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Volcom, IncorporatedIntern Learning and Critical Reflection Report

Dustin McCormick

Marketing and Management

May 18, 2015

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During my final semester at Biola I was given the unique opportunity to join the Volcom

Incorporated sales staff which allowed me to learn the role of sales within the extreme sports fashion

industry as a whole.

Envisioned during a snowboarding trip to Lake Tahoe in 1991, and funded by $5,000 dollars

borrowed from Tucker’s father, Tucker Hall and Richard Woolcott started Volcom, Inc. as a riding

company that encompassed the three sports they enjoyed most: Snowboarding, Skating, and Surfing.

The company was born during the “Youth Against Establishment” movement, with a vision and mission

on capturing the essence and culture of the young creative. Volcom continued to grow and spread

across the nation over the next 10 years, branching into the music and art community, giving inspired

youth an outlet to express both their voice and opinions. In 2005, Volcom Inc. was bought out by the

Kering Group based in France, which is also owns supreme luxury brands Puma, Guess, and Gucci. Since

then, Volcom has expanded globally with emerging markets in China as well as select parts of Europe,

and has acquired power brand Electric to further improve their active snow wear as well as overall

clothing brand. Being an extreme sports enthusiast (an avid snowboarder and wake boarder) I was

exhilarated at the opportunity to learn more about business operations and sales inside the world’s first

boarding company.

The internship experience gave me a fantastic glimpse into the fast-paced and challenging world

of sports fashion. The cycle of promoting, selling, manufacturing, and delivery product involves a

multitude of moving, interactive sales roles. Before taking the position, I had no idea how an order was

processed, or never paid mind to how retailers communicate with clothing brands to receive orders and

discuss buying new clothing. After being mentored by Kyle Zeppenfeld, Head of Southern California and

Puerto Rico Sales, and Graham Gannon, Vice Director of Sales Reps, I was able to see step by step how a

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sales transaction is completed. This overall experience of working the floor and doing a number of minor

tasks daily allowed me to see firsthand how working efficiently and passionately will visibly accelerate

the entire sales procedure. Everything from selecting samples, making deliveries, processing company

IPOs, Filling out DPIF* Forms, handling stock orders, and inputting transaction data were necessary to

successfully completing a transaction between an account or individual client. Each task gave me a new

prospective on the company, provided me with new challenges, and the opportunity to prove my

creativity and innovativeness in the workplace [See Appendix 1].

I was able to learn the significance of performing a task to its fullest, exceeding expectations

and working to please those that supervisors. Even seemingly trivial errands became an exciting test to

complete if you imagine them as opportunities to impress upper management. For example, Kelly

Normandin, Head of outlet retail, gave me the task of physically mapping out every store carrying

Volcom product in Puerto Rico. After completing the initial task, I mentioned that a digital map would

make the business of locating and tracking specific stores much easier, and that I was will to take on the

task. For the next two days, I developed a digital map capable of providing addresses information and

location at the click of a button; give live ratings for stores, and affiliations with franchising chains [See

Appendix 2]. Asking for bigger challenges, more responsibilities, and diverse tasks made taught me the

value of performing different tasks and challenging myself within the workplace.

Volcom also taught me the importance of being fervent about the industry and products that

you are representing and promoting to customers. Matt Walker, a thirteen year veteran on the sales

staff in charge of the south eastern United States territory, lectured me daily about the significance of

loving your employer: “the whole idea of being truly successful means that you have to be obsessed

over something; just ‘liking’ what you do ends up stalling your professional growth in the end. There is a

clear difference of being passionate about something and simple head knowledge of a subject”. Walker

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not only knew and could list off the key selling factors of any Volcom product he was selling, but also

understood firsthand as a skateboarder and surfer the impact of having the right gear for the lifestyle.

His fire and love for the sports he adored gave him credibility far beyond any average salesman, and

Walker’s experience gave him a genuine and trustworthy air when interacting with customers. This

solidified in me the principle that passion and competence about your industry leads to confidence and

success in the world of sales.

Perhaps the greatest aspect of interning for Volcom was getting to see and partake in the

interactions between all the sales staff. When a person becomes a member of this team, that worker is

truly becoming a member of the Volcom family. There is an undeniable air of respect, as well as warmth

and compassion between all sales staff. Workers joke with one another, enjoy lunch altogether, socialize

outside of work, and genuinely enjoy each other’s presence. This not only contributes to the deep

personal interconnections inside of the workplace, but also improves every individual member’s

performance on the sales team. Sales reps always hold one another accountable for hitting marks

established during the sales season, helping and aiding one another to complete all assignments. Then,

when everything is accomplished and the dust settles from a hectic sales season, the team celebrates

and acknowledges one another in their success. Volcom opened my eyes to the significance of a

corporation’s culture and the value of wholeheartedly serving all your team members [See Appendix 3].

In its entirety, the Volcom sales intern experience met and excelled past every preconceived

expectation I had concerning the extreme sports industry. In the beginning, being more open and

talkative would have made my entire experience more worthwhile. Upon receiving the internship, I had

a purely competitive mindset; I believed showing up early, out and over performing against other

interns, being timely and detailed, and leaving late were the key principles that would lead me to the

most success during my time at Volcom. I was friendly in work interactions, but far from talkative or

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actively engaging with many of the other workers. Finally, after 3 weeks of working, Tori Shaffer, the

head of sales for Colorado and the surrounding territories, pulled me aside and told me that my work

was great, but if I was really intentional on making an impact, I needed to make an impact with people

first. His words have stuck with me since that day: “Ask about people, remember things they tell you,

and then ask them about those things. Relationships and reliability will get you the farthest [in a sales

career]”. After that moment, I began intentionally sparking conversation and asking about other people,

and it made my Volcom experience so much richer than before. In the end, I learned that coworkers and

managers notice how hard you work, but people need to appreciate who you really are first.

Although Crowell School of Business does an excellent job of preparing students for the practical

application of learned skills throughout its curriculum, the program could easily make adjustments to

better prepare and inspire students to step out and engage in the business realm. Despite the school of

business providing the tools necessary to prepare a student for internship applications and interview

processes, there seems to be little to no emphasis on making the process a requirement for business

majors. It took me until my senior year to realize that I was pursuing an internship application process

two semesters too late; If I would have started my internship upon my entry into the Crowell School of

Business, I would have been able to realize sooner how essential every class and lesson was within the

business realm, and what real world application looks like in a corporate setting. Integrating a

mandatory internship application process would help people far beyond what they could understand

without the business experience.

After being accepted, Crowell school of Business should make it a requirement that all students

apply to at least 5 internships during their participation within the program. This will begin to stimulate

students to think ahead to potential fields where they could see themselves entering, as well as

revealing their passions for individual industries for post-college life. After asking my Manager Alaina

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why she selected me during the application process, she stated that she was able to feel my passion for

the company through my cover letter as well as during my phone interview. By inspiring students to

apply to places that inspire them like Professor Avila was able to push me to do, you begin to open

doors and opportunities that students could have never dreamed possible upon entering college.

Another minor suggestion for improvement would be for students to further study major categorizing

programs such as Excel, Aloha, and Full Circle, that way they enter the workforce ready to complete

objectives for the company instead of trying to learn how to work the complex systems. Applying and

entering into an interview process also gives students a necessary taste of the realistic competition of

the business world. The business program should make it mandatory to visit the career center at least

once to tailor a resume to one specific company of the student’s interest. Over the course of winter

break, I applied to over 35 internship positions, only to hear back from two. In my experience, I only

received feedback from companies in which I had tailored my cover letter and resume specific to that

individual company. Overall, the knowledge and skills acquired from an internship are fundamental in

the application and execution of practical business knowledge.

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The Volcom Sales Team. (From Top Left to Right) Nate Gerardo, Matt Snyder, Tori Shaffer, Kyle Zeppenfeld, Kelly Normandin, Christina McManus, Matt “Dog Father” Walker, Alaina Gallagher, (Bottom

Left to Right) Matt Suckle, Javier Morales.

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[Appendix 1]. For a majority of the internship, Volcom was working on creating their business-to-business online platform, which they launched for the first time this April. (Below) pictures of the final product we helped develop.

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Other times interns would be given the task of assisting an account manager or sales territory representative. (Below) An essential step of the sale between an account and Volcom is the DPIF (Direct Product Information Form). Large accounts, such as Nordstrom, require this form to specify all details on a specific line of clothing; this included describing and providing everything from basic identification numbers and wash instructions to thread count and detail description.

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[Appendix 2]. The Volcom Puerto Rico Maps for Kelly Normandin. After making a physical map, I prepared a digital map with integrated Google Analytics that would provide directions, contact information, specific divisions of stores/distributers of Volcom products, and ratings of the specific location.

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[Appendix 3]. Although fairly bland looking in from the street, the inside of Volcom Headquarters encompasses the overall corporate culture.

Inside it’s doors, Volcom’s layout is incredibly chic, artistic, spotless, and spontaneous, with hallways and stairwells leading every which way through out the company.

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Since it’s inception, Volcom is a brand that has emphasized the balance between work and play. It is not uncommon to hear skateboards rushing up and down the halls during large consulting meetings, or to

see executives “carve up” the indoor skate park during lunch or after work.

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(Above) Woollcott’s Skate Park. (Below) the “Yellow” meeting room for Men’s Fashion.

“Joining Volcom means something bigger than being on a sales team; it means you’re apart of a family” -Alaina Gallagher

(Above) After finding the ‘96 “Stoney” Mascot outfit hidden within a container in the warehouse, it became a requirement for intern “Stoney” pictures. (Below) If a member of the sales team has a birthday or gets

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promoted, they can expect their office space to be covered in photo shopped pictures and TP’d by the end of the day.

The following is a letter sent to Jason Steris, CEO and President of Volcom, Inc., on the final week explaining the impact of my manager:

Dear Mr. Steris,

I wanted to personally thank you for the opportunity to intern with my dream company over the several last months; the Volcom internship experience has not only opened my eyes to the world of sales, but also has given me the unique chance to be apart of a team that is fervently living out the vision and mission of Volcom Incorporated. Once being apart of the national sales team yourself, one can undoubtedly see how your competitive, inspired lifestyle and driven work ethic has trickled down and shaped this highly effective corporate culture that I have witnessed daily working amongst the sales force.

Although I could talk about a number of Volcom members that have impacted me, I wanted to specifically acknowledge Alaina Gallagher and the influence she has on me personally and her team within the sales department. From the initial interview process to my final days serving with the company, she has served not only as a phenomenal manager, but also as a confident and competent leader, determined to drive her team to exceed all set expectations. Her leadership efforts magnify the strengths of every team member within the sales department, and create an electric atmosphere and fulfilling work environment for all that work around her. Alaina connects with employees empathetically, acclimating new employees swiftly and quickly creating bonds between existing team members. She is quick to provide feedback and acknowledge her employee’s successes, and is unafraid to confront problems and obstacles hindering her team’s performance. Alaina operates with both integrity and professionalism, humbly serving all her colleagues and customers. I’m absolute that if you were to ask anyone within the sales department about her overall performance, you would hear nothing but positive feedback. It has truly been a joy and privilege to serve underneath her within the sales department.

Again, thank you so much for the opportunity to be apart of the sales team at Volcom Incorporated. Since a child it has been a dream of mine to be within the extreme sports industry, and now I know what it’s like to be apart of the Volcom Family. I doubt any other company could have offered me such a rich experience, and I truly cherish the knowledge and experience I have gained from your program.

Sincerely,

Dustin McCormick

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Sales Intern