Foothill’s ROP Business Students & PB Teen!

Priceless Pilot Partnership -
Foothill’s ROP Business Students & PB Teen!
By Adit Dixit, Student

May 5, 2005


The Tri Valley ROP Economics Of Business Ownership and Marketing programs have formed an exciting partnership with Pottery Barn Teen. A national leader in home furnishing and design, Pottery Barn realized that they weren’t quite hitting the teen market with their products. In 2003, they launched the retail catalog division known as PB Teen. A group of associates from PB Teen came to Foothill High School to work with talented young teens in a joint project geared towards market research and product development. The PB Teen team included Evan Nakamura, a Foothill High School alumni, who is a Designer for the Furniture and Lighting department, Jennifer Sorg in Product Development, Anne Crary in Brand Marketing, James Kerr in Textile Design, and Carolyn Clinton, a Furniture Buyer.

Day 1 of the project included a visit for the PB Teen team to the Foothill campus. Each team member talked about their role in the organization and discussed what working in that industry was like. They also introduced the partnership project to the classes. Students then took on the task of conducting market research and presenting what trends were popular to teens. Their report findings included specific details on industry trends, consumer buying behaviors, as well as what trends were popular with teens today. The students then presented their research analysis to the associates on Day 2, along with a detailed ‘On The Street Report’ containing their research data from surveys conducted among teens to test the appeal of PB Teen’s new products. The final step is for the students to develop new ideas for the catalog based on their research.

The conclusion of the project is scheduled for May 18th, where the students will meet with the Pottery Barn Teen executives at their office in San Francisco. The students will present their ideas and take a tour of the facilities, as well as hear presentations from the PB Teen team on new product releases. The students of the Marketing and Business Ownership ROP are getting to apply what they are learning in the classroom to real world situations. There is no comparison to the knowledge that the students are gaining from this experience. The Tri Valley ROP program is grateful to PB Teen for this wonderful learning opportunity.