Joanna Goulder

"What really attracted me to Claire's was it's quite a niche brand, I think it’s very fun. It's very individual on the high street I think. There is not really a brand that tailors itself to the younger customer as much as we do. So that really interested me in terms of the product. And also the fact that it's a global brand. I think it's a really interesting aspect of the job working with the American team as well. It's great to have that kind of rapport in another office. We generally work alongside another American Buyer which is really good fun. And also the European aspect – there is practically unlimited European travel for us to really get into the market knowledge so that again is a really good aspect for us because I think that's quite rare in terms of the business these days."

"Since I've been here I came in to buy the younger jewellery section, anything up to thirteen year old is my customer. That's been fantastic. Really proud because when I joined I felt the range was lacking a bit of lustre, a bit of fun, for that customer. So we basically reinvented the whole range. Really proud of what we've done on it. It's got real good handwriting, it’s really fun, and we've really turned round the department we've had really good sales growth this year. So we’re really proud of that. So I've just moved to a new department, by the young fashion department jewellery, and again – loads of challenges there. I think we can learn a lot again from what we've done on the younger side of it. So I'd say for the next year at least I'd like to stay on this department to really get my teeth into it as well."

"I would say my role as a Buyer at Claire's is slightly different to other businesses. We tend to buy in really clear buying cycles of three months so I would say a lot of time and energy goes into, say four to five weeks, of really thinking about how you want to see the new range in the next quarter. Designing and developing, we're really responsible for here for driving our own product which is definitely one of the things that I love about Claire's. So we basically really work hard on that on that sort of direction for the ranges and then really it’s about the foundations around that to develop a good range. And that will formulate the three months cycle. Within that, on a day-to-day basis I think everyone would say that no two days are the same at Claire's. It's always quite fun; it's a good environment to come into. I think because we're a young brand as well it tends to be a very young and fun environment to work in the office as well. And everyday when we get the post it's always quite funny because some of the things we do get through are fantastic. You know – the new developments and kind of the fun side of the jewellery. That's the day-to-day sort of thing really, we do tend to have a lot of meetings and I suppose as well being European there is a lot of involvement with the European side as well. And then also the Americans – we try to speak to them everyday, every other day, see how their business is going, what they are up to, is there anything we want to develop together? So it's quite a dynamic environment and I think that's what I love about Claire's, everyday is different."

"So the working environment at Claire's, I think, really is depicted by the brand. It's a fun brand and it's actually fun to come to work. Each Buyer is responsible for how they run their own department and generally I think as long as the job gets done I think there is a really ethic that they like people to have fun. Also we're really lucky here to have the travel across Europe. A lot of the time, you know, we're expected to be out there in different markets and different regions. So we're really lucky to come in to work and go shopping! Also, we travel a lot to the Far-East and to Chicago to the Head Office. Generally there about ten days for each trip, so generally you kind of get to know your team members really well and there's lots of nights out on those as well!"

"I think for the future for me at Claire's…obviously I've only just moved departments, to the fashion jewellery department, I really want to get my teeth stuck into that over the next year. And work with my teams and really put my handwriting onto that so really looking forward to next year on that. In conjunction with that I'm working with my manager, I've got a personal development plan to become a Divisional Merchandise Manager in the future so hopefully we'll have a plan to do that within the next one to two years."