The Art of Buying

Elizabeth Newton, Vice President and GMM of Men’s, Youth and Beauty for Bealls Inc visited the retail leadership seminar to talk with students about the Art of Buying. To discuss what a buyer does comprehensively in under an hour is nearly impossible, but Newton managed to instill an overview with a live demonstration of a buy along with helpful tips.

She began the lecture covering the successful history of the Bealls company and how so many of your business passions can be fulfilled by working with this retailer. Newton shared her philosophy of how merchants are business drivers and to be a successful business driver, you need to have four retail business leadership skills. The first skill is strategic Innovation which Newton compared to the growth of a tree. You must prepare the business for the investment, nourish it and manage its growth. Next, you need to have an entrepreneurial spirit where you drive the business, manage the flow and invest where there is growth opportunity which leads into the business intimacy of understanding the value or the merchandise for the customer, knowing what the market offers and stealing deals. All of this brings the customer the merchandise she desires at a price she will pay. Finally, a talent necessary is the ability to communicate with vendors and develop a relationship of trust and accountability.

Newton ended the lecture bringing students into a fun buy and involving them in making a merchandising decision.

Aldi Makes a Lasting Impression

Emma Keefer, District Manager and Armin Farshchi, campus ambassador for Aldi provided a fun introduction to Aldi when they came to host a comparative taste test with students interested in the limited assortment-based grocery store. This unique workshop demonstrated to students how the private labels carried by Aldi positively compare to national brands like Frito-Lay, CLIF and Nabisco.