Newsletter of the David F. Miller Center for Retailing Education and ...

Newsletter of the David F. Miller Center for Retailing Education and Research
Spring 2005 University of Florida Volume 18, No. 1
THE DAVID F.
MILLER CENTER
WELCOMES
CATHY KOENIG
Cathy Koenig, Office Depot Program Director
joins Center.
The David F. Miller Center for
Retailing Education and Research
welcomes Cathy Koenig as its Office Depot
Program Director. In this position, she is
responsible for budgeting, procurement
and office management.
Cathy joined the Center after 18 years
as Office Manager for the Warrington
College of Business Marketing Department
where she managed a department of 14
faculty, 14 graduate students and an
administrative staff.
Ms. Koenig is married with two
children and one grandchild. She is a
tremendous Gator fan and can be found at
many Gator sporting events!
RECRUITING TALENT INTO
RETAIL ... STUDENTS SHARE HOW
WE CAN HELP
Student Advisory Board members,
Chris McDade and Daniel Donovan,
volunteered to share their journey through
internships, their senior year and their
decision making processes for selecting a
retailer upon graduation. This candid
discussion revealed their initial perception
about the industry, insight about retail
“I loved what retailing taught
me…no doubt about that, but
I also learned a lot about
myself."
Chris McDade
careers, their struggles with the retail image
and what made them select retailing as a
career.
Chris McDade always knew he
wanted a career in fashion and business,
but was confused how to apply his interests
and make a living. While in his junior year
at the University of Florida, he heard about
the retail management internship program
and accepted an internship to gain
experience in the industry.
“I loved what retailing taught me…no
doubt about that, but I also learned a lot
about myself. For example I learned that I
needed to value the merchandise offered
and to work with a retailer who serves
customers I can understand. After my
internship, I researched other retailers, their
assortments and their target customer.”
Chris McDade studied retailers to understand
the assortments and the customers served in
order to make a better career decision.
Knowing more about what he wanted
in a retailer, Chris described putting himself
in a “data collection mode” during his senior
year where he researched retailers and
talked about it over coffee with his friends.
He was shocked to hear that many of his
buddies viewed retailing as strictly apparel.
Knowing this, he noted that many retailers
who came to the Career Showcase sent
out a clear message that continued to
Continuted on next page...

Executive Advisory Board
William J. Alcorn, JCPenney
Beth Angelo, Body Shop
Robert Beall, Beall's, Inc.
Robert Carter, Federal Express Corp.
Maxine Clark, Build-A-Bear Workshop
Cynthia Cohen, Strategic MindShare
Consulting
Mary Beth Garcia, Novations VMS - MOHR
Learning Retail Division
Jim Gary, PETsMART
Ira Kaplan, Claire's Stores, Inc.
Judy Kelly, Macy's Central
Michael P. Kercheval, International
Council of Shopping Centers
Doug Koch, Brown Shoe Company
Keith Koenig, City Furniture
Michael Kratofil, Sunbeam Products, Inc.
Larry Levine, BrandsMart USA
Cory Lipoff, Hilco Merchant Resources, LLC
Bruce Mager, Macy's East
Richard A. McAllister, Florida Retail
Federation
James McClain, BFS Retail & Commercial
Operations, LLC
David Miller, Retired, JCPenney
Sandy Miller, Miller Zell, Inc.
Tracy Mullin, National Retail Federation
Laura Phillips, Wal-Mart Stores
Steven Keith Platt, The Platt Retail Institute
Ann Ruppert, Macy's Florida
Ron Sacino, Sacino's Formalwear
Gary Salvatore, Sears, Roebuck & Co.
Karen Sczepanski, Save-A-Lot
Phil Smith, KPMG LLP
Al Steinberg, Dillard's, Inc.
Geevy Thomas, Nordstrom
John Thomas, Pinch-A-Penny
Mike Tovian, Walgreens
Suzanne Travers, The Grapevine Group
Dr. Barton Weitz, Executive Director
Betsy A. Trobaugh, JCPenney Director
Cecilia Schulz, Associate Director
Cathy Koenig, Office Depot Program
Director
Margaret Jones, Program Assistant
200 Bryan Hall ����� Gainesville FL 32611
Telephone: 352/392-7166, ext. 1255
Fax: 352/392-4379
EMail: ufcrer@notes.cba.ufl.edu
“If I had one thing to tell retailers who recruit on college
campuses it would be to advertise all of the positions available
and the skill sets necessary to succeed in those positions.”
Daniel Donovan
facilitate this myth. "The brochures, the
backdrops and the mannequins screamed
fashion! Typically women shop for fashion
so it’s possible most guys felt intimidated at
the Showcase and overlooked the industry.
I knew better because I always felt this was
my career and I had the internship to
confirm it.”
McDade also noted that students don’t
know enough about all of the available
positions with the companies. “Many
recruiters come here to hire management
positions only. During my internship, I
learned about so many opportunities in
retailing and I know UF students could
qualify for them. Also, I never got the feeling
that many retailing positions required good
analytical and technological skills, but they
do! Many of my friends didn’t choose
retailing because they thought it wouldn’t
pertain to their skills. Because of this
experience, I think retailers should market
all of their jobs including the more analytical
positions to gain the attention of a more
diverse talent base. Also, many think
retailing pays poorly because our part-time
retail jobs paid minimum wage. After the
internship, I learned that I can quadruple
my salary in a few years…now, that’s a lot of
Burberry trench coats!”
Daniel Donovan never considered
retail as his career since he knew he did
not want to work in stores. One retailer
sought his talents and offered him a
procurement internship. “I couldn’t believe
what I learned about marketing, technology,
negotiating, competition and training.
Retailing constantly challenged me with
products, trends and customer
preferences. I had to brainstorm with
-2-
executives and hone my skills as a quality
negotiator. This was incredible. I would
have never considered this industry if I didn’t
have this procurement opportunity… “I’m
a perfect fit for the work behind the
scenes…now I’m on a path to be trained
as a buyer!”
Daniel Donovan thought he would
never choose retailing for his
career until he was exposed to the
corporate side of the industry.
After his internship he decided to
continue with buying, product development
and managing brands from vendor to
consumer. “I need variety in my life and I’m
happier when there is something new to
learn. Retailing provides this setting. I think
the ability to offer variety in the workplace
attracts achievers.” Daniel enjoyed his
internship and claimed the experience was
phenomenal. He wanted to continue with
the analytical and technical side of
retailing. He also accepted a position as
an assistant buyer with Federated. “If I had
one thing to tell retailers who recruit on
college campuses it would be to advertise
all of the positions available and to advertise
what skill sets are necessary to succeed in
those positions.”

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA’S
DAVID F. MILLER CENTER FOR RETAILING
EDUCAITON AND RESEARCH SPONSORS SYMPOSIUM
WITH OFFICE DEPOT
This carefully crafted symposium is rich in information to assist you in successfully
running the business. Ideas from watching the economy to marketing to baby boomers
are anchored by Allen Questrom’s retailing experience make this a complete
symposium experience.
Allen Questrom
Former Chairman of the
Board and CEO
J.C. Penney Company, Inc.
RETAILING SMARTER 2005
June 23 - 24, 2005
Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate
Orlando, Florida
Bonnie Schaefer
Co-CEO and Co-Chairmen
of the Board
Claire's Stores, Inc.
Featuring These Top Speakers:
Marla Schaeffer
Co-CEO and Co-Chairmen
of the Board
Claire's Stores, Inc.
LOG ON TO WWW.CBA.UFL.EDU/CRER
FOR MORE DETAILS ON THESE SPEAKERS AND MORE!
REGISTER TODAY!
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J. Martin "Marty" Lang
Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
Famous Footwear
Robert F. Moran
President and Chief
Operating Officer
PETsMART, Inc.

MARCUS AVELLAN
GATOR IN RETAILING
Marcus Avellan, Store Manager, Sears,
Roebuck & Co. in Orangeburg, S.C.
I was born in 1971 in New York City.
The son of immigrants from Ecuador, in
South America, my family moved to
Ecuador in 1983. I attended an American
school there and upon completion of high
school, I studied a semester in Ecuador
at a U.S. accredited community college.
I knew I wanted to obtain the best
education possible but because I had no
money, I decided to choose the best
university that could provide me the most
comprehensive financial aid package. I
had never heard of the University of
Florida but it was a no brainer - the aid
package was available as well as a solid
academic reputation. Later on I would
figure out the football part! I went on to
obtain two degrees at Florida between
1992 and 1998; a Bachelor of Arts degree
in Political Science and a Master of Arts
degree in Latin American Studies.
I approached Sears, Roebuck and
Co. at the University of Florida Career Fair
in 1997...later that year Sears offered me
a position in what was then known as the
National Executive Development Program.
I accepted Sears’ offer because of its
reputation as a good corporate citizen, the
chance to actually have one full year of
training, a good starting salary, and a great
training location. Since my completion of
the training program in1999 I have been a
store hardware manager, completed two
appliance and electronics management
assignments, was an operations and
human resource manager, and recently
been promoted to Store General Managermy
dream assignment. I now have total
responsibility and ownership over a mall
based Sears Full Line Store – and the
leadership provided by my managerial staff
and myself will be key to driving great results.
I hope to be promoted within the next 2
years to a larger store.
I feel I made a great choice in
choosing Sears as a career. In 7 years I
have been promoted 5 times, received 11
raises, and have acquired an incredible
amount of knowledge.I have had the
satisfaction of working with some incredible
teams, develop talent, and overcome great
challenges. More than anything else Sears
has taught me the importance of
recognizing the efforts and results of the
individuals and teams to which you owe your
success, the need for strong, fair leadership,
and that good old hard work is still a virtue
that leads to great accomplishments. For
someone like me that enjoys leadership
roles, loves working with people, and that is
always eager to learn something new from
someone or some thing, a career in retail
is the right decision if you pick the right
company.
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