You are interested in an assistant buyer position for EMPIRE, an international chain of clothing stores, based in the United States.

Summary:

You are interested in an assistant buyer position for EMPIRE, an international chain of clothing stores, based in the United States.

Your Task:

Compose a ONE PAGE, properly formatted cover letter (USE TEMPLATE PROVIDED!) that introduces yourself to Maxwell Jackson, the business manager for EMPIRE, stating that you are interested in the Assistant Buyer position and requesting an opportunity to discuss your qualifications in greater detail in a face to face interview. Be sure to provide relevant examples and details with content from “The Facts,” below. Some of the information below will be inappropriate or irrelevant for a cover letter, so make you so consider which details are necessary, and which are extraneous. Be sure to consult your textbook and the handouts on iLearn to help you. 350-400 words is a good range.

The Facts:

• EMPIRE has focused on a trendy and hip wardrobe for adults who lead active social lives, but at a reasonable price. It competes with international brands such as ZARA and H&M.

• In the past, EMPIRE has focused on customers in their early 30s and older. The typical EMPIRE customer is a college graduate, a few years into their career, living in an urban area with plenty of nightlife options.

• Although the company has captured a fair share of the 30s and up demographic, in order to stay competitive, EMPIRE wants to target teenagers and college students, while still appealing to professionals with active social lives. EMPIRE hopes that if they can entice millennial customers, they will become loyal customers once they reach a point in their lives where they have a more stable source of income.

• The role of an assistant buyer includes helping the buyer with product selection that sets EMPIRE apart from other competitors; establishing and maintaining supplier relationships; helping to negotiate buying terms; keeping up to date with style and category trends; managing inventory levels; responding to changes in demand; helping with budgets and sales forecasts; assisting the buyer in preparing reports and making presentations.

• EMPIRE was initially founded in Seattle by three business partners. A few years ago, one of the partners was indicted by the FBI for a host of crimes and is serving a lengthy prison sentence. Although the company’s sales dipped during his trial, they have slowly recovered over the past three years. Recently, however, the CEO posted several sexist comments on Social Media and the company is trying to tone down its image of being ‘hyper-masculine’.

• You have recently graduated from FIDM in Los Angeles, and you hold degree in fashion business. You took classes such as history of fashion, theory of fashion, retailing, wholesaling, globalized fashion, and social media.

• So-called ‘disposable fashion’ is very trendy right now. Stores that sell disposable fashions sell items at extremely low cost; the idea is that the items are for special purposes, such as for a music festival or club event, the purchaser will wear the item just once or a few times and then get rid of it.

• You’ve completed three internships for major retail operations that included stores that ranged from high end (Gucci) to low end (Ross). You worked very hard, but you wish you had been able to acquire more first-hand experience dealing with buyers and participating in fashion shows. While you wanted to speak up and ask for more exposure to inner workings of the fashion industry, you refrained because you didn’t want to seem pushy or aggressive.

• Other than your internships, you have never had an actual job in the fashion industry. You have had several non-fashion jobs. Currently, you work as a bartender in a popular night club that hosts famous DJs from all over the world who cater to the ‘club crowd’.

• Your own views of fashion can be seen on your blog, Club Central Las Vegas. On your blog you have often posted videos of fashions that caught your eye during special DJ events, pairing your view of style with many different kinds of music ranging from Trance, Techno, Hip Hop, Trap, and Tropical House.

• In addition to your blog, you also have active Twitter and Facebook accounts. You consider your social network to be a major asset for you in regard to matters of taste and judgment. Recently, before bought your first car, you asked around on social media about which type of car you should buy. Your social network successfully steered you toward a high performance Japanese sports sedan, which you post frequently about on Instagram.

Since high school you have designed your own high-fashion t shirts from patterns and decals you find online. Recently, you and a friend even delved into creating your own logos and graphic t shirts, with the dream of ultimately becoming a designer yourself.