For many students, part-time work at a mall ringing up jeans and hoodies provides their first, sorely needed paycheque. But if one has a flair for customer service, fashion or merchandising, a job at an upscale clothing store could be the first step toward a rewarding career.
Aside from prior sales experience, self-confidence, and a professional demeanour that well-heeled customers come to expect, high-end retail sales jobs carry no formal education requirement.
What started as a summer job after high school recently became full-time work for Eli Zeldin, 23, who has worked for nearly five years at Over the Rainbow, an independent boutique in Toronto’s upscale Yorkville neighbourhood. “I didn’t want to work at a mall and I was always very impressed with the customer service here,” he says.
Zeldin, a history student at the University of Toronto, is currently taking a semester off to work and save up. He revels in the teamwork and camaraderie among staff. “Some of my best friends work here.”
Besides building relationships with co-workers and clients, Zeldin says he has gained “emotional intelligence” and “learned the art of sales” – no doubt valuable, transferable skills in many business settings.
Since a high turnover rate, particularly among graduating students, means sales associate positions are always opening, big-name fashion chains seek to sweeten compensation schemes in order to retain staff. Larry Rosen, CEO of designer menswear clothier Harry Rosen, says his firm provides many benefits for employees who treat their job as a career.
The key to maintaining a long-term workforce is fostering a feeling of commitment to a company. “We believe our sales associates are the most important people, as they are a direct link to the customers,” says Rosen. Since the store depends on a loyal clientele, Rosen stresses training, coaching, and skills development. This could be why Harry Rosen has a dozen associates in Toronto with more than 25 years of service. “They earn good money. They’re able to pay their mortgage, and send their kids to university.”
Naturally, staff merchandise discounts, which can range as high as 40 to 50 per cent, are an especially powerful hiring incentive for students who could not otherwise afford exclusive labels for themselves. Since image maintenance can often equate to customer service, this reflects most stores’ requirement for their salespeople to embody the overall brand as ambassadors.
Another dimension is commission. In place of earning only a base hourly wage, commissioned associates can take home a percentage of their sales. With the built-in protection of a minimum day’s earnings, this is where true earning potential is unlocked.
“A commission job with your draw as your overhead is an opportunity to make quick money, pocket money,” says Matthew Rutchik, 24. Rutchik’s one year as a menswear suit specialist at the Bay helped while completing his Masters degree in English at the University of Toronto last year.
“What kept me coming back to work, after I knew that my Masters and all the related costs for the foreseeable future were taken care of, was that this job presented an opportunity to grow, to be more personable. To decide what people want, to manage and market for a department. From all of this, I developed a lot.”
Now in his first year in law school, he recalls: “My potential salary motivated me to work efficiently. Compensation by commission holds you accountable to both your employer and yourself.”
In his last few months at the Bay, Rutchik looked into moving up within the retail industry by interviewing for buyer positions with department stores and distributorship sales representative jobs – something he never would have considered doing from an entry-level position.
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