Hi All,
Welcome to my blog! My name is Courtney Arnett, and I am currently completing my last unit of my degree at Curtin University, PR393. The first two weeks of my internship have been incredible. I have had the opportunity to travel to Indonesia to meet our new furniture suppliers and then over east to search for the perfect showroom.
I have been working at Pacific Blue Furniture for four years now. Pacific Blue Furniture creates and sells designer outdoor furniture. The company was founded four years ago when the owner found a gap in the market for quality outdoor furniture that lasts. As I have been working here since the conception of the business I have been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to contribute to the start up of their new store soon to be opening on the east coast of Australia. To view the company website you can visit www.pacificbluefurniture.com
The past two weeks have been non-stop. The trip to Indonesia was very interesting. Before I left I did a lot of work and research in to the way they operate business in Indonesia to ensure I was appropriately prepared and as professional as possible. This was extremely insightful and beneficial to me as i came across many cultural differences between Australia and Indonesia, especially what is expected of women to wear, a woman's role in business and general etiquette. To say the least I was very nervous....
When we first arrived in Indonesia I had the privilege of meeting the PR manager of the company that manufacture our products. He is a charismatic man with plenty of product knowledge and very professional. We met for eight hours discussing new furniture designs and ways to improve our product. We also got to look around the factory and see the manufacturing process of each piece of furniture. I was amazed at how much detail went into each piece of furniture and the work required to do so. The thousands of employees producing our furniture work long hours and made me realize how lucky we are and gave me a greater appreciation for the furniture. This got me thinking of different ways that we can contribute to their community and increase the quality of life for their employees. I found that the most difficult part of this trip was the barrier of communication between languages. On my last day i decided to use my initiative a little, and decided to visit a marketing company in Indonesia to get various prices on outsourcing our promotional material.
The following week my supervisor had found the perfect showroom. I went over with another employee for three days to look at the showroom. The point of this was to see what needed to be done to the fit out of the premises. Whilst we were there we were also able to look at nearby competitors which in due course will help with my understanding of Pacific Blue's position in the market place and will aid me in contributing towards the competitors analysis of the business.
Both trips have been of great value to me and have given me a greater understanding of our position in the market. The trip to Indonesia got me thinking about ethics, cultural differences, communication and professionalism all in just a few days. One of my favourite parts was visiting over east to look at the potential premises and competitors. I am now back at home and have been designated the role of organising the VIP opening night. I look forward to letting you know in my next blog post how it goes.
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