Retail panel answers questions

The second annual Retail and Design forum, presented by the Retail Studies Organization, brought high-profile figures from top industry companies to address and advise students eager to follow in their merchandising footsteps.

The event took place Tuesday at the Indiana Memorial Union and featured speeches and networking opportunities from past and present executives, including Gap Inc.’s Cynthia Harris, who is also former president of Disney stores and resorts; Glenn Lyon, CEO of Finish Line; Jennifer Warner, Target Sourcing Service’s senior product manager and Sam Sato, Finish Line’s executive vice president and chief merchandising officer.

“Every year the event is great for students and RSO members to get exposed to people in the industry, develop networking skills and get the inside scoop on what’s going on,” said senior Elaine Gilbert, the organization’s vice president of marketing and design. “It’s the biggest thing we do all year. We’ve been working on it since May.”

After attending individual presentations from 9:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., students participated in an open-forum panel with speakers seated on the Whittenberger Auditorium stage.

“I thought the open panel was very insightful,” said senior Krista Lepore, the organization’s vice president of finance. “I enjoyed listening to the same things we discuss in class.”

The panel of Harris, Lyon, Warner and Sato covered topics ranging from professional to personal, including questions such as “How often should you change jobs,” “How do you balance a family with hectic workloads,” and “Have you faced ethical dilemmas?”

The panelists passed around a microphone and answered each question individually.

Sato offered words of encouragement to young up-and-comers.

“Take opportunities as they come to you, and believe it or not, they’ll benefit you,” he said. “I didn’t want to sell shoes for the rest of my life.”

Harris said sometimes it’s necessary to start at the bottom of an industry so one can excel at the top.

“What’s really dynamic right now is customer involvement,” she said. “Go get a job selling. Learn how to listen to customers and understand their needs.”

Lyon said the retail business, similar to many other contemporary industries, is always growing and changing.

“Don’t make a 10-year plan,” he said. “You’ve got to be nimble, ready for things to change.”

However, Lyon said one aspect of sales will never change: A successful businessperson must please the customer.

“I recently had dinner with Tom Crean, and you know what he asked me?” he asked the audience. “He wanted to know if we sold more IU stuff than Purdue stuff. Now, I told him, ‘Of course we sell more IU stuff.’ But I know I’ll tell Purdue what they want to hear next week.”

As he and the audience laughed and the evening came to an end, one student asked, “Who really sells more?”

Lyon smiled and said, “Really, we sell much more IU stuff.”