ALL ABOUT HOLLY NOBLE
“A disco ball is made up of hundreds of pieces of shattered glass, Put back together to make a magical ball of light. You are never broken, you are only a disco ball waiting to happen.”
On todays episode of “All About ___” we’re featuring Holly Noble, a graduate from the University of Alabama and current Account Executive at Coach. We touched on a lot of key topics such as why it’s important to appreciate the now, keeping your options open, and why Excel may come in handy. Let’s get into it!
For starters, if you’re in college right now and reading this, take a deep breath and remind yourself that these are literally the best 4 years of your life. We will never be able to go back in time to this point in our lives and although we may feel really stressed at the moment, we all know that life really starts once we graduate so it’s soooo important to take time and appreciate it. This is a concept Holly and I touched upon, as she said it was, “The best four years of my life and looking back I was so free but didn’t realize it at the time.” So this is me telling you to realize it!
Holly attended the University of Alabama and double-majored in Business Management and Marketing. Upon graduating, she decided to follow her dream and pursue a life/career in NYC.
After a bit of time in NYC, Holly found her niche in wholesale and stressed the importance of “keeping your options open.” Wholesale did not necessarily come to mind when she pictured the fashion industry as it doesn’t have the same glamour and sexiness, but once again this is the reality of a lot of jobs pertaining to the fashion industry. It’s important to remember that New York Fashion Week is only a small part of a career in Fashion and that a lot of the “hidden” parts may include making Excel spreadsheets, spending hours writing emails, and forming relationships with vendors, just to name a few.
On the topic of Excel, when I had asked Holly, “What is one thing you would have done differently if you were still in college?” She replied, “I wish I had taken an Excel 101 Class.” Another key class Holly believes everyone should take is an Email Etiquette class on appropriate verbiage when sending emails. She remembers taking a class like this towards the end of her college years and still pulls from it on a daily basis.
A typical day for Holly involves much of the account-facing aspect of the industry. Holly is one of two people working directly with department stores selling Coach Men & Women’s Footwear. Her day-to-day really depends on what has to get done, but for example, one day may include tasks such as creating pivot tables on Excel, which is used to summarize large amounts of data. Another task may be communicating with vendors and making sure they are happy, as well as internal partners. Her favorite event is Market Week where a gorgeous showroom is set up and she gets to see her clients in person. Holly described this feeling as seeing friends and going shoe-shopping which I thought was really cool.
A similar theme I’m noticing throughout my interviews is the importance of networking and making a lasting impression on the people you meet. Holly believes she has her position today through the relationships she made with Coach representatives from her time working as a Sales Team Manager at Belk. Treat people the way you want to be treated and good things come from it!
Finally, Holly is inspired by her family, especially her husband David Noble. These people help make her dreams a reality and mean a lot to her. Holly, thank you for spending some time with me and teaching me so much about your position as well as introducing me to the idea of global merchandising—> a career path I may choose to pursue :)
If you have any questions for Holly regarding her position or what it’s like working for Coach, please reach out to me and I can pass on the message.
