PART ONE ·Look at the statements below and the views
expressed by five different people about their careers in retailing．
·Which extract(A，B，C，D or E)does each statement(1-8)refer to？
·For each statement(1-8)，mark one letter(A，B，C，D or E)on your Answer
Sheet． ·You will need to use some of these Ietters more than
once．
A CAREER IN RETAILING
Keeping the customer
satisfied is central to the retail business．But how much job satisfaction can
workers in the retail trade expect Five people who work in
retailing talk about their careers． A Steve
Cain is deputy director of trading for a large supermarket．He says，“When I moved
into the retail sector I found it offered more tangible achievements and rewards
than my previous business consultancy work．The power base has changed in the
industry，and it’s the retailers who are now driving things forward．Before，buyers
waited for the product to come in and negotiated the price with the
manufacturers，but now in food retailing，it’s the retailers themselves who are
developing their own brands and fixing prices，which makes it an exciting field
to work in． B Virginia Clement is support and
development manager for a large clothing department store．
" This means I am responsible for all the buying and merchandising．This
demands teamwork。 and for me this is one of the most attractive aspects of work
ing at head office．You have a lot of contact with people，from shop floor staff
to suppl iers．We work in a very open environment and we’re very team
orientated．Each team is responsible for getting a particular product to the
store on time and in the right quantities．" C
Tim Edlund，who works in buying for a large clothing store，says，" The buyer
has to have some flair for design，but balancing that，you need a strategic view
and business acumen． There are numerous factors influencing a
buyer’s choice of product range for each season．I have to beware of current
trends in the suppliers’marketcompetitors’activity and both local and global
customer demand．I go all over Britain to keep abreast of this information．
Working hours are very irregular，so it’s the complete opposite
to a 9 to 5 job．It can be extremely exhausting，but I love it．"
D Diane Maxwell is buying controller for women’s wear for
a home shopping catalogue company． She says that，despite the
hard work，her job remains varied and satisfying．" I’ve gained a huge range of
skills with the company in various fields，both through formal courses and by
means of on-the-job training．The scope of the buying role is extremely
broad．It’s not just about the product．The focus of the job is 0n producing a
profitable range and that requires extensive business knowledge．"
E Jan Shaw is personnel director of a supermarket．She
says．" What we really want to do in our company is taking on people witil a real
interest in trade rather than managers who only want to complete a job as fast
as possible．Our new graduate recruitment programme aims to de exactly that．The
induction programme introduces all aspects of working for our company，giving
early responsibility and first-hand experience of the company’s working
culture．Career development within the company is based on general management
skills rather than specialisation，so whatever department they are in，employees
will focus on similar aims． Work ing closely with other people is an important feature of this job．