My internship at Disneyland as a Jr Buyer

I’m Patrick and I’m in my 3rd year of business school in Montpellier. I’m doing an internship at Disneyland Paris.

After having an interview in French and English with the head buyer and his team, I was hired for the accessories division as a Junior Buyer. This division is specified in the buying of accessories like luggage, hats and jewellery….

For those who know nothing about the world of Disney, don’t worry: Firstly there is an integration day organised consisting of a presentation of Disney’s rich history and its values followed by a day of orientation comprising of a tour of your future work location, the cafeteria etc. At the end of these two days you will be more familiar with this friendly company, its’ way of working and its rules. In order to facilitate my integration into my new role, my management organised a meeting with various sectors of the Central Buying Division so that I could familiarise myself with their roles.

My team is made up of a Buyer, a Product Manager and their assistants. My role is as follows:
- Coordinate the relationship with our foreign suppliers (spoken English is essential in order to communicate effectively with them) and assist with new product launches (help the Product Manager)
- Participate in studies on our product range (market research, pricing…) allowing me to put into practice some of the theory learnt at school.
- Assist the Buyer in the analysis of his product range in order to increase sales (sales analysis, detection or reasons for successes or failures)

This internship is really interesting, as it allows me to see all stages of the product life cycle from conception to launch, including the price negotiating. . By the end of the internship I will have discovered two new jobs: the role of the Product Manager and the role of the Buyer. To sum things up, my internship is very educational and there’s a wonderful atmosphere.


Patrick
Department : Merchandise
Diploma: Master
ESC Montpellier