"So, what’s a merchant anyway? "
Our merchants are our competitive advantage. They build product assortments that bring our brands to life and deliver the emotional experience our customers love. It’s their work spotting lifestyle and cultural trends, and maintaining the highest level of customer intimacy that drives sales in our stores and online. Merchants are the creative force behind our business, and they have been since 1963. Just ask our CEO Les Wexner – our first merchant and still the best.
The Merchant-in-Training Residency
Our merchants make us unique. Limited Brands’ MIT Residency is designed to prepare you for a challenging career in merchandising and culminates in placement as an assistant merchant in one of our brands. It’s a seven-week opportunity to learn – on the job and from seasoned leaders in the classroom – that gives you a deep understanding of the merchant role.
Your role as an assistant merchant
As an assistant merchant, you learn the operational side of the business while supporting a lead merchant in driving the strategic direction of the brand and its performance. You know the customer, understand the competitive landscape and you’re able to translate the world of fashion into business strategy and ultimately bring the right ideas to market at the right time.
Think you have what it takes?
Being a merchant is hard work. Not only do merchants need strong analytical and collaboration skills, they must also have a passion for fashion that translates into winning ideas. Specifically we want aspiring merchants who “get it” and possess these intangibles:
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Fashion intuition – Recognize trends and predict relevance to our customers
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Curiosity – Constantly seek out answers. Why is that selling or not selling? What does she want? What will she want next?
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Customer intimacy – Know the customer in a way that you can anticipate her wants and needs
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Merchandising savvy – See big commercial opportunities and know how to make them part of our brand experience
MIT Qualifications
To be eligible for the program, you must:
- Hold a four-year college degree
- Have at least one year of store or customer-facing retail experience
- Be willing to relocate to either Columbus or New York (assistance may be available)
Internal candidates (from home office, stores and call centers) must also:
- Be employed with Limited Brands for at least one year
- Have a performance rating of “meets expectations” or above
- Be recommended by your district and regional manager (store associates) or by your manager (home office and call center associates)
What you need to know about the application process
Our MIT Residency is a recurring, annual program that begins accepting applications during our fourth quarter.
Applying
You may find MIT opportunities with Limited Brands are posted on your campus job board, and you can submit your resume through your school's career website.
For Limited Brands associates who are interested in applying, MIT opportunities can be found on our internal job posting site.
After your profile has been submitted, a member of our recruiting team will review your experience and may contact you if your profile corresponds with our requirements and available opportunities.
Once accepted into the program, MIT residents will receive further instruction on next steps including their anticipated start date.