All About Retail: Sales Associates, Management, etc.

[ShuggaStiletto]

hmm I've always wondered about this too. I don't know if the people who are in sales in the boutiques are required to know anything about fashion, or the clothes that they're selling? I'd be interested to know! If anyone knows please share!! sorry I don't have an answer for you iyemstoopid!

 

[iyemstoopid]

its ok ss, hopefully someone will come along and help us

 

[emiika]

I work at a high end designer department store and they are a lot more lax then boutiques (including the ones inside my store) when it comes to hiring. If you are under 22, even 23 then i'd say forget about it. You need to have fashion knowledge... make sure you know about the lable at which you are applying for, even brief history. But in my experiance no extensive fashion knoledge is required. However a MUST is previous retail sales experiance. If you dont have experiance then no way.
To apply, start talking to the sales people about jobs and if you become friendly to them and they like you ask if you could pass on your resume to their boss. But also besure to as if they are looking for people to hire. However in some botiques the sales people are extremly competitive!! And can be rude... just try to find a nice one. Or call and ask to speak to the store manager.
What it really comes down to is knowing people.
Good luck!

 

[iyemstoopid]

thanks for the reply, it really helps!

 

[*iheartfashion*]

H&M is 25% (sale or regular price, unlimited but only for yourself)

 

[Fabulyss]

At Club Monaco they gave 30% off everything including sale items to temporary staff without limits and I think more if you're permanent.

Have you worked for Club Monaco?

I was considering applying there and I'm wondering what its like

 

[cocomonique]

diesel has a great discount for S.A.'s they recieve 50% off and they get a $500 allowance a season to get diesel clothing to wear in the store.

 

[cocomonique]

diesel has a great discount for S.A.'s they recieve 50% off and they get a $500 allowance a season to get diesel clothing to wear in the store.[/"DON'T TALK ABOUT IT BE ABOUT IT"quote]

 

[travis_nw8]

i saw an ad for harrods staff and it's only 20% off for sales staff and 33% for management- so i wonder what discount mo fayed gets...

 

[travis_nw8]

At Vuitton I was told they get 50 and it applies too all of LVMH, including Dior and the such. I would work for Vuitton if I actually respected them as a brand.

i'm kinda pi**ed off the staff gets a discount- vuiton famously never has sales for us!!

 

[findmeg]

no kidding, being a good s.a. you can make commissions in the 6-digits per year.

one harvard business school case studies (about incentivizing your employees) talks about a nordstrom shoe saleman who made $400,000 in one year just in commission.

Dear Lord, if that is true, I think I have found my calling. I get 40% at Swarovski and that's with a £2000 limit per year, but you have to wait three months before you qualify. And you don't work on commission. I need to get in on shoes at Nordstrom or something.

 

[shoexgal]

All About Sales Associates

This thread was started for anyone who works in retail as a sales associate and anything related to it.

I work for Rampage is South Coast Plaza. The job is tough. Every morning I open I've got to mop, vacuum and sweep for dust bunnies. We look great, but our bathroom is gross and ghetto, reminding us of how little we are paid and how "manual" the labor is we do.

 

[coffeeandasmoke]

Diorling-- You're right, I was thinking about applying to one of those stores in Tyson's at the end of my semester. It's about an hour away but I'd much prefer working at a store like Gucci or LV than at a J.C. Penny's

Trust me, that is very true. I worked at JCPenneys and lasted two weeks before I decided I'd go crazy if I stayed there.

 

[Meg]

Haha...in the UK, all you have to do is join a lux retail agency and they send you to LV, Gucci, Prada etc......no experience needed.

Actually I disagree. I couldn't find a job in luxury retail at all. Most stores have a 2 year plus minimum (Harvey Nichols, Liberty, Harrods) of previous experience in a similar retailing environment. I went for an interview at Thomas Pink which is actually owned by LV and the interview went well but someone with more experience was chosen over me. So I think it can be quite difficult.

 

[JJohnson]

So what makes a sales associate really sell?

 

[shoexgal]

Their managers pushing them every hour to make the ADS

 

[coffeeandasmoke]

At Steve Madden, the discount was 40%. It was sweet.

So what makes a sales associate sell?
For me, it was commission. There's a lot of motivation in making your own money.

 

[JJohnson]

At Steve Madden, the discount was 40%. It was sweet.

So what makes a sales associate sell?
For me, it was commission. There's a lot of motivation in making your own money.

I mean what makes a good sales person

 

[sonyagirl]

At Barneys the discount is 30% off everything, even cosmetics.

 

[BetteT]

There are techniques to selling but most potential customers buy from people they like and shy away from people they don't like. It's a fine line between being helpful and encouraging and being overbearing and a pain in the ....! So really listening to the customer will help you a lot ... so you can figure out where they are coming from, what their tastes and needs are ... rather than your own personal preferences. Learn your inventory inside and out, so you can make good suggestions to people who need some help. Then learn to recognize customers' buying signals ... because that's when you ask for and close the sale.

There are ton's of books out there about salemanship ... and the skills are pretty much the same whether you are selling clothes, cars or vacations. Hit the local library .... the librarian can direct you to books on salemanship or check Amazon or your local bookstore. .