Feature -- by Mark Sproxton

''Now boarding, flight 257 to New York. Passengers seated in rows....'' For at least a third of the year, senior buyers for Mark's Work Wearhouse are inundated with these calls as they hop from home to airport, to airport, to home and back again. Travelling across North America and Europe in pursuit of the latest styles, colors and fabrics, Mark's buyers seldom have time to rest.

''The best thing is it's never boring,'' Robin Marleau, a Senior Buyer with Mark's Work Wearhouse, said about her job. ''You always have a number of things you're working on. Seeing and being (is most important).'' But 16 years ago, the Calgary resident had no idea where her position as clerk in the first Mark's store would lead. ''I was promoted from within,'' she said. ''I was working for them two months after they opened and they expanded a lot. It grew and I was in a position to grow with it. It was a great opportunity.''

That opportunity of advancement within a retail operation still exists, Marleau said. ''In our department, we like people who have had some store experience and understand our store, our customers and our products. Any kind of education in fashion design and business or commerce is also beneficial.''

Now a seasoned veteran in the field, Marleau can count on being busy regardless of whether she's at her office in Calgary, or in a factory in Europe. (Buyers from several retail companies were contacted for this story, however, Marleau is the only one who replied with more than an apology for being too busy.) While each day is different for her, the Mark's buyer schedule is built around a store's business, and marketing plans. Once those plans have been evaluated, and re-evaluated, Marleau and the other buyers have already done market evaluations, pricing comparisons, and even some buying.

Always working a few seasons in advance, the buyers are in a constant cycle of visiting factories, color-trend analysts, and suppliers. ''We adapt that to what we know of our customers,'' Marleau said. ''And we end up being very loyal to our suppliers. That is a two way street because if they have something they think we're interested in, they're on the phone to us.''

Back in the office, the senior buyers, who work along-side, and mentor buyers-in-training, typically work 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, and some weekends, depending on what's happening. Before an order is placed, the buyers are in contact with the finance department to give them the required paperwork, and to let them know what, and how much, is being purchased. Once an order is placed, the buyers contact the shipping department to let them know the particulars of the order. If there are problems with an order, or supplier, the shipping department usually gets the buyer involved with the situation, Marleau said.

A senior buyer will earn about $30,000 to $40,000 a year to start. Although the movement of buyers is relatively low, there are opportunities to get into this demanding line of work. Other companies differ from Mark's in that they have buyers who determine how many items to buy, and those who decide where to buy the materials. Mark's has their senior buyers do both. ''The travel is the best and worst of the job,'' Marleau said. ''You get to see a lot of the world, but... ''