These grads know what clothes you’re going to buy before you do

It’s not done by magic you know

| UPDATED

Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Burton, Topman – these are just a handful of the brands in the Arcadia family where you’ve probably deposited quite a significant portion of your loan. You come for the clothes and leave with that feeling of, ‘new denim jacket, new me’ – but did you ever consider the data that goes into producing that warm and fuzzy feeling?

We spoke to Thomas, Harriet and Alex about their jobs collecting, analysing and utilising data to ensure that you have the best shopping experience possible. From a message popping up on the site letting you know there’s only two left in your size, to adding a promotion to a skirt that’s too good to pass-by, these grads use every minuscule piece of data to make both you and Arcadia happy bunnies.


Want to work for one of the biggest fashion retail companies in the UK?
Apply for a grad role at Arcadia now


Thomas Gilbert – Merchandising Admin Assistant (MAA) at Burton

Maths and Economics at Oxford Brookes

After studying Maths and Economics, Thomas initially looked into a career in finance or banking. He said: “I was always quite academic and analytical, but I never saw myself in a suit going into Canary Wharf – doing the whole corporate ladder thing these days is just a bore.

“However, when I saw the MAA role online, my eyes lit up. I wanted to do something combining my strength with numbers and my interest in fashion, so it really appealed to me from the start.”

That’s only one aspect of the job. From dealing with suppliers to working closely with the buying team, Thomas never has a moment to twiddle his thumbs. He explained: “It’s great at Arcadia because they throw you into a lot of responsibility at the start, which I absolutely love.

“I think it’s because the role is really important – the merchandisers do a lot of forecasting and planning, but if it wasn’t for the MAA, the stock would just not be in the store, which would be a disaster.

“The retail industry is fast-paced and quite volatile, so being analytically focused and using your initiative is a massive part of being in merchandising. When we think something is going to sell, we’ll put thousands of units out in store, and if it doesn’t sell, we need to think quickly about how to get the most out of that stock.

“For example if we buy a pair of jeans and it doesn’t sell, what can we do? Make them into a pair of shorts? Price it differently? Put it out on offer? It’s really using your initiative to maximise profit for the business.”


If you’re seeking an analytical role that isn’t boring
apply to be an MAA at Arcadia now


 Harriet Goodrum – Digital Trading & Optimisation Co-Ordinator at Dorothy Perkins

Politics and Economics at Reading

“When I mention I work in digital trading, people immediately envision the city and stocks – but no, it is definitely not that, not at all.”

A role in digital trading is perhaps not the first career path that springs into a grad’s mind – and Harriet was no different. She said: “When I first interviewed for the role, I genuinely had no idea what digital trading was – now, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

“Digital trading is a bit like visual merchandising in store, but instead it uses analytics and customers’ online behaviour to determine what to do on site. You’d actually be really surprised by how much goes into building a website – I definitely was.”

From carefully considering the order of each product’s placement on the site, to testing whether customers respond better to a button or animation, Harriet and her team study every single piece of data that runs through the site, all in order to create the best experience for you when you are shopping for another pair of black jeans.

Arcadia HQ has just been revamped, with a brand new restaurant complete with its own wood-fired pizza oven, a snug and a ping pong table

Harriet said: “Nothing we do is done without having data to back it up, but interestingly, there is also an element of appealing to human psychology.

“For example, when you’re looking at a product, you’ll get a pop-up saying ‘10 other people have added this to their bag in the last four hours’ – there we are using social proofing to get someone to buy a product. We found an uplift in annual sales of 6.35 per cent if we showed that message first than if we didn’t.”

The Politics and Economics grad never thought her degree could take her into a role in fashion, let alone digital. Harriet said: “Actually, the economics side of my degree and the fact that I’m good with numbers and am analytically focussed has been really helpful.”


Good with numbers and want to work in fashion?
Apply for a digital trading role at Arcadia here


Alexandra Eadie – Finance Analyst at Arcadia

Accountancy and Business Law at Stirling

Even though Alex studied Accountancy and Business Law, she wasn’t interested in going into a firm. She said: “Accountancy can be a bit dry sometimes, but doing it in fashion and retail makes it much more interesting.

“The actual finance grad scheme really drew me to Arcadia – you get to rotate around the entire company to a different team and brand. Now I’m in group finance, but my next two roles could be anything from Wallis retail finance to Topshop/Topman buying and merchandising finance – you get to meet almost everyone across the business and do really varied roles during your three years while you are training.”

As a Finance Analyst, Alex looks at all of the brands and sees how they perform on a higher level. She explained: “We provide the information on what promotions performed well and what clothes people are buying. The data we send across really filters down into stores – you’ll see a promotion on that jacket that’s not doing so well, or more of that dress next season.”

On what it’s like to work at Arcadia, Alex said: “The atmosphere really stands out. It’s really casual and relaxed, and Arcadia do extra little things to make sure you’re happy. They always run fun competitions and we have loads of socials both company-wide and in finance. The Arcadia Christmas party was held at the Ministry of Sound and it was 90s themed. Groove Armada played and it was just ridiculous.

“Obviously the employee 25 per cent off discount helps – well, everything but my bank account.”


For Finance Analyst roles, Arcadia also pay and support you through getting either your CIMA or ACCA qualifications
Apply here now