As part of its 2nd year at BBA INSEEC in Bordeaux, Marina tells us about her experience during her internship in Stockholm: “What interested me in this program were the international career opportunities. Since we can do internships and academic semesters abroad.
My primary goal in enrolling in this school was to gain experience in other countries.
IMPORT/EXPORT ASSISTANT IN THE WINE AND SPIRITS SECTOR
For my 3 month internship, I chose to discover the city of Stockholm, Sweden. For my first experience abroad, I work as an import/export assistant for Concealed Wines. I also had the opportunity to work in the development of their online booking site Winetourism.com.Concealed Wines is an established importer of wines and spirits with operations in Sweden (Systembolaget), Finland (Alko) and Norway (Vinmonopolet). The company works with excellent producers all over the world. Together with them, they supply these markets with an excellent range of beers, wines and spirits. In addition to the distribution in the state monopolies, their secondary activity is to sell wines and alcoholic beverages on the HORECA market (hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars…).Thanks to this team, I was able to understand, during my internship in Stockholm, the complexity of these Nordic markets. By discovering the differences in terms of market management in the field of wine.
THE SCANDINAVIAN BUSINESS WORLD
The work atmosphere in this company is really different. As a French woman, I could observe differences in terms of work atmosphere, management, and schedules. In terms of company organization, there is a hierarchy but it is much cooler and less formal than in France. The Swedish system works on the principle of meritocracy and gives you total confidence in the tasks you perform. The team is very dynamic and pleasant. They integrated me immediately. With the help of my tutor Calle Nilsson, I gained confidence in myself, and acquired a thorough knowledge of Nordic monopoly systems, WordPress software and oenological notions.
LIFE IN STOCKHOLM
As soon as I arrived in Stockholm, my colleague Alessio integrated me into their international student group. I had the opportunity to exchange and make friends with people from all walks of life such as Spaniards, Italians, Colombians, Swedes, Indians … At the cultural level, I could discover one of the emblematic museums of Stockholm: “Vasamuseet”. In this museum is exposed a large warship that was sailed from the port of Stockholm. The history and the exhibition are great!
Through my experience, I would say that Stockholm Design Week was really rewarding. It takes place every year in February. Many buyers, architects, designers and influencers from all over the world meet there. This year’s edition included over 400 events.”
Updated 24 February 2022