Celebrating Retail Store Leaders

It all starts long before the first holiday shopper walks through the door.

The months leading up to the holiday season demand a level of preparation, precision, and leadership that often goes unnoticed, yet is critical to ensuring success. From perfecting the visuals to orchestrating seamless operations and delivering outstanding customer service, retail leaders play a crucial role in translating the holiday magic from the digital world to physical reality.

The Execution: Logistics and Team Building

The execution of a successful holiday season relies on more than just product and visuals; it’s about people. It’s about anticipating the needs of your team and empowering them with the right tools, training, and leadership to handle the intensity of a bustling store environment.

Retail store leaders balance operational efficiency with customer-centric service, and it all begins with building a dynamic, best-in-class team.

Casey Elofson, Senior Store Brand Leader at Anthropologie (URBN) shared,

“For me, it’s all about the right people in the right places and planning ahead to make that happen.

I start in September/October with hiring, role development, and any timely team promotions. I prioritize giving my team the time and space needed to assimilate and grow confident prior to the stresses that the busy holiday workload will inevitably bring.

Setting up your team for success by starting early is key!” 

The Reward: A Seamless Customer Experience

This is where the magic happens: when highly trained associates are able to anticipate customer needs, engage meaningfully with shoppers, and offer personalized suggestions.

The result is a team who works seamlessly to create an atmosphere that feels authentic. Where customers can make meaningful connections with the brand and product which creates a standout shopping experience in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Industry Trends and the Future of Retail

The trends that have shaped retail in recent years, such as the integration of e-commerce with brick-and-mortar experiences and the rise of AI in personalization, have only added more layers to the complexity of managing retail stores. In fact, according to a McKinsey & Company report, 75% of consumers say they want a seamless shopping experience across digital and physical platforms. Retail leaders today need to be agile and adaptable, constantly refining their strategies to meet changing customer expectations and being omni present in an omni channel world.

Brands like Amazon have raised the bar in terms of operational efficiency, offering innovations like cashier-less checkout and drone delivery. While these innovations may not be available to every retailer, they provide valuable insight into the direction the industry is heading. Retail leaders are embracing these technologies where they can, but they also understand that the human element—exemplified by their own leadership and their teams—remains the driving force behind extraordinary customer experiences and strong KPI’s.

Honoring the Unsung Heroes

Retail store leaders are the unsung heroes who make the magic of the holiday season possible. Their meticulous planning, dedication to their teams, and customer service focus ensures that the most wonderful time of the year is also one of the most successful for their stores.

This holiday season let’s take a moment to celebrate these leaders who, through hard work, dedication, and unwavering commitment to excellence, provide the kind of experience that keeps customers coming back long after the holidays are over.

In the coming weeks as you find yourself in a store with a team ready to assist you, share a smile and some grace with the team. If you need something, ask! If you have a standout encounter with an employee, vocalize it! A little kindness and acknowledgement of their hard work goes a long way.

Looking for leaders to drive success for your brand?

At Emerging Blue, we specialize in helping brands identify and hire industry all-stars for their retail spaces. With a team of professionals who have led successful retail operations, we understand the intricacies of delivering exceptional in-store experiences. Our deep industry network and insider knowledge allow us to connect brands with top-tier talent—individuals who will elevate your team and set you apart during peak seasons. Let us help you build a dynamic workforce that’s not only skilled but passionate about delivering best-in-class service, ensuring your brand thrives in today’s competitive retail landscape.

Related Articles:

• McKinsey & Company: The State of Retail

• Target: How We Prepare for Holiday Retail

• REI: The Power of Service in Retail

Pleasing's Pop-Up in Chicago!

We're over the moon to partner with Pleasing as they host their out-of-this-world AstroMilk Bar event in Chicago. For the months of June and July, you can find your Pleasing at their astronomical pop-up in Bucktown. 🌝👽

Check it out!

If you need support staffing for your next retail pop-up, connect with us!

Retail Roles with Rhone!

Retail roles with Rhone! Such great opportunities to serve as the face of the Rhone brand while inspiring, motivating, and leading the store team to customer-service greatness and success. The right person for this role will embody a passion for the brand while establishing a positive and welcoming in store experience for all.

Retail Jobs in Seattle & Nashville

Seattle & Nashville! Our client, a casual and mindfully made apparel brand, is looking for retail superstars for their new stores opening soon in both the Mall at Green Hills and Bellevue Square. Hiring at all levels. Check out the links below to learn more and to apply!

Store Manager (Nashville)

ASM (Nashville)

Sales Associates (Nashville)

Store Manager (Seattle)

ASM (Seattle)

Sales Associates (Seattle)

Pop-Up in Seaside, FL!

Our client, a classic Spanish and southern-inspired swimwear brand, is looking for excellent customer service focused sales associates to join their pop-up team in Seaside, FL! Check it out.

Are you on trend? Peak retail hiring trends for Q3 and Q4

Hiring trends in the retail industry typically remain similar from year to year, however, as retailers rapidly approach peak seasonal hiring this year, many brands are adopting new strategies.

Brands noted that in late 2021, they struggled to staff their stores and omni channel supporting teams in time for the peak season. This time last year, brands were still battling COVID safety protocols, retail burnout, and symptoms of the great resignation, all on top of the typical retail talent fluctuation during 3rd and 4th quarter.

It’s time to start talent acquisition planning for the 2022 peak season. Here are some of the latest retail staffing trends that may be the key to securing top retail talent prior to the 2022 holiday season.

1.      Virtual recruiting: Since the pandemic, brands and talent have grown accustomed to Zoom and other forms of virtual meetings. To make the talent acquisition process more seamless, brands are meeting their desired talent where they are, quite literally, and minimizing friction in the hiring process by keeping as much of the hiring process virtual as possible.

2.      A shift in social recruiting: Social recruiting typically used to occur in-store or at hiring events and soirees. This season, to reach talent where they spend majority of their time, brands are advertising their job openings and conducting outreach via social media and other digital tools.

3.      Creating a seamless hiring process: Brands are making a seamless hiring process a priority in 2022. Convenience is key, and from start to finish, brands are improving their applicant systems, better training and developing their hiring managers, and creating an overall more efficient and effective hiring experience. Smoother processes represent an organized and secure workplace for candidates.

4.      Hiring generalists and specialists (play to strengths): Diversifying your talent team creates a healthy balance of those with broad skillsets and those who can excel within a specific area of roles and responsibilities. Help your retail team work smarter, not harder.

5.      Brands are communicating offerings for continued development, training, and education as greater incentive: Talent is often looking for the “value added” when accepting new opportunities. Many brands have started to adopt these offerings and share with talent as a draw to join with discounts, benefits, etc.

6.      Nature Vs. Nurture:  Brands are focusing more on brand DNA fit vs. the perfect skillset match during the interview process. In doing this, brands are finding that this yields greater investment from the talent, performance, and retention. You can learn more about finding the perfect fit and brand DNA on our Blog":

The Perfect (out)Fit

Brand DNA- Finding the Authentic Match 

Brands that are exploring these hiring trends and are assessing their own creative approaches to what they need talent wise for the season, are seeing great return on their efforts. Now is the time to start assessing and frontloading peak hiring talent needs to ensure a well-supported remainder of Q3 and a seamless and fruitful Q4.

AdditionalSources:

10 Future Retail Trends & Forecasts for 2022/2023 - A Look Into What’s Next - Financesonline.com

Retail Staffing Trends to Watch This Holiday Season

Brand DNA: Finding the Authentic Match

The term ‘Brand DNA’ isn’t new to brands within the retail industry, but it has grown to be more of a focus in brand talent consideration and acquisition.

Much like in biology, Brand DNA is the core of the brand. It is the make up of the brand’s personality, ethos, and voice within the industry. A brand’s DNA is what separates it from its competitors, not necessarily in strategy or product, but in identity and values.

In retail specifically, setting a clear of expression of brand DNA creates greater opportunity for customer brand loyalty and attracts talent that parallels brand DNA.

Image Source: Brandculture.com

It is often said that people are a company’s greatest asset. Employees are an extension of the brand. Hiring the right talent that inherently possesses the brand DNA ensures a more seamless and authentic experience for the customer.

In retail specifically, skills can be taught. DNA, however, is inherent and can only be enriched. Hiring a new associate for a retail space will likely require training of the POS system, restock procedure, and cleanliness and merchandising standards. Often brands even go as far as instructing the new hires on how to greet, engage with, and sell to the customer. It is fair to say that customer interactions may take some time to become comfortable.

The difference between hiring someone with the basic retail skillset vs. someone who shares the brand DNA, is authenticity in engagement and enthusiasm for the task being completed. When a brand hires individuals who share the personality, ethos, and voice of their brand, the talent better represents the brand during the time of development and will be more authentic in doing so. Naturally, shared purpose + shared fate= higher performance + better results.

According to statistics pulled from a commissioned Forrester Consulting study conducted on behalf of Shopify,

“Forty-nine percent of retailers say hiring and retaining employees will be a top challenge over the next year, something 40% of brands are striving to improve. This comes as no surprise considering staff at major retailers have been expressing their frustration with the industry through striking and quitting.”

Now more than ever, talent is focusing on finding brands that they identify with to work for. According to the same study, “83% of millennials expect brands to align with their values.”

Brands are being called to greater transparency in their practices and values. Brandculture.com said it well,

“ Your employee brand experience represents the manifestation of what employees see in the company now… and the aspirations of what they’re working for in the future. By defining the value, you claim as a company and creating an employee brand experience rooted in a common bond and shared values, the flag of your culture will fly high, long into the future.”

Clearly, hiring brand DNA matched individuals leads to greater retention and reduces turn over.

Vuori, a premium performance apparel brand, is a great example of a brand who is in touch with their brand DNA and keeps it at the forefront of their hiring process. They look for those who are an authentic match and not just those who have the skillset.

They are a value-based business who aim to “bring together people from all walks of life to create and share positive, meaningful experiences.”

“At Vuori our guiding principles are simple...we aim to make great products, be in great relationships and live extraordinary lives.”

Since the retail staffing environment is competitive and challenging, finding that authentic brand DNA match can take time and work.  As a brand focused recruiting agency, Emerging Blue makes it a priority to understand your brand’s DNA, ethos, and culture to the fullest extent.

With a robust internal database of candidates and recruiters with large networks of talent connections, Emerging Blue is driven to find candidates that are not only top tier talent but that inherently possess your brand DNA.

If you’re looking for talent that shares your brand’s DNA, connect with us here or send us an email at info@emergingblue.com.

Additional Sources:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/brand-identity-hiring-employees-fit-planning-your-recruitment-gill
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-ensure-your-employees-have-companys-dna-rosalin-mohanty

Now Hiring: Store Manager & Sales Associates

An American lifestyle brand is growing their retail team in SoHo! We’re looking for an experienced Store Manager and reliable Sales Associates to demonstrate excellent customer service skills and provide support all retail functions on the salesfloor.

Interested? Check out these opportunities below:

Store Manager

Sales Associate

Make Your Pop-Up Event an Experience!

With many big retailers closing their brick-and-mortar retail locations, brands are turning to experiential pop-up events to give customers a fun experience, drive customer loyalty, and bring about new customer acquisition.

According to Storefront — a platform where you can rent retail spaces — user-friendly ecommerce shops will be crucial for the survival of brands. They also must pair it with unique, customer-centered physical stores, too. A key element to these unique stores is that they must give an amazing experience to continue to drive customer engagement. Many of these physical store locations will be in the form of an experiential pop-up shop so that retailers do not have to get tied into a long lease.

As a brand, you may be thinking “how do I create a unique retail experience that highlights our brand while standing out and driving customers?” Great news, our team at Emerging Blue put together a list of creative ideas to start your on your path of designing an experiential retail experience that customers won’t forget.

-- One of our amazing clients, Havaianas, wanted to stand out and try something new so they created an experiential experience where they sell their products our of vintage Vans near the beach. It speaks to their brand, product, and delivers a shopping experience that is unlike its competitors.

-- It also doesn't have to just sell a product, for example, our client Blondey McCoy combined retail with art to give an experience their customers would never forget. By collaborating with other local events and artists that vibe with your brand, you maximize your reach and success of the event.

--You can also combine it with a nonprofit or social cause to stand out. Our client Manduka collaborated with Susan G. Komen Foundation to host Project OM in Bryant Park and Santa Monica.

As you have read, it is important to design a unique retail experience to help drive customers back into the stores and to develop new customers. Whether it’s an experiential retail store on the beach or in the middle of a park, craft it to be true to your brand’s identity, as well as make it fun and interactive!

With the rise in experiential retail events and pop-up shops, freelance hiring is also on the rise. During the pandemic, freelance work has been crucial for many businesses and continues to be. Freelance work currently represents 36% of the current workforce, and is on the rise with the opening of new experiential stores.

Experiential retail stands out and it is critical to have the right staff to deliver that exceptional and unique experience. You definitely want to stand out compared to the kiosks found in malls, as well as have the right talent. A major part of having a successful experiential retail event / pop-up shop is to have staff that is brand appropriate to give your customers your specific, unique brand experience. Recruiting, hiring, and staffing takes times (and money), that is why many brands turn to Emerging Blue because we specialize in all things hiring so that brands can focus on their product, experiential store design, and other logistics around running a successful pop-up event.

Here at Emerging Blue we specialize in experiential retail staffing, and work with our clients and brands to make sure we find the right talent for their specific needs. We design specialized recruiting plans and leverage all of our networks to drive the best and brightest talent to our unique clients to help them achieve their goals and have successful events.

Click here to read more about our recruiting services and choose a staffing solution that works best for you!

Hiring For This Retail Holiday Season

The retail holiday season is going to be different this year.  With people still hesitant about shopping inside stores, and curbside pick-up and eCommerce shopping at an all-time high, staffing for your usual holiday season will need to be analyzed and thought-out.

Here are a few ideas to help you be prepared:

1. Listen to your customers. Ask your customers what their shopping preference will be this holiday season and how best you can support them. Based on the results, analyze your current org. charts and adjust where needed to support the additional staffing needs. 

2. Safety comes first. The last thing you need is a new hire that has to take 2-3 weeks off for testing positive. Therefore, ensure you’re following CDC guidelines when conducting interviews, staying 6 feet away, wearing a mask, and swap the handshake for an elbow bump. Also, when possible, utilize digital or video interviewing instead of in-person.

3. Extra, Extra! We can’t predict the future, but chances are there will be times when employees call-out last minute to care for someone or to care for themselves. Therefore, hire a few extra seasonal employees to allow for back-up needs.

4. Ask for help. This is the time to work with external partners to help recruit and hire for your staffing needs.  At Emerging Blue, we are here to support your hiring objectives with temporary staffing, seasonal hourly workers and pop-up retail support. Reach out to us at info@emergingblue.com to learn more about how we can help you!

Happy Holidays!

With Love,

Emerging Blue

Pop-Up Shops: Maximizing Your Results

We expect this pop-up season to be stronger than ever for a variety of reasons. These include companies looking to pop-up shops to help them gain extra exposure for their brand as in-store visits decline, to get rid of excess inventory that built up while their retail stores were closed, and to boost any ecommerce traffic that has grown as people turn to shopping online more and more.

Jake Anderson, CEO of Forsake an online footwear company who held a pop-up in Boston, said they were looking for more exposure in their home market and wanted the learning experience of getting to engage directly with their customers. Forsake is an ecommerce-based business and this gave them a chance to see how a retail presence could affect their brand and sales.

Lesley S., HR Director at an international toy company, said they decided to do a pop-up for additional brand exposure as well. “We’re a relatively unknown brand in this country, so the idea was to increase visibility and brand awareness on our own terms”.

Ivory Ella, a largely social and ecommerce apparel brand, used consumer data analytics to determine their "Pop Up” location in Naperville, Illinois, according to Diana Sabol, CFO.

Becoming a Success Story

Lots of things contribute to the success of a pop-up but location, marketing/events and having a strong sales team are the top three factors that can contribute to a successful in-store experience. Storefront, an online marketplace for short term retail spaces, helps brands locate ideal locations in their chosen cities and can connect the brands with vendors to help facilitate a successful pop-up.

Marketing and Events are necessary to drive traffic to your pop-up, in addition to choosing a high traffic location. All of our clients have stressed the importance of having a strong marketing plan to let the public know about their pop-up and their brand. Heidi Speranza, VP of Merchandising & Planning at Aerosoles, advises “While a pop -up is a great opportunity to feature your product and speak directly to your customers, it is also tremendous marketing tool, so plan and budget accordingly for varied marketing / digital initiatives.”   

Building a strong sales team is also key to turning your pop-up into a success story. The team at Forsake found there is a need for a store manager: one person whose sole job is being responsible for the ultimate success/failure of the store. This person can come from inside your organization or can be someone you hire just for the duration of the pop-up. Lesley agreed that having a store manager was crucial, suggesting that companies “pay shop managers as much as you can afford to and set expectations in the beginning for their role.  Let them know what kind of issues they should handle on their own without your involvement, how and what they should communicate with you, and what their authority and decision-making latitude is so that you’re not getting calls every two seconds for something they should be handling, but they also aren’t going rogue with their employees.”

Hiring the right candidates for the sales team can be tricky, as most are short term positions and you’ll need to train the team on your product and brand story. Lesley said “she didn’t realize there would be so many issues recruiting and retaining employees even if we paid at a level above usual retail stores.”  Hiring a staffing firm can take this concern off the table for you.

We worked with Aerosoles on a very successful pop-up shop for their brand and Sperenza said “Emerging Blue was invaluable in this process. It was a priority for us to have the right brand ambassadors representing the Aerosoles brand.  Emerging Blue provided quality candidates for us to work with, along with the systems to manage the payroll process which was essential.  The team embraced the product knowledge we offered to ensure they were confident in speaking to the customers, and the customer service they offered was impeccable. They were reliable and really excited to be part of our pop-up experience.”

Unexpected Challenges

Often a brand will kick off a pop-up and then quickly run into issues that can derail sales or cause problems they didn’t anticipate in their planning.

Some of the top issues stem from the same things we listed in our previous section – location, marketing and the sales team. For Anderson, he said they “underestimated just how important events are to driving your own store traffic and sales”. They were able to quickly adapt and create events that consistently drew crowds to increase their sales. Location can also play a role here – having a store in a high traffic area can ensure that your pop-up is never empty of customers.

Finding a strong sales team in a city outside of your normal market can also create challenges. For Sabol, having a recruiting team work with them was “a huge time saver, helpful in a market we wouldn’t have the knowledge base to hire” and enabled them to “have reliable, highly trained people work our Pop up store”.

Other brands have found issues relating to selling their product in a pop-up. Think about how and when your product is used and schedule your pop-up accordingly. For example, a swimwear company will have more success in the summer months and if your product is too large to carry, be sure to offer drop shipping to increase sales. Sperenza says “we found ourselves needing to flow product more often than initially planned because of the multiple repeat visits by our customers, who wanted to see new product, and try and buy more frequently!” A good problem to have!

Final Words

Pop-ups can be an amazing way to get more exposure for your brand and help you to sell more products without the commitment of a permanent retail location in this unprecedented environment, especially if you can find a location with outdoor space. As the pandemic continues to keep retail doors closed and drive consumers online, pop-ups can help brands strengthen relationships with their customers and find new ones in the process.

Questions on how to get started with a pop-up? Feel free to reach out to us here. Check out our additional tips on pop-up’s.

Pop-Up Shops - A New Retail Reality

Emerging Blue, Pop-Up Shop Staffing

Opening a pop-up shop right now is a great idea and here’s why.

As we emerge from lockdown, people have been missing the ability to touch and feel product and to interact with brands in-person.  This is where pop-up shops come in.  They provide an opportunity to craft a shop that allows for safe shopping and social distancing.  Let’s face it, these are our two realities right now.

Given months of shutdown, we find that stores have excess inventory, and many have locations that have limited in-store shopping ability.   Opening a Pop-Up shop would bring products to the consumer in a way that fits the new retail reality.

With the pandemic creating an economic whirlwind, and with many retail storefront vacancies to choose from, it is an opportune time to have a brick-and-mortar, short-term presence.   Whether an outdoor shopping center, a kiosk, or a free-standing boutique, companies are likely to find a perfect fit for a pop-up location. We recommend checking out Storefront for a list of incredible retail locations.

Planning a safe and successful pop-up includes hiring and training a staff that is sensitive to both. Our team has been working with independently owned retailers and national brands to launch pop-ups this summer. We are actively supporting our clients with in-depth staff training on safe customer interactions for each pop-up.  

Sure, this new retail reality has been tricky, but having a plan, training the team, and doing it right is the key to pop-up shop success.  Now is the time to start planning.  

*Emerging Blue, supports retail clients across the US by sourcing, hiring, and training staff who are a match for each brand while handling all payroll and human resource processes. To engage our team to staff your pop-up reach out here or at info@emergingblue.com.

When Should you Start Planning for your Holiday Pop-up Shop? Today.

Yes, we know its summer and most people aren’t even thinking about the holidays yet…but you should be if you want to have a successful pop-up shop. There’s lot to think about and plan for so we put together a list of 5 things you can do now to ensure your pop-up is a smashing success this winter.

1. Budget. This should be first on your list, as it will help you to put together all of the below items!

2. Location. Pop-up shops have become increasingly popular and the holidays are an especially fashionable time to have one. Given this, desirable spaces can become limited. Our friends at Storefront (www.thestorefront.com) are a great resource to find the perfect location for what you need.

3. Merchandise. Curate the collection of items that you will showcase in the pop-up, keeping in mind climate appropriate items, i.e. warm weather products in the south.

4. Marketing. Decide how to best broadcast your pop-up to your customer base. Consider a combination of in store marketing, social media, signage and influencer outreach. You could also run a promotion to help convert online traffic to in store traffic.

5. Staffing. Pop-ups require candidates who are aligned with your brand philosophy, reliable, retail focused and customer service oriented. Think about your goal and vision for the pop-up and be sure to choose candidates that can bring that to life. We recommend over hiring & training the staff to be ready for whatever the pop-up throws at you.

We hope this helps to jump start your preparation for your holiday pop-up shop and as always, we are here to help with any staffing needs. We’ve already started working with some of our brand partners to get ready for their holiday pop-up and we’d love to do the same for your company!

Macy's & Story

We're proud to have staffed the new Macy's retail concept, STORY, at locations across the country. Congratulations Macy’s for a successful launch!

Read all about it.