Just do it!

I taped a postcard of Hong Kong onto the electric ducting just over my desk in Stockholm, Sweden. The view of Hong Kong was astonishing, and landing at the old Kai Tak airport in 1986 I looked out over the roofs and into people's living rooms... then said out loud "I am going to live there!"

I brought the postcard back to Stockholm as a reminder of what to do.

Working as a fashion fabric textile buyer in the 1980's was a whirlwind full of shows, exhibitions, suppliers, fabric cuttings and travelling. As the first female textile buyer at the textile wholesaler HS Josephson AB in Stockholm I faced not only long hours of work but a 100% male Sales Team who did not want a female buyer. That's another story!

Our Managing Director - my mentor Mr Jan Dale (RIP) - had hired me as an assistant to the Product Manager of fashion textiles in the summer of 1985. I think just six months into the job he called me into his office and said he had heard I was leaving. With four years of many jobs prior I had decided to make this job last, so I got a bit worried why he said I was leaving.

Turned out the Product Manager was leaving to start his own business and the MD had invested in the new business - both of them liking my organisation skills - and wanting me to be part of it.

I remember the moment very well - not knowing the MD was a partner in the new business at the time - I was clear confirming that I was not leaving. I wanted to stay and learn.

Well then, Jan said, do you want the job as Product Manager of Fashion Textiles?

Without hesitation I replied, Sure, but I don't know how to calculate margins or stock turnover.

Not to worry, Jan replied, and he continued "I do, and I will teach you". He explained how I had the organisational skills and the fashion touch, plus I was sewing my own clothes. What could go wrong! I was 21 years old when I joined the company and probably 22 when i got the jobas Product Manager.

We sold fabrics mainly to fabric retail shops all over Sweden, and we also stocked haberdashery and papper patterns for sewing. My budget was in the tens of millions (SEK) and if I remember right we sold for around 50m SEK. It was a huge responsibilty for someone who did not know how to calculate margins.

My mentor taught me well. The next year we raised the margin from around 35% to 42% - somewhere at that range. The thrills of the numbers started to replace my love of design, but the combination was facinating. I had the best job in the world.

Never look back.

This is a breadcrumb of everything I have done - the start of my taste of the world. My job took me not only to fashion fairs in Europe - Premiere Vision in Paris or Interstoff in Frankfurt - but to the Far East and South America for textile sourcing.

Buying silk in Xi'an in China in the winter - without heating at the new hotel with minus 10C outside - was not the most pleasant but indeed and incredible experience helping our margin for sure! Turned out we had to raise the price of the silk we bought as it was too cheap and our customers thought it was fake.

This small chapter in my life of accepting the job - the promotion - without the vital knowlede of calculating margins and stock turn over - shows that some knowledge you have and other knowledge you get from learning on the job. Don't be afraid to ask and receive help with an open mind.

Sitting with my sewing machine taught me what worked, and buying the right fabrics at the right price was a win win business. Had it been the other way around I doubt I would have bought the right fabrics. Imagine if I had AI to help me back then.

Wow, I am so excited for future generations to have more time to be creative with the assistance of easy margin calculations by AI.

Next article

Five years in Hong Kong and many trips to China. Then came the 'Asian Crises'