Gap Interview Questions – Flashcards

Hi my name is Alexandra Whitley, but you can call me Allie. I'm currently a Senior at the University of South Carolina, and I'm enrolled in both the Darla Moore School of Business and the College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sports Management. I am currently getting a dual degree in marketing and fashion merchandising, with a minor in Chinese. Along with being a full time student I am a varsity sec athlete for both my schools cross country and track and field team. And I have a part time job as a sales associate for a local boutique. I have always had a passion for marketing and fashion and I would love to find a career in this field.

This might seem a little off topic but bear with me. My mom is very opposite from me in some senses, we are both creative, kind, and personable people but she is very afraid of going to malls, because of horror stories and the throngs of people. When I was younger she really did not enjoy shopping, she would rather we be outside and having adventures. I loved most of those experiences but when I grew up I took advantage of my new found freedom to shop. Having neglected my shopping side for so long I grew to really love all things retail, which is why I decided to study it in college, and now I am perusing a career in it.

I would love to work for a global brand like gap, whose has a rich history in changing the fashion landscape. I think this position would be an amazing opportunity to not only use the knowledge I gained from my undergraduate degree, but also to gain a lot more hands on knowledge in the different segments of the retail industry.

I think I would be a great fit to this program. I would love the opportunity to experience working with different segments of retailing through a major fashion brand. I would bring my creative spirit, and dedication to the table.

creativity: My greatest strength would have to be my creativity. Its something that I use daily in the classroom and workplace. drive/ work ethic: Another strength would have to be my drive and passion. I don't like to do anything half way, this is shown through my passion for athletics, determination in school, and in the workplace. I have been an athlete all my life, and this drive has allowed me to excel in sports, and become a D1 athlete. time management: One of my strengths would have to be my time management skills. Throughout my college career I have balanced being a full time student taking over the recommended number of hours, being a student athlete, and working part time. Balancing my time has been tough but will hopefully pay off in the future. person-ability: I have worked many different jobs, from being a social media intern, a waitress, and even a bridal consultant. All of these different jobs allowed me to be refine different selling techniques and customer interaction. I also learned a lot about different people skills, the best ways to make a sale.

Personal money management skills: My greatest weakness would be my personal money management skills. When I first came to college I experienced a new kind of freedom with spending, and it didn't help that I looked at shopping as part of my curriculum as a fashion major. But after taking multiple accounting and finance classes I learned how to manage my money more effectively, and I can say I've came along way... Competitiveness: Being a student athlete, I don't like to lose. It's drilled into my head every practice, and at every meet. So when I come across a challenge I don't like to give up, I want to succeed and overcome it. Even when I could let someone else handle it because I'm short on time. But I have learned to let some things go and to recognize what challenges to pursue and others to let go of.

A priority that I have always had but recently have been putting more time into is my proficiency in Chinese, I lessened my academic hours this semester to work on my minor and really get the most out of my classes. Recently I have made it a priority to work on my running career since my final year of being an athlete is almost here. Its sad watching it end, but the opportunities participating in sports has given me is priceless.

In 5 years I see myself doing what I love. I want to be working with a company that has expanded globally into China, and preferably one in the retail industry. I'm very passionate about fashion and I would love to be apart of a global company thats changing the fashion landscape.

will it continue to sell, is it about to be out of season, based off of marketing research how many will sell in the area

first off if this were an inventory item that had been previously sold at Gap, you would refer to the sales tracking to see how the vests performed in each location they were distributed to. The quantities allocated to each location would be based off of total profit that each store gained from the items. If however this was the first time a vest was being distributed, you would want to definitely study the consumer of each location... This is where weather would also come into play. The locations with chillier climates would, of course, receive a larger quantity. Marketing strategies would need to be implemented to educate the customer on their needs for the product. And a tracking plan would need to be put into place to follow the vest and assess weekly how they are doing in each location. if certain stores are not profiting in the sales of the vest, they would then be pulled and redistributed to the locations that are benefiting from the sales.

first off if this were an inventory item that had been previously sold at Gap, you would refer to the sales tracking to see how the vests performed in each location they were distributed to. The quantities allocated to each location would be based off of total profit that each store gained from the items. If however this was the first time a vest was being distributed, you would want to definitely study the consumer of each location... This is where weather would also come into play. The locations with chillier climates would, of course, receive a larger quantity. Marketing strategies would need to be implemented to educate the customer on their needs for the product. And a tracking plan would need to be put into place to follow the vest and assess weekly how they are doing in each location. if certain stores are not profiting in the sales of the vest, they would then be pulled and redistributed to the locations that are benefiting from the sales.

Climate Popularity Demographics

taking initiative, communicating a vision, translating vision into reality, inspiring others, making tough decisions, motivating others, empowering others, developing others. You might not have heard but recently where I live in Columbia, SC there has been major floods and damage. It lead to city wide panic for a brief period, and panic in the house I live at. When we heard that there was a possibility for the water to shut off I calmly explained to my roommates that we needed to fill up water for the fridge so we would have drinking water, and we needed to find candles and lighters inn case we lost power. I also instructed that we needed to put bowls outside under the roof so that we could have water to flush toilets, after we realized we weren't losing power. It was a rough few days, and even though the water came back on, we still don't have hot water and we are under a boil water advisory. I am currently taking a marketing class that is basically a part time job. I work in a group of 7 under the NCAA (national collegiate athletic association) and the NACMA (national association of collegiate marketing administrators). We are tasked to create a survey thats analyzes why students attend or don't attend collegiate athletic events. Recently we had to create a focus group of upper level staff in the USC's athletics marketing program. I worked with two other people and it was our first time organizing a focus group. We each took turns leading the discussion. It was a really valuable leadership experience because not only did I have to take initiative, I also had to communicate a vision, and make tough decisions about topics to leave off. It has been such a great experience working on this project, I have learned so much about how to create appropriate survey questions, the most effective ways to distribute different surveys, and of course the different ways to interpret the results.

The negative impact of a company's new product on the sales performance of its existing related products. Market cannibalization refers to a situation where a new product "eats" up the sales and demand of an existing product. This can negatively affect both the sales volume and market share of the existing product. Market cannibalization occurs when a new product intrudes on the existing market for the older product, rather than expanding the company's market base. Rather than appealing to a new segment of the market and increasing market share, the new product appeals to the company's current market, resulting in reduced sales and market share for the existing product.

Depends if the benefits outweigh the costs. Synergy' The concept that the value and performance of two companies combined will be greater than the sum of the separate individual parts. Synergy is a term that is most commonly used in the context of mergers and acquisitions

be prepared give examples

The last book I read was "the goal" by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt The last movie I saw was the Martian The last sporting event I went to was a cross country meet I was participating in

I have worked in multiple environments that were stressful, for example I worked last summer as a waitress and there were multiple nights that we were understaffed and had a full house. But Ive learned to make the most of a situation, and I definitely made the most of those with the amount of tips I received. I've been more involved in even more environments that had deadlines. I worked my sophomore year as a campus representative and blogger for a small women's apparel company.

A few years ago when I was a sophomore I worked for a company called University Girls apparel. It was a startup company that was introducing cute collegiate apparel for girls. I was a university representative for USC, which involved starting social media accounts for them, attending different events in Columbia to promote the merchandise. Overall I helped increase their sales, and I learned a lot about what it takes to have a startup company.

I expect to be able to apply what I have learned in my undergraduate degree, and also gain hands on experience in the fast pace retail industry. I thought you're program was very interesting in how it rotated throughout the different jobs. Being well rounded in this industry would be a great opportunity.

My biggest accomplishment in my career so far would be getting into a marketing class that I am in right now. It was a very competitive application process, and only 7 students were chosen. This is also the first year this type of work study is offered, so they really wanted an outstanding class. This class is basically a part time job. We work under the NCAA (national collegiate athletic association) and the NACMA (national association of collegiate marketing administrators). We are tasked to create a survey thats analyzes why students attend or don't attend collegiate athletic events. So far I have gained priceless hands on experience.

A few years ago when I was a sophomore I worked for a company called University Girls apparel. It was a startup company that was introducing cute collegiate apparel for girls. I was a university representative for USC, which involved starting social media accounts for them. I used the different social media accounts daily in order to promote the merchandise, and I wrote bi-monthly articles for the website.

I would change my height, I am 5'3 and cannot reach most things. I would try to be less hard on myself for things in the past I cant change. For example I dropped my phone about a month ago and it shattered. But I dropped it because I thought I could carry all of my groceries and my phone into my house.. As it turns out I cannot.

I believe punctuality is very important, being an student athlete if Im not on time in the mornings I get left. So I value punctuality.

My dream job would be to work for a global brand that goes overseas to china. its my minor and I love the culture. .........

Earning a duel degree in fashion merchandising and marketing, I usually take 18 credit hours a semester, along with summer classes. I also have about 2 to 3 hours of practice everyday, and I have a part time job at a local boutique. When I do have free time thats not dedicated to school work I like to spend it being creative. Recently Ive been getting into pintrest projects around my house, and building a garden.

Recently for one of my summer marketing classes the class was given the assignment to analyze a collaboration in a company. My group did the Kanye West collaboration with Adidas. (I had recently read an article about the collaboration in women's wear daily). It ended up being one of the most interesting projects I have ever work on for school. And not only did my group meet the projects guidelines we went beyond in giving full detail about how Kayne came about this collaboration, detailed predictions for the future of the collaboration, and the company.

TJX Companies (TJ Max, Marshalls) Abercrombie & Fitch Aeropostale American Eagle Outfitters Children's Place Retail Stores J. Crew Levi Strauss Limited Brands Macy's Nordstrom Polo Ralph Lauren Ross Stores Target

This past summer I worked as a waitress at a local restaurant. And some of the cooks were a little crude and make derogatory sexual comments towards me and some of the waitresses. It was just comments that one would hear from catcalls on the street, but it was hard to continue to hear every time I stepped into the kitchen. I told the management, and explained to the cooks that they had really offended me on multiple occasions. Needless to say when a job at a local boutique opened up I was very grateful for the change.

This past summer I had an internship at the University of South Carolina Athletics in the marketing department. There were quite a few interns, and sometimes the work was a little dull. After completing a few excruciatingly long databases, I felt the best way to cope was through food. So I brought in some homemade cookies, which really turned the mood around. The another form of motivation, we acted out the games that we had been researching for half time scenarios. It ended up being really productive (there were a lot of kinks to get out), and fun.

Being a student athlete I am constantly involved in competitive situations. From practice each morning where we train together but still against each other, to being competitive in the classroom. I believe competition is healthy and at times a great motivator. It has pushed me out of my boundaries, and to do things beyond my comfort zone. Being competitive has driven me to become the best I can be in my event, and in my majors.

One of my summer classes involved a case study on Columbia sportswear. It was a really interesting project because I've never had an in depth look at this company. what was the decision? to write the date for them or not?

... recently I had to develop a survey for NCAA and NACMA. After we get all the results back and analyze the data the plan is to offer to sell the results or sell tailored surveys to universities across the nation. After that is done my job in the spring is to create a follow up survey to see how the results compared to what actually happened. These marketing surveys will hopefully have an impact in how schools target students to get involved in athletics.

This past summer I worked as an intern for the University of South Carolinas Athletic's marketing department. I thought it would be an interesting experience working with sports marketing, since all my classes have been business marketing oriented. Also I needed internship credit to graduate from the retailing school, and to get it to count for credit I needed a certain number of hours. My boss understood I was getting it to count for credit, but she did not understand I needed so many hours. After multiple ignored emails, and messages, I finally got the point across that my schedule made me very behind in hours. In the end I received the credit, but I did have to stay for and extra week and make up the missed time.

I am currently taking a marketing class that is basically a part time job. I work in a group of 7 under the NCAA (national collegiate athletic association) and the NACMA (national association of collegiate marketing administrators). We are tasked to create a survey thats analyzes why students attend or don't attend collegiate athletic events. Recently we had to create a focus group of upper level staff in the USC's athletics marketing program. After the focus group I had to analyze the data, and determine how to alter the survey we had wanted to distribute to match the data they gave. It has been such a great experience working on this project, I have learned so much about how to create appropriate survey questions, the most effective ways to distribute different surveys, and of course the different ways to interpret the results.

"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure." — Bill Gates I believe that I am someone who can learn from failure. As bill gates once said "It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure." Being an athlete I have had my fair share of good and bad races. Lately it feels like its been more bad. But I am determined to get back on top, and learn from my mistakes that keep holding me back.

I prefer one where everyone is trusted to do their own work, while still feeling open enough to collaborate between each other. The affiliative leader works to create emotional bonds that bring a feeling of bonding and belonging to the organization. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be "People come first." The affiliative style works best in times of stress, when teammates need to heal from a trauma, or when the team needs to rebuild trust. This style should not be used exclusively, because a sole reliance on praise and nurturing can foster mediocre performance and a lack of direction.

What interest me the most about this position is the ability to learn in different areas of retailing. I know I would get to experience the different functions of Inventory Management,Merchandising, and Production.