“Welcome to Dallas, Texas!”
I received a warm welcome from Sydney Holt (Dallas Market Center intern) on Wednesday morning as we met at the Dallas airport. This week is likely to be my busiest week and also the best learning experience!
The World Trade Center at the Dallas Market
I’ll be working for the Dallas Market Center in Dallas, Texas. The Market contacted the One-Week Job Program to participate and I’ve never visited Dallas so after a few calls, emails, and a short flight, here I am! This week is different since my work week is Wednesday-Sunday.
When I initially heard about the Dallas Market Center, I thought of a shopping mall. I was partially right, but there’s a big difference between the Dallas Market and a regular mall: the Market is not open to the public. Only qualified buyers are allowed!
To clarify my role here, it’s important to explain what the Market is all about. The DMC is a set of four buildings that house hundreds of showrooms (stores). To give you an idea of how massively big, I got this fact from their website:
The four buildings total more than 5 million square feet; larger than the Sears Tower and roughly twice the size of the Empire State Building.
Buyers from retail stores, boutiques, and other businesses come to the market to see new products and buy products at wholesale prices.
What are wholesale prices?
Wholesale prices are significantly lower than the prices the average price an item sells for in a store. Since buyers buy one item in a full range of sizes or buy a package of multiple shirts, they usually pay half the price that the item sells for. For example, a buyer from JCPenney’s might come to Market and buy a shirt for $9.00 each (wholesale). To make money, they later sell the shirt for $21.00 in their stores. The buyers look at the samples in the showrooms and have to buy a minumum amount of a certain item or spend a certain amount of money to place an order.
The showrooms are not like a regular store that carries a shirt in every size. Showrooms have samples, which allow the buyer to see the item, the style, and the size.
Based on looking at the sample, a buyer will purchase “x” amount and after being shipped and processed, the item ends up at a retail store or business.
This is a very simplified description since I could literally write a daily blog this week about the process.
Getting back on track…
Every hour this week, I am scheduled to meet with a different employee from Dallas Market Center to experience their job. On Wednesday, I started the day with Al and Maryanne from the human resources department.
Here’s what I took away from our time together: A resume is vital but a great personality is key to getting hired.
I also had the honor of helping the events coordinator, Emily, deliver taffy and signs in strategic places to promote the Boardwalk Bash party.
Thursday, I went on several walking tours with Market employees, but the highlight of the day was… being on the Dallas Channel 5 nightly news!
My day was interrupted since Channel 5 came to the Market to interview me and get footage about the One-Week Job Project. I loved talking to the reporter and having a change of pace for the day!
To view the news story, check it out below!
After my media fun, I went on some more tours (more details later) and ended the night at the Boardwalk Bash. With a kickin’ DJ, free sno-cones, pretzels, popcorn, photobooth, and live models, it was the place to be Thursday evening!
As you can probably tell, my head is spinning from constant action here in Dallas. I’m not complaining though since this has been such a rich week full of fun, new friends, and fashion!
I have so much to share and so little time to blog, but please bookmark this site to keep up to date on my journey.
Blessings,
Kieley Best