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