A Day in the Life: of a Customer Development Intern

Despite having aspirations “to design textiles for a luxury brand (either fashion or interiors)” Roshni Patel doesn’t only have experience within the creative industry. As a Customer Development intern at Puig UK, Roshni works across marketing, visual merchandising and ecommerce across their three brands: Paco Rabanne, Jean Paul Gaultier and Carolina Herrera. The opportunity arose through the help of her mentor who is part of the FMR’s Fashioning Emerging Professionals programme. “My mentor was working in human resources, so as well as giving great career advice, she also gave me tips and tricks for job applications, interviews and all the rest. I was able to gain an insight into the luxury beauty industry from a non-design perspective,” Roshni shares. “It was an enriching experience to self-evaluate and discuss my aspirations for the future in depth with my mentor. I found myself becoming more open to exploring opportunities outside of the design sector, which was a big change for me after completing my design degree.” It helped her open her mind to other potential job roles. “My mentor helped me discover career options I didn’t think were available to me previously, and she helped me to gain confidence in my professional abilities.”

Roshni is still undertaking her internship, but has already learned a lot. “I have learned how a beauty company works from the inside, specifically in the visual merchandising and commercial departments so far. I’ve learned a lot about luxury brands and businesses, and how different departments in the company work together.” What is she excited to learn more about? “The different roles within the company and how I could possibly progress in my role.” Follow a typical working day below. 

9am: I arrive at the office, make myself a hot drink and have some fruit so that I’m ready for the busy day ahead. 

10am: I’m currently working in the commercial team, so I attend the weekly commercial meeting in the meeting room, where we discuss the sales and whether we have reached our targets in the past week. I observe and note down any questions I have. 

11am: Back to my desk, I begin working on the Promotional Tracker with the help of my lovely colleague. Here, I track the promotional activity relating to our brands and have it documented in spreadsheets. 

12pm: I work my way through the list of retailers we sell through and continue tracking promo activities. 

1pm: Lunch. It’s time I go to any of the local shops and grab a sandwich to take back to the kitchen and eat. I also help myself to the snacks and drinks which are available for all the office staff. 

2pm: I have been assigned to do a SWOT Analysis for three of our brands, so I begin to do research and take notes on this. 

3pm: I begin to construct the Analysis in a presentation and get ready to make a script for presenting. 

4pm: I present my work to my line manager and two other colleagues, together we make a small team of four. They loved the presentation and believe it’s important to see the perspective of a young person who is new to the field. 

5pm: I speak to my manager about the plans for the week ahead. We are able to work from home two days a week, so we like to plan to WFH on the same days. I get ready to leave the office and go home.