A Career Beginning: 1956 to 1959

From Grocery Store to Department Store

Leaving college after my sophomore year for financial reasons I looked for as job with growth opportunities. I found a department store management training program that was willing to accept me with two years of college education because I had four years of part time experience working in supermarkets. This department store in Newark, NJ provided six months of training leading to an assistant buyer position. After completing the training I was selected by the Floor Covering (Rugs and Carpets) department as an assistant buyer. Sounded glamorous at the time.

Getting an Appetite for Consumer Goods from around the World

In the training program I was exposed to various consumer goods categories and I began to see that even in 1956 there were products being offered from around the world. In the floor coverings department we offered broadloom carpeting from Belgium and Italy and Oriental rugs from Mid East. I began to question why not just US made carpet produced in the Southern states of the USA.

The Role of the Importer and Distributor

Early on in my (on the job) education, I realized the important role played by the Importer - Distributor. The department store I worked for did not have a direct import department. All the foreign products were imported by the firms (into their own inventory) and then sold and  distributed them to their retail store customers. These firms performed several key functions: purchasing the goods from foreign manufacturers, shipping the goods and importing them to the US, storing them until sold and finally distributing them to US Resellers. This type of business would eventually become a large part of my career in International Trade.

Learning to "shop the markets"

Learning how to select and buy products that retail customers will find attractive and good value is a key part of becoming "a buyer." The other part of the job is "department manager" that has the responsibility of operating within an allocated monthly budget. Going into "the market" in my case the floor coverings market in New York City was an exciting experience. Learning to compare products and determine the "best buys" was challenging but rewarding. When you purchased the right product at the right price and could then attract retail customers to purchase them at prices that would generate a good return on investment it was very fulfilling.