Alumni
Merchandise Product Development Grad is Wholesale Canadian Ambassador For Ted Baker London
After graduating from FIDM with her Professional Designation Degree in Merchandise Product Development in 2016, Gabby Alcantar started working for Ted Baker London as a U.S. Wholesale Showroom Intern. Today she is the Wholesale Canadian Ambassador, based in Los Angeles, where she recently met with Merchandise Product Development and Merchandising & Marketing Students as part of the Trendsetters Study Tour. Gabby is responsible for working with Canadian agents to help manage their Canadian specialty business across men’s and women’s. She travels to Montreal twice a year to visit accounts and create their buy for future seasons.
How did your career at Ted Baker begin? I interned at Ted Baker for nine months before I was brought on board full-time, which I’m very thankful for. I was actually able to find this opportunity through the FIDM Portal, which I definitely recommend. Originally, I started on the operations/planning team, which meant working with the warehouse, allocating, working with finance, but I also managed the samples and interns. This was great because I was able to learn different areas of the business. From then, I went on to U.S. customer service/sales for men’s and women’s specialty. After that, our office took over the Canadian territory for specialty/other majors and that’s where I am currently.
Tell us about your current role and responsibilities: I’m on the women’s sales team and work with Canadian agents to help manage our Canadian specialty business across men’s and women’s. This requires, buying, planning, setting goals, meeting goals, entering orders, being constantly in communication with our accounts/finance, and making sure goods are shipped. I usually fly out to Montreal, Canada twice a year to create our buy for our future seasons, along with visiting our accounts. I also support our U.S. specialty business by assisting with the tradeshows, such as Project New York/Las Vegas.
How was it to welcome FIDM students for the Trendsetters Study Tour recently? It was exciting and we were honored to have them visit!
Where were you born and raised? I was born/raised in Brawley, California.
How did you come to attend FIDM? I remember visiting the campus when I was in high school, but ended up sticking to my first dream, which was to play softball in college. After I received my Bachelor’s and even took the GRE to get my Master’s, I still realized wanted to go to FIDM. Next thing you know, I was in the Professional Designation Program for Merchandise Product Development.
What were some favorite memories or lessons from FIDM? Meeting people from everywhere and I loved all the hands-on classes, such as Textile Science, Color Theory, etc. There was so much to learn and so many different areas you could go into, which I hadn’t realized before FIDM.
What are your ultimate career goals? My ultimate career goals would be to grow and learn as much as possible within this industry. Even if it’s moving higher up in sales or even branching out on my own and opening up my own boutique(s).
Do you have any advice for current FIDM students or recent grads ready to break into the industry? My advice would be to network and try to do as many internships as you can. Try to be open-minded on learning other areas, as you never know where you can end up.
Categories: Merchandise Product Development Alumni
