North Texas Daily

Kaleigh Gremaud /Intern Writer

Oct. 16 from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. the Merchandising and Digital Retailing Department had its annual Sample Sale.

The Sample Sale is an event the department has put on for more than five years. The money goes to merchandising scholarships.

“We sell merchandise from retailers,” merchandising senior Andrea Stevens said. “They donate merchandise, and we sell it really cheap to raise money.”

Zales, Pier 1 and Fossil are a few of the retailers that donate to the fundraiser. Vases, watches, jewelry, M&M cups, shirts and more items are sold at this fundraiser.

Home furnishings merchandising and digital retailing senior Katrina Gibson volunteered to help the sale for the second time. She had some tips for students.

“Students should come in the morning,” Gibson said. “That’s when we have the biggest selection. You’ll never find better Christmas gifts real cheap at such a good quality.”

When the sale gets close to the end, the brand managers decide how much to mark items down. Brand managers are students who are majoring in something similar to the brand. A home furnishing major will manage a home furnishing merchandise brand, for example. They decide how their display will look and are in charge of that specific brand.

“It is a huge undertaking,” Gibson said.

Faculty took time to catalog and price the items. The students were then chosen to run the sale.

Students like interior design sophomore Melissa Vaz have a chance for hands-on experience.

“I was interested in the selling concept and different companies that donated,” said Vaz.