By H. Fields Grenée
Its three minutes before six o’clock in the morning. Gazing out the locked front doors at the small crowd gathering to take part in the traditional after holiday sales – you prep yourself for what is sure to be a hectic day.
Yet beyond the customer purchases, disputes and sales floor reorganization – is another layer in your seasoning as a retail store manager. This is your profession, not just a job.
“Working in retail is a huge personal sacrifice that some people do not always realize,” says Victoria Staten, vice president of Established Brands. “In retail, you often have to be at the store the day after a major holiday at three or four in the morning which prevents you from being able to celebrate the way everyone else does, because you have to be on point early the next day.”
“Also the busiest days in retail are Saturdays and Sundays. So, if you don’t want to work weekends, you won’t be able to advance in your career,” she points out.
Staten knows firsthand about such trade-offs. During her twenty plus years in the fashion industry; working both on the wholesale and retail side, she has been tapped for management positions at Kenneth Cole, acted as former Group Vice President at New York’s
fashion house and now is an international expert in baby appeal.
This was all made possible through years of retail experience. Driven by her interest in clothes; accessories in particularly, she got her first job at a retail store inside a mall in high school and continued to work her way up the chain.
Sales Managers usually plan and direct the day-to-day operations of a retail store. They also develop strategies to improve customer service, drive store sales, forecast staffing needs, develop a recruiting strategy and increase profitability. Most importantly, they are the ones to ensure that customer needs are met, complaints are resolved, and service is quick and efficient.
For this, average salaries range from $28,000 to $40,000 for store managers. Levels ratchet up to $33,500 to $49,500 annually (in addition to a percentage of store sales) for mid-to-upper level in-store managers with five to nine years experience. Furthermore, managers: in-store or district with 15 or more retail industry years of experience can easily break the $70,000 mark, according to survey analysis from glassdoor.com, an online site that provides an inside look at jobs and companies.
A breakdown of these numbers showed that Retail Store Managers at The Limited stores received $49,833 compared to $38,480 for Assistant Retail Store Managers at Old Navy locations.
This is the type of income Marrianne Solis, a Western Illinois University college student hopes to pocket within a few years. Solis, a sophomore at WIU choose to forgo work study and pursue off campus income instead due to the higher hourly salary and clothing discounts.
“I’ve been working at Banana Republic a little over a year now and I like the fast pace of it all,” she says. “I expect to become a manager by Christmas and I really think my work experience combined with my future degree will really position me for a good job on the corporate side.”
The route Solis can expect to take in her pursuit of a corporate job entails many of the following steps: Middle of the mall retail stores, such as Banana Republic have a variety of job-grade levels. Most people will start off as a sales associate, and work up to a manager or key carrier, then to assistant store managers, and on to regional or district manager.
In fact, once an employee reaches corporate; often referred to as the buying office, countless opportunities are available. Besides becoming a buyer, Staten says there are opportunities in merchandising, finance, marketing and advertising, or even operations – which entails inventory planning.
“I suggest if someone does not know which area they are interested in, try to get into the corporate office of a brand they like and look for an entry level “the center of the wheel” position,”says Staten. “This role may expose you to different career paths you may not have previously considered. And if you find a good mentor they can usually help you plot your career trajectory.”
Then there are those instances when your career presents its self. This was the case for Patty Barba of Patty’s Closet Fashion Boutique, a Las Vegas based chain that recently began franchising. Barba has always enjoyed fashion and got her first job at a clothing store. After her son was born with down syndrome a few years later she switched directions and decided to train as a medical assistant, to better assist with her son’s care.
Like any great love, her desire to once again be part of the fashion industry returned. So with little experience beyond true grit and a spouse that shared her dream, Barba sank her savings into her first store. At once she became joint store manager, buyer, sales assistant and back-office team.
“A lot of mistakes were made at first. Our first store we signed the lease in May thinking we would open within a month but due to various issues we did not open until November. So we had to layer the items purchased for summer to work in the winter,” said Barba.
“We brought clothes with our own savings and we knew if we had the clothes we had no other choice but to open the store,” she contends. “Sometimes we do things backwards, but we have learned and I think this is what has made our store so successful.”
Like is often true, strong managers also played a critical roll in the success of Patty’s Closet stores. Since store managers are on the front line – often for customers – the experience they receive from them influences the level of satisfaction and loyalty they have for that store.
With such pressure it is no wonder why turnover rates (which range between 10 to 15 percent) among retail store mangers seem to be on the rise. Yet Vicky Staten says these rates really depend on personal leadership, love of the industry and how much employees are empowered to solve customer clothing issues.
“If you’re about to enter the rat race, make sure you are working for a company that sells products you love to wear or use,” she stressed. “Your environment should fit your personality. You should be proud of where you work. Your company’s brand image should rock your world!”
