families. Catalan also offer a free rewards card which allows customers to use there card when there are special offers, and also to collect points, to spend in one of their 221 stores around the UK (or even online). The brand offers late night openings, free convenient parking, and click and collect service as well as having pretty much everything under one roof, it is no surprise as to why so many people love to shop at Catalan, especially customers with busy lifestyles.

The e-commerce team take pictures of the products that will be on sale for the website. In addition to promoting their products they have photo shoots featuring well known models and these can take place in studios or on location. They market their products on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, this is one of the most effective ways as nearly everyone is on some form of social media. The company may have offers on items or discounts which will bring new customers in, and also entice existing customers to buy more. They also look for what is popular at the time they are designing, e.g. when the children's Disney film Frozen was out, loads of pj's, accessories, and T-shirts were made which featured Frozen's characters. Their website is easy to use meaning it can be used for people of all ages wanting to shop on their site. There are 217 Matalan stores across the UK meaning it is highly accessible for everyone across the UK, and if it isn't quite so accessible, then you can also head over to the website and shop online.

Matlan's Instagram page

Matalan's Facebook page

Matalan's Twitter page

Work Experience at Matalan- Quality Control

The Quality Assurance department makes sure that the items that have been manufactured, are fit for purpose, and don't breach any health and safety regulations. Whilst I was in Matalan I attended meetings about quality control and the things they have to look out for, e.g. fringing on a child's garment can't be too long as they can be seen as a hazard, buttons also have to be tight so that they can't be pulled off; these are just a couple of examples out of a many. With working on children's clothes and especially girls underwear, they have to make sure they create age appropriate items, as one woman wrote to Matalan saying that she was going to buy a 'my first bra' for her daughter but claimed it was too 'risque' for a bra for a young girl. This incident meant that the design team and the buying team had to rethink their original idea and design a new bra. Fitting rooms are in this department, where they check that the size and fit are what is expected for a certain age. In addition, a wash room is also featured in this department as they need to wash the items to make sure the colours don't run or the clothes don't go out of shape. The staff who work in the quality assurance department have to make sure all their suppliers are legitimate and reliable, and they check this by sometimes visiting the suppliers, or they get reviews from other companies who have used them. Matalan have their own postal room where many fabric samples, colour swatches and products are sent to the suppliers and manufacturers where they might need to be checked over or changed. Once products have had their gold seal of approval, they are then packaged up in the warehouse which is next to the offices, and they are held there until they are distributed off to the many stores around the UK. As Matalan get their products produced in countries such as India snd Turkey, they don't have to pay much to get their products manufactured, therefore this allows them to charge affordable prices in stores and online for their products. To improve quality, Matalan could look into paying more for their products to be manufactured, they may even be able to look into producing items in-house, however this would probably increase prices significantly, and then this would then change the brand identity of Matalan so maybe this would be something to look into for the future if the brand decide to bring out a more luxury diffusion line.


This is an article from the Daily Mail about a customer accusing Matalan of 'sexualising' a girl's 'My First Bra';  

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3586807/Matalan-accused-sexualising-children-black-bras-girls-young-EIGHT.html

Workers in a sweatshop in India

An example of a hazard on a child's garment

Work Experience at Matalan- The production chain from designing to marketing final products

Every season a few of the design team and buying team would go to places such as Barcelona, London, and LA to collect pieces that they could use for inspiration for pieces in collections for the upcoming season. They do this so that they can see what is being done differently in other places, and could it be something that Catalan could emulate and develop. Whilst I was there, the team had just come back from Barcelona and had bought nightwear from shops such as Oysho (a women's nightwear, bikini and lingerie shop), and they had brought back nightwear which could be used as inspiration to design for children's nightwear. Taking these ideas and items, they then discuss prominent features that are continually seen in all garments, then they work with these to create their own designs. The designers are then briefed on what they have to create and then they show their work to the buyers. This happens 2 times per year for the spring/summer collection then the autumn/winter collection. These then discuss whether the right colours/fabrics have been used and make any amendments if necessary. The merchandisers look at sales from previous seasons and point out which items sold best, then these colours/fabrics/motifs may appear again in the next season collection. Once designs have been agreed upon they are then taken to the manufacturer to see if they can make it and what the price would be (usually very cheap compared to what Matalan sell at retail for). The manufacturers create their own patterns using CAD and CAM software (this would include Gerber cutters, experienced pattern cutters and machinists, using industrial sewing machines and over locking machines, also embroidery if applicable). Then the manufacturers make samples and send them back to the buyers to see if they comply with what they have been requested to make. If the samples are correct then they would be sent back to the manufacturers where they would make a batch including different sizes, these should be the final product and are known as 'gold seals' in Matalan. A selection of different sizes of the same garment are then sent to QA (Quality Assurance) to check the fit of them, and that they comply with health and safety regulations. If they are all ok then more are made and sent into stores, if not then the item has to be sent back and see what needs to be changed. Most manufacturers are based in countries such as India and Turkey as these are the cheapest. To manufacture the products it hardly costs anything, that is why Matalan are able to charge affordable prices in store, as they are making profit from using manufacturers in Turkey and India where the labout in these countries is cheap.

Shopping trips to London 

Shopping trips to Barcelona

Shopping trips to LA

Meetings about sales and upcoming collections

Sweat shops in India

Work Experience at Matalan- Workplace and Implementation

Matalan's head office is based in Knowsley industrial estate in Liverpool. They were originally based in Skelmersdale and have only relocated in the past couple of years. The new building has a postal room, sample room, fitting rooms as well as a brand new canteen for all staff. The building has offices over 3 floors, and each floor had its own department; children's wear and home wear on the 1st floor, men's wear on second and women's wear on the third floor. The quality assurance department was also on the second floor, where fittings took place. There are over 1000 Matalan employees who's job roles include; trainee buyers, assistant buyers, head buyers, designers, trainee merchandisers, assistant merchandisers, head merchandisers and many more, these job roles would be on every department. All offices were modern and spacious, with up to date technological equipment. These were just employees in the office, however there are many more in stores throughout the UK. As I was based in the head office, I didn't get to see the manufacturing process, therefore I didn't know what types of machinery were used during this stage, however I know that most of their factories are based in places such as India and Turkey, and they would have specialist people running the production. They would have experienced machinists on the sewing machines, and also pattern cutters, who would use software such as the Gerber cutter for precise and efficient pattern cutting. However, the equipment I got to see was computers (every member of staff had their own), and the designers of each department had Adobe software; Photoshop and Illustrator installed onto their computers. These are crucial in a design department as they allow workers to be as precise and also as creative as possible. In addition, the designers also had a device called the Wacom, this was a touchpad where their keyboards where, and they used a sensitive touch pen so that they were able to draw on the touchpad as though they were using a mouse. This device was specifically used by the designers as they were able to draw on Illustrator and edit on Photoshop a lot quicker than using a mouse. Using the Wacom to design also meant the designs being created were a lot more precise and professional looking, as they could emulate the feeling of using a pencil to draw with, whereas using the mouse to draw could feel unnatural.

Health and Safety act:

Most of the health and safety assessments were about IT resources and telecommunications code of conduct;

• Do not allow other users to learn or use your individual passwords or utilise their identities.
• Do not use the internet to view, obtain, download, transmit or otherwise access offensive material.
• Do not use the email system for personal purposes unless specifically authorised to do so.
• Do not create, transmit or forward emails or attachments which contain offensive material.
• Do not delete or attempt to delete the disclaimer which is automatically attached to all outgoing emails.

Here is an article about Matalan's head office: 
 https://www.drapersonline.com/inside-matalans-new-head-office/5074001.article

Entrance to Matalan's head office

A few of Matalan's employees

layout of the office i was working in

Work Experience at Matalan- Company Market

Company Market

Market sector: Matalan's market sector is predominantly based on modern families, whether they are a young family with babies/toddlers, or older children who are in secondary school; Matalan provides most products for families. 

Market level: As Matalan  create products that are affordable for the average family, who may have tight budgets and don't want to over spend on clothing and homeware products.

Customer profile: 

• Who they are:   Mostly female, aged between 28-55, has a family to look after, busy lifestyle, works 9-5, has a tight budget to spend on clothing/homeware, isn't fashion conscious but still likes to look nice at reasonable prices.
• What they do:  Works hard at a 9-5 job, looks after her young family, has 200 pounds spare at the end of each month to spend on clothing/ homeware/ socialising/ kids clubs etc, tries to keep fit at least twice per week.

Products on sale: Matalan create women's wear, as well as accessories, footwear, lingerie, nightwear, and holiday wear. Also sell menswear; clothing, footwear, accessories, nightwear, underwear. Baby and toddler wear; night suits, baby grows, accessories (hats, gloves, socks etc), baby accessories (changing mats, comforters, blankets etc). Homeware; hanging pictures, lights, cushions, candles, bathroom accessories. 

Competitors: Matalan's competitors include brands such as Tesco, Asda, Primark, Next, H&M and M&S.

Matalan's target audience (working parents and young family's)

A few of Matalan's competitors (H&M, Next, Marks and Spencers)