#SenecaProud

Pat Perdue  00:00

Hey, I'm Pat Perdue and I want to introduce you to my latest podcast. This is a co-production between my company YCastr and Seneca College in Toronto. Seneca College is a really great school. I know because over the past couple of years, I've been teaching some marketing and business and customer experience courses there. People come to study at Seneca from all over the world, which makes it a hotbed of innovative thinking. And a big part of that thinking is driven by our amazing faculty, many of whom are well like me, professionals, who are thriving in their own businesses, and teach at Seneca as a way to share their passion for what they do. But needless to say, I've been hugely inspired by the people I've met. And what happens when I get inspired? Well, apparently, I launch a podcast. So here we are. Welcome to the Seneca Proud podcast, where I get to introduce you to some of Seneca College's amazing faculty. So subscribe, download and join me as we meet some of the super inspiring folks who teach here at Seneca College in Toronto. I'm Pat Perdue, and I'm glad you're here today.

Hey, welcome back to the Seneca Proud podcast. I'm your host, Pat Perdue. We've got a great show for you today. Plus, because you're listening to this podcast, you can actually save some money. Our guest today is Professor Lorrisa Dilay from the Fashion Business and Fashion Business Management programs here at Seneca. And she's also in charge of the Fashion Boutique at Newnham campus, which means we get a discount. Have you ever gone into the fashion boutique, it's right next to the library. And right now, it's chock full of their latest apparel. And the sooner you get there, the more of a selection you'll have because they don't replace their stock for the season. Once it's gone, it's gone. And they carry the brands that regular stores carry. So, if you want to add something to your wardrobe, or if you want to pick up an awesome gift for someone special and want to save some money at the same time, now's the time to check out the boutique. To get your savings. All you need to do is mention this podcast and they'll take 20% off the cost of your entire purchase. Just like that. The offer is good for the entire month of March. It can't be combined with other offers. And it's good for one purchase only so you can't use it multiple times. What you can do is go pick out a bunch of stuff that you want, and you'll save 20% off your entire purchase. Remember, as long as you mentioned the Seneca Proud podcast, you'll get your savings. And the sooner you get there, the better selection you'll have. So make it a point to check it out. And our guest Professor Lorissa Dilay teaches a bunch of courses in the Fashion Business and Fashion Business Management programs here at Seneca. She has been full time with us for just a couple of years. And before that the brands she's worked with are a who's who of iconic Canadian and international brands: Northern Reflections, Bata Canada, Athletes World and Bluenotes, The Bay, Cleo, Walmart, TJ X Canada, Town Shoes and that's just a few. Positions she's held include: Buyer, Brand Manager, Assistant General Merchandise Manager, Team Leader, Team Leader of Panning and Allocation, Product Development Manager and Director of Planning. Professor Dilay has led the design and development of women's apparel and footwear collections. She's launched new brands into Canada. And she's led corporate wide strategic market share growth initiatives. And she's designed and implemented new merchandising processes. And guess what? She teaches at Seneca and she's our guest today. Larissa and I talk about the courses she teaches, including the boutique, which is really cool. And since Larissa has such a breadth of knowledge, and has done so much, I wanted to know what role she draws from most when she teaches. So we started our conversation there. Here is Fashion Business and Fashion Business Management Professor Lorissa Dilay.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  04:19

Quite a few of my positions in my experience over the years I bring into the classroom. So my buying experience, for sure, my product development experience, particularly when I'm teaching the advanced buying class your third year. So I bring a lot of anecdotes. I've developed a lot of somewhat basic but assortment planning tools planning tools that I actually use here in the classroom. So I'm applying a lot of what I developed in the workplace right here in the college in our curriculum. 

 

Pat Perdue  04:51

Cool and I'm sure they love it because it makes the work that you're doing with your students real for them. Walk me through some of the courses that you teach here.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  05:00

One of the courses I teach is Retail Marketing. And that's a first year course that's taught in first semester. So we have brand new students, either first time at Seneca, first time in a college or we do also have students that have other degrees, other diplomas that are looking to specialize in fashion business. So it's quite a cross section of students. So that course is really an introductory course to retail management. 

 

Pat Perdue  05:27

And if somebody's thinking of taking that, keepingwith the first year, of course, what are some questions that they might want to ask themselves to determine whether or not they're a good fit for the course or for the program overall,

 

Lorrisa Dilay  05:37

Generally, an interest in fashion, but more so the fashion business side. We have students that are very keen on designer brands, luxury, and so on. They love the status of it. But ultimately, they're all businesses. So really, the foundation of this course is understanding that this is about business. Both the two year program as well as the three year program. So it's inter woven with business principles,

 

Pat Perdue  06:02

Do you find that that's a surprise to them? You know, they come in thinking it's more of the fashion that they'll see on I'm going to date myself here, Fashion TV, FTV? Or are they typically prepared to get into the business aspect of it?

 

Lorrisa Dilay  06:19

I think students come often without really understanding the scope of what lays ahead for them. So I mean, of course, description online, you know, their brief. One might peruse and get maybe a little bit of a sense, but until they're really immersed in the courses, do they really understand sort of the scope of what's involved from a business side. We're not heavy-duty business here. We teach them pretty fundamental principles, key courses, like retail mathematics, all the students take that in, in first year. And it's really the key calculations and business fundamentals, like the income statement that we introduce to them; basically, how a business operates. So regardless of where they end up, when they graduate, they're likely working for a company, they're likely, you know, engaged in some area of either a retail business, perhaps wholesale business, or could be on the marketing side. But all of those are businesses. So those fundamentals, we teach them upfront.  

 

Pat Perdue  07:16

So share with us some of the other courses that you teach.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  07:18

I teach a second-year capstone course. And it's called retail store operations. And it's our boutique course. 

 

Pat Perdue  07:23

That's the boutique. That's the store for those who are at Seneca that have seen the boutique. It's at Newnham campus, and it's near the library. And it's this glass store filled with clothes. I mean, it's really cool.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  07:36

Yeah, it's an amazing, amazing concept. It's been around for about 20 years now. So it's a really pivotal part of our program. But it's really central to students culminating. So much of what they've learned in first year and other courses in second year. So it kind of brings it all together and it's applied. That's the best thing about it. I teach them some theory, but everything is tied back to what we do and how our business operates.

 

Pat Perdue  08:06

So walk us through a day in the life of the boutique. Are they selling? Are they ordering? Are they selecting merchandise? Like what goes on there? 

 

Lorrisa Dilay  08:13

Well, we actually have seven teams that we form right at the very beginning of the semester. We open roughly three and a half to four weeks after the semester starts. So for the first four weeks, we are very, very busy forming teams. Each team has specific roles. So for example, we have buyers, we have a communications team, we have a merchandising team. We have accountants, we have planners. So you have an operations team. And we have training and development. So students form into teams, and they have specific roles that they carry on with for the entire semester. So they have roles or responsibilities. They have a performance report. So they take these jobs very seriously. 

 

Pat Perdue  08:53

Wow, it sounds like it's exactly what they'd be doing if they were in retail management, outside of college.That's really neat.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  09:01

In addition to that, they're also sales associates. So each student has to work roughly, I'd say six shifts throughout the time that the boutique is open. We're open typically eight to nine weeks during a semester. So everybody is assigned work shifts, usually four hours, at least, once to once every two weeks. Students are engaging. So they are sales associates and their responsibility is to provide customer service.

 

Pat Perdue  09:30

Are they a little surprised at the customer service plus sales aspect of it? And I ask that because my daughter worked in retail and being on the hook to sell stuff was a surprise for her. And that was a real challenge. I'm just gonna be straight with it. It was a real challenge, because she hadn't had that experience prior to getting the retail job that she had. So walk me through the students’ approach to that aspect of that role.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  09:56

Well, quite a few of our students haven't had prior retail experience. whereas others do. So those that have had the experience, they kind of get how it works. Understanding that you need to allow the customer some breathing room when they walk in the store. Let them peruse through and don't ask closed ended questions. Can I help you? Well, the answer will be...

 

Pat Perdue  10:18

It's going to be no, we're all trained to it. “No, just looking”. 

 

Lorrisa Dilay  10:21

That's right. But it's learning how to engage with other humans. Your customers are there for you to engage with. So that's actually a skill that we need to teach, right? So our training and development team will provide our sales associates with selling tips every week. You know how to help a customer put an outfit together. And those are great ways to actually engage in a conversation. Have you seen this outfit over here? Well, the answer may be, “No”. But then you can start up a conversation around well, “We just got this in. It's our newest brand”.

 

Pat Perdue  10:50

Love it. And you're of to the races. And then you're talking about it. You're saying oh, you know, this looked great on you or try it on or whatever the next piece of the conversation. 

 

Lorrisa Dilay  10:58

Some of our students who have never had retail floor experience are actually nervous when they you know, head out to their first shift. I can see they've never had that experience. What do they do? You know, they might have a little bit of a feeling of awkwardness. But once they've had one or two shifts, they get the, you know, the feeling of what it's like to be in the boutique, engage with customers. Feeling comfortable with product, of course, is really very important. Yeah, understanding the product, knowing our brands, all of our students have taken textiles. So they understand of course, we are clothing based. So they understand and can share product knowledge with customers to help sell products. So they have these skills that they've actually acquired, even though they may not have had prior work experience on the retail selling floor. 

 

Pat Perdue  11:45

So where did the clothes come from?

 

Lorrisa Dilay  11:46

We worked with a number of different agencies here in Toronto, in the fashion district. It's located close to Yorkdale Mall, which is not too far away from here. But it's a whole center with all kinds of showrooms. We buy brands that other big retailers buy. So for example, we buy Dex brothers, you can find Dex brothers at The Bay, for example. So we work with different vendors and agents. We go to showrooms, and we what we call work the line. So our sales representatives will show us the line we buy ahead of the season like many other retailers do, right? So we book around six months before we receive the product. So my buying team and I head out to all these meetings. This is what we're actually doing right now we're buying for Fall 2019.

 

Pat Perdue  12:30

And your buying team is you and students in the program.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  12:33

That's right. So my buying team this semester, I have four students, we've actually also been to some trade shows. It was amazing. So we've been to three trade shows, two in January, and we went to one on Sunday called Threads, which is an apparel trade show. So we've had amazing opportunities to not only visit vendors, just as any retail business would, but we're also going to trade shows

 

Pat Perdue  12:58

Sounds so much fun. It's amazing.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  13:00

I love it. I love it. 

 

Pat Perdue  13:05

And it comes across to! And, are they surprised at how real the experiences like the learning is not sitting in a classroom learning theory, you're going out and doing stuff and talking to people who are really working in the field? What's their take on that? Are they shocked? They must love it.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  13:22

They do. I mean the students, get to choose which team they'd like to be on. So these students might be, you know, have a keen interest in buying, let's say, for example. Or they're exploring things and have decided, “Why don't I try buying to see if I like it?”. So some of them may have already taken the buying course. So they might already have some idea of what buying is all about. But until you're actually engaging in the process, can you really understand all that's involved and all the hard work that goes into building an awesome assortment and curating a great assortment for your customer? It's hard work, right? So I think they honestly feel very privileged to have this opportunity. You know, I've been in the business for a long, long time before I came into being a full-time professor here at Seneca. And sometimes it takes a few years before any junior person has any opportunity like going to a trade show or going to a vendor showroom. So I feel they feel privileged. And they soak it all in. They take advantage of those opportunities. They ask questions, and they really feel like they're real buyers, which they are in the context of our program, which we buy product.

 

Pat Perdue  14:31

So that's the first stage and you're doing it now for Fall 2019. Walk us through the process in its sequence. So there's the buying and then what happens and then it gets delivered to the boutique and then displayed and so these are other teams picking up these different deliveries, right?

 

Lorrisa Dilay  14:49

So, I'll rewind a bit. So when we started this semester in January, product was already purchased by the students from the Fall semester of 2018.

 

Pat Perdue  15:01

So that was pre ordered. Got it, they inherited that.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  15:03

That's right. So this team I'm working with now, these students have inherited the product decisions from the previous semester, because we buy ahead of the season. So we started receiving boxes of inventory from our vendors in January. So once those goods arrive, they come into the boutique. And our planning team is the team that receives the merchandise, Tey know what they're expecting. We have all of our line lists, we have line sheets, we have purchase orders that are entered into our POS. And RMS is a retail management system. So we have official documents, we have official orders. So the team, students for this semester have all kinds of information, they know what's coming in, they know what's purchased, they know what the retail prices will be, and so on. So once the product arrives in boxes, it's the planning team’s turn to basically unpack those goods, check the purchase orders and the invoices to ensure if we received what we purchased. They then log essentially the product in our system because it becomes inventory in our POS system. 

 

Pat Perdue  16:12

And now you've got a POS system and retail management system that the students get to work with. 

 

Lorrisa Dilay  16:17

That’s absolutely right. In fact, the system we use, many retailers and chains use the same system. So it's for real. It's a real live, active merchandising data with real life real data. So we have real inventory. So the planning team checks everything off, they enter it in the system, and they ticket it and have it ready for the merchandising team. So the merchandising team is responsible for displaying, laying out the merchandise on the floor. So they're going to make sure that all the product is curated into groupings and collections on the sales floor. They dress the mannequins, they set the tables. They're really responsible for making sure the store looks beautiful, and shoppable.

 

Pat Perdue  16:58

And it looks great when it's filled with clothes. Because sometimes it's not, like if it's between seasons. And when it's for like today, when we met up prior to this recording, I met you in the boutique and it was jumping. It was filled with merchandise, filled with clothes, there were people in there looking around for stuff. The music was going. It was like a real store.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  17:24

It is a real store. So they're the team that makes everything look beautiful and shoppable and exciting. And you know our environment’s different than a mall. We have a contained community here, that's here often. So the challenge for the merchandising team is to make sure the store looks fresh and different all the time. So they are constantly re-merchandising, putting different outfits together to show new looks. It's a real task. Unlike a retailer who might be in a mall that maybe that same customer walks through the mall twice a month, we have people walking by every day. If it's the same thing in the same section, it doesn't look enticing, right? So where it becomes invisible. You just don't see the differences anymore, right? So we can make a change in the store. And it looks like it's brand new product, which makes that really exciting. So that team is really on the ball with ensuring that things look fresh and different all the time and putting different options together for the customer.

 

Pat Perdue  18:20

Got it. How do they do well? Is it the frequency of changes? Is success measured in terms of traffic that comes into the store? How as a person who's teaching that program and assessing their ability and their development and their learning? What does success look like?

 

Lorrisa Dilay  18:36

For merchandising, we would really be looking at analyzing sales performance of specific items or groupings of products. So we can do all of that because we have an RMS, retail management system. So if the team put together a number of different outfits on mannequins, we can clearly measure based on sell through or helping sell if that was a successful outfit or not. Same thing with tables, we can measure everything. It's just a matter of knowing what did we display? Where? For how long? And did we have a return on our investment?

 

Pat Perdue  19:07

Wow,

 

Lorrisa Dilay  19:08

It's the real deal. So we can measure all of that.

 

Pat Perdue  19:12

And you do! And so this is second year students. And it might be their first experience in anything like that. And it's suddenly so real. Does the close management of all of these statistics and the data and really looking at tracking the business end of the operation, it's not simply a matter of putting clothes out and hoping they sell. You're really measuring this and making changes along the way. Are they shocked by that? Like what's what's their mindset when they're like, Wow, this is really, really serious.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  19:41

Well, first of all, every Thursday this semester, at least we have what we call strategic meetings. So this would be a meeting that I would have had an industry on a Monday morning. You can imagine that. So how did business perform? All the teams would get together or Heads of teams and talk about the business. How did we perform and what do we need to do to make sure we're on track? So we have those same kinds of conversations. So every Thursday, in this case, in fact, you know, today being Thursday, this afternoon, we'll have our strategic meeting. So each team presents a result that pertains to their specific role. So for example, merchandising will show some on PowerPoint, they'll have photographed some of their mannequins, and they will show in their brief presentation what was on the mannequins and then the sell through. So, teams then, as a total, can make decisions around what do we want to do with that? Should we perhaps look at buying more product because that sold really well or look for similar product like that? Do we need to change the display? We can make all kinds of decisions around that, right? The numbers bring the product to life. And I always tell my students too, when I see product, when I see inventory, when I see numbers, I see product, I see customers, that's how I visualize it. So, you know, every day, we're in the business, every day we're talking about numbers. 

 

Pat Perdue  21:01

It's for real, it's bringing it to life. There are human beings behind these numbers, these numbers are indicative of behavior and preferences by people who have come into the store, right? Then what happens? So it's merchandised. And then I assume this is where the sales associates engage and hit the floor and are charged to sell.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  21:18

That's right. So we have a training and development team. And before we even open our doors every semester or season, they are responsible for training all of our sales associates on all of our procedures, all of our policies, but also selling techniques. So our sales associates are ready to go in, they're equipped from the day we open the door, right through the day we close, in terms of knowing how to process sales, and how to really learn some selling skills and also sell to our customers. So that occurs, you know, right through the semester. We've also got promotion. So my communications team is a team that I work with, to develop promotions. So right now we have a promotion, ‘buy more save more’, for example. So that team will develop the posters, they'll do all of the in-store signage, they do all the social media posts, and they too, are responsible for measuring success. So how much engagement did you get through your posts on Instagram?  And not only likes, which are great, but did it drive sales?  So how do you encourage customers who like your stuff and social media to come in and buy? So we're trying to measure some of that, too.

 

Pat Perdue  22:29

Got it. So everybody's working in tandem? And are all of these different departments involved in your Thursday afternoon meetings?

 

Lorrisa Dilay  22:34

Yes, yes. So I also have an Operations team. So they're really responsible for ensuring that the Boutique is in proper order, from supplies, making sure that associates are following all of the policies and procedures. They're tracking sales, daily sales and documents, and they present that in the Thursday meeting. They're also documenting things like what's going on out there, what is happening on campus that can have an impact on sales. So understanding what is driving your sales, and also recording that so that when we plan sales for the following season, we know what happened.  That's a really, really important part of a business - being able to journalize and document what has happened so that you can plan for the future. I teach the students that right at the beginning of the semester.

 

Pat Perdue  23:20

Awesome. So I'm thinking of the sales associates now and your Thursday meetings. This is where I'm stepping out of the college setting and into the business focus setting and where it's the corporate, “everybody's looking to protect their position”. So it might be that the salespeople aren't selling the display properly. How do you manage that very natural dynamic that's going to happen? 

 

Lorrisa Dilay  23:45

We bring this up as a part of our strategic meetings on Thursdays and it is natural. I hear from some students, oh, well, maybe there should have been a few more posts or oh, well, maybe that mannequin. I hear it. So I say then we need to discuss it as a group. And my students are very diplomatic. There isn't finger pointing. This is a learning lab. And we need to learn how to be, you know, diplomatic and constructive with our feedback. Even in the real-life business environment. I've lived it for many years in my career. So you get more out of people by offering, you know, constructive feedback. 

 

Pat Perdue  24:23

So we talk about these things in business. What a huge lesson that part of it is because they're going to be sitting in boardrooms, where it's not such a safe environment. And they can make a choice, they can either tbe defensive, or they can be constructive. And they can learn some really good habits here and be ready for that possibility in that environment.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  24:42

I mean, I take these you know, any instance where you know, something happens in the boutique,  whether it's a certain sales transaction, I bring it into the classroom, because these are all like, all of this is learning. So the base curriculum is the same. But all the examples, the anecdotes, the discussions, it's going to be directly related to what's happening in this semester's business, which makes it really, so dynamic and exciting. 

 

Pat Perdue  25:13

Yeah, super dynamic. Again, is that a surprise to the students? Are they like, “Wow, we're really getting into it. We're talking about real things. We're not talking about theory. We're talking about what happened in the boutique yesterday, or we're talking about what happened in our Thursday afternoon meeting.” Do you find the students really step up and dive into that role? Or are they hanging back a little bit? What's their approach?

 

Lorrisa Dilay  25:35

Some of it is just, you know, the eservation sometimes around not really knowing, but I think as they get going in a semester, they're like, hey, well, I own this business. And I tell them, It's not Lorrisa’s business, or Seneca’s business, it's our business. 

 

Pat Perdue  25:51

And what great bragging rights to bring to a job interview! 

 

Lorrisa Dilay  25:55

Absolutely right. I ensure by the end of the semester; they're going to write a role description and some accomplishments from what they did specifically. And that's, you know, something, they have to submit as an assignment for me. But I say to them that this is a real deal. This needs to be on your resume. This is very important stuff, right? It's practical.

 

Pat Perdue  26:16

And do you hear from students after the boutique? You know, I can imagine it sets them really apart in a job interview, have you heard back from students who have been in the program and circled back and talked about how beneficial their experience in the boutique was?

 

Lorrisa Dilay  26:32

You know, I've talked to Alumni, just through events. And, you know, over the course of the last year or so, I hear so much about this program overall. The boutique in particular, really, really kind of set them up in terms of having a good hands-on work experience, and being able to, you know, take on the challenge of a new job without like a massive learning curve. So they've already had applied experience. You know, a few weeks ago, I actually had a guest speaker in who was a graduate of our FHB program, she has her own store. And she came to talk to my boutique students about her experience. And so much of what she said, really echoed what we are doing. And she also expressed how much she valued and learned from our program, in particular, the boutique.

 

Pat Perdue  27:21

Let's stay with the boutique for a second, you mentioned that there's a promotion going on right now. Can you share with us what that promotion is?

 

Lorrisa Dilay  27:28

So through to the end of this week, it's buy more, save more. So spend $50, you get 15% off your purchase, spend $75, Get $20 off and spend $100 or more and get 25% off. 

 

Pat Perdue  27:40

Got it. So this is for listeners, we're recording this on the week of March 5. So that particular promotion might not be still in play when you’re actually listening to this podcast episode. Can you and I make a deal? I'm gonna put you on the spot. So if somebody mentions this podcast, what can you do for them? 

 

Lorrisa Dilay  28:03

Oh, we can definitely offer 20% discount

 

Pat Perdue  28:06

20% is a serious discount.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  28:08

It is serious. Yeah, that's pretty good.

 

Pat Perdue  28:12

So yeah, so they'll just mention the Seneca Proud podcast. And just like that, they'll get a 20% discount.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  28:19

My students will be made aware. Sales associates will know. But we need to know that it came from the podcast. 

 

Pat Perdue  28:25

Absolutely. 

Well, thank you for that. And folks who are listening, head over to the boutique and buy stuff. 

Let's talk about some of the other courses that you teach in particular, maybe the field program. I’m really, really curious about hearing a little bit about that.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  28:40

So, field is our third-year capstone course it's extremely involved for third year students, but it is really centered on working with an industry client. So a real company, a real company can vary from a retailer to manufacturer to wholesaler. And we work with a client every year and we work with them to build a case study from which our students can essentially solve a problem for them. So it is essentially a year long. It encompasses a full third year and covers a number of different courses. So students are touching on all kinds of aspects of developing a full marketing plan, and then providing product marketing as well as merchandising strategies around how to solve that particular problem.

 

Pat Perdue  29:37

This is new product that doesn't exist in the world yet. 

 

Lorrisa Dilay  29:41

They are designing. So one of the objectives is for them to design 16 to 20 styles. Now the objectives vary each year depending on who our client is, you know, whether it's menswear ladieswear, you know, other types of commodities. It is typically centered around apparel. And then the job for the students is to build the line, meet certain sales and profit objectives, and of course to promote the line and meet that specific requirement. So let's say acquisition of new customers is one of the objectives in the case study. So everything the students work on for their project, their final presentation needs to be centered on meeting that objective. So they start in September. We meet with the client. The students are debriefed on what the case is. And then through the Fall semester, they have a few courses, that touch on building the full marketing plan. By December, they present their marketing plan to the client, they get feedback, they make changes, and then once we’ve started the winter semester, they have four to five courses that are centered on different parts of building out this strategy. It's very, very involved, the teams work together for nearly eight months. So we have typically four to five students per team. They’re self formed at the beginning of the Fall semester, and they work together all the way through. So it's very, very intensive. There’s a final presentation to the client, as well as an industry event that includes industry, alumni and family members. This year it will be on April 4. So it's a really, really exciting event. And that is when the students actually present their strategy to a panel of judges.

 

Pat Perdue  31:26

And this is not just any small event. It's a big deal, on a stage and in the auditorium. Share with us, if somebody's going to attend that event, what might they expect, you know, as a an attendee?

 

Lorrisa Dilay  31:37

We have a reception. So there's a meet and greet, an opportunity to mix and mingle, whether you’re family, alumni or industry, we have receptions, probably about 45 minutes, and then we move right into our evening's event. So it moves pretty quickly. Our students each have roughly 10 to 15 minutes on stage, their presentation in and of itself is 10 minutes. 

 

Pat Perdue  32:06

That's all they have to convey and sell their strategy. And that's a lot to do in 10 minutes.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  32:09

It really is a lot. So they're presenting it to the audience, but more so to a panel of industry judges. So the industry judges, we have representation from the clients. But we also reach out to other industry experts that fulfill certain types of roles. So that we would have, say, a marketing expert, a product expert. These are people that we reach out to that could be alumni as well, that have some knowledge of the specific topic or case. So say it's women's wear, well, they might have some background or familiarity with working with women's wear, whether it be marketing, product, sourcing, or whatever that that might be. So we invite a panel of judges and the students present in their 10 minutes to the panel of judges. After the presentations are completed, the judges deliberate, and then they come back. We have some awards, we have some presentations, and then we announce the winner.So it is also a competition. So students, are engaged in this not only to present their strategy, but there's also an opportunity to win, they want to win. So it's very involved., It's really an important course and is super intensive. They're working really hard right now. I am the field co-ordinator. So I work with the students, I work with them from really a teamwork perspective, I help to ensure that they're on track with all of their assignments, and that the end goal, which is the presentation, is put together in a really professional and effective way. 

 

Pat Perdue  33:44

So, they're not left just to sort of figure it out on their own, there's a lot of support, there's a lot of attention, that's right from others, to make sure that they can succeed.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  33:53

That's right. So my role is to help facilitate the process for them. And to be that person that helps to make sure that they're staying on track. Meanwhile, they do have assignments related to their project that comes from, you know, different courses and different professors. So it's helping to sort of culminate all of that together, and have one person, being myself, that can see from one point of view how everything is coming together. So we're really involved in putting together the presentations right now. And just in a couple of weeks, we'll be into rehearsals. So it’s the countdown!

 

Pat Perdue  34:29

Exciting! And thematically over the whole program, what I'm getting is there's a lot of real world “get out and do it” aspect to it versus theory versus whatever - it's dive in, and do it.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  34:44

Yeah, I mean, it's a combination. So much of what they learn in first year is foundational. We build on that and second year and in third year, we take it up a notch and it's very applied. So it's much more strategic. It's again, it's a combination of, you know, everything they've learned. That's why we call it a capstone. So it really pulls everything together to showcase their capabilities. I mean, on one hand, this is an event and a presentation. On the other hand, it's a huge opportunity for them to showcase who they are. And almost like a little job interview with all the industry sitting in the audience. So it offers so many different opportunities for our students. 

 

Pat Perdue  35:25

And again, what bragging rights at the very least. So it already feels like a forward leaning program. That said, in the news, every week, we hear of the turmoil that's happening in retail. Crisis like Payless shoe store,1200 locations gone. Sears, of course, at one point, by some accounts was bigger than Amazon, gone. So, this is the future that our students are moving toward AI, bots, holograms, all of this stuff. Where do you see the program going in the next few years to speak to some of this change?

 

Lorrisa Dilay  36:12

You know, retail is not dead, the stores are not dead. And we know it's changing so quickly, you know, and in 25 years I've been in the business, it's really in the last five that I've seen things change at this pace. I've never had experienced any of this, you know, as a young person in the business. So, you know, we have such opportunity to move alongside where the industry is going, and try and get ahead of it. And we're working really hard right now to identify what does the industry need? You know, not long ago, as retailers were starting to form different parts of their organization for social media, and so on, nobody had job descriptions, and were trying to put it all together. People were just learning. We have the opportunity to teach. And to prepare students to be candidates for these positions. These are the things we're looking at, we're moving alongside these changes, we're not staying traditional. Now, our store, a storefront, you might think is traditional. But again, if you read anything about what's going on in retail, many retailers, whether they're, you know, ecommerce based only, they're moving to having showrooms, they're moving to bricks, it's both ways. It's the omni channel. Now, that term has been around for a few years now. But it really is an all encompassing experience. So our students need to be taught, to ,learn and apply all sides of the business, whether it's bricks clicks, anywhere in between. I really feel that in spite of what's happening with the business, it's a new world of opportunity. And that's what we are speaking to our students about. We were reading what's happening out there, but look at the success of other retailers, and not just Amazon know what they're doing. Of course, there's plenty of specialty retailers that are here in Canada, that are excelling. They're doing innovative, unique things, you know, the world of sustainability, and I won't get into that area, because that's a massive topic. But look at what's happening with that, or transparency around sourcing. There's all kinds of stories out there in retail that you can capitalize on.

 

Pat Perdue  38:30

The whole sustainability, and circular economy is something that's absolutely woven through the fabric of this program. See what I did there? 

 

Lorrisa Dilay  38:40

It really, you're so right. Yeah, absolutely. It is, you know, it's just the new world. You know, as we see s more legacy retailers fall away, it just opens up opportunity for others to step up and rise to the occasion and move through into this new world. And new retailers or anybody new in the fashion. You know, business side doesn't have to be retail necessarily. You could be a wholesaler, you could be a new marketing organization tailored to helping retailers or wholesalers build their social media base, whatever that is. Yeah, there's plenty of opportunity. It just looks a lot different than it did 10 years ago, five years ago, and especially when I started in this industry, it's really different.

 

Pat Perdue  39:29

Well, Lorrisa Dilay, thank you so much for sharing your time and insights in the Fashion Business and Fashion Business Management programs. And the courses sound awesome.

 

Lorrisa Dilay  39:41

They are really amazing. Thank you so much. 

 

Pat Perdue  39:54

That was Professor Lorrisa Dilay, from the Fashion Business and Fashion Business Management programs here at Seneca College and what a hands-on experience students of these programs get. Whether it's the field program she mentioned or the boutique, students in the programs don't just talk about the business of fashion, they actually dive right into it. And don't forget to claim your 20% discount by mentioning this podcast. Thank you Lorrisa for that. And if you're listening to this podcast on a computer, you can actually get it delivered straight to your phone by subscribing on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Pat Perdue. Thank you for listening. And as always, stay Proud Seneca!