We’re kicking off the search for a Dual Store Manager for a clean beauty brand in San Francisco. This is an exciting opportunity to lead a passionate team of beauty experts across two retail locations.
Connection = Conversion: The Formula for a Fruitful Holiday Season
Trends This Holiday Season
According to holiday shopping statistics from 2020, 38% of US consumers planned to start stocking on gifts in October, and another 23% before Thanksgiving. Only 22% said they’d wait until Thanksgiving to start their holiday shopping.
With the customer concerns of the state of the economy, many retailers are encouraging early consumer spending by running sales to compete with their Black Friday promotions. These sales are spanning from anywhere between 20%-70% off to capture even the most strategic of holiday spenders. With early promotions and strategic sales tactics ruling the holiday season, we can only wonder, what this will look like for consumers and how can retailers best prepare?
What Retailers Can Expect
Higher volumes of shoppers! Customers will capitalize on these promotions while also heading to retailers for the in-person experience, service, and holiday shopping tradition.
“In the US, 81% of Gen Z consumers prefer to shop in stores to discover new products and more than 50% say in-store browsing is a way to disconnect from the digital world.”
What Customers Can Expect
With customers being hyper focused on promotional sales, many of which they can capitalize on through omni channel, their in-store shopping experience will be quite specific. Customers will be seeking excellent service, authentic engagement, a well-loved store, and overall, a strong brick and mortar shopping atmosphere.
Implement A Fluid Shopping Experience
In-store and omni channel experiences are more intertwined than ever before. While some customers may visit stores to view an item and later order it online, some customers will do the opposite: viewing merchandise online and making purchases in-store. Brands that create fluid cross channel shopping experiences for the customer will see a smooth and fruitful season.
Be a Leader That Inspires
In the spirit of the holiday season, we cannot forget the hard retail workers that drive the in-store experience. As retail leaders, it is important to inspire excitement of suggestive selling and authentic customer engagement to all employees that interact directly with customers. This year, a big driver of conversion of sale will be the connection that is made between the customer and the sales associates. Customers are being very thoughtful and strategic in their purchasing, so it is important when they are visiting the stores to invoke a connection and level of trust in what is being suggested to the customer by the team. A great reminder is to keep work fun for the team! In-store contests, praise, and empowerment make a big difference in employee attitude during this time of the year.
Take Care of Your Team
Employees tend to buy into initiatives and perform better when they feel valued and motivated. This season can be physically and emotionally training for most, including the teams that work tirelessly to support the magic of the season in the retail setting. This is a reminder to be empathetic leaders this season. Honor requests and suggestions where possible without disrupting business. Check in on your team, an extra 10-minute break when business permits will go a long way on those long days. You can also consider shorter shifts to optimize productivity and minimize burnout. It is in your power to set the example for tone and pace when working with the team. The season is taxing for retail employees, so be thoughtful and creative in ways to keep it fun. The greatest asset to a brand’s success this season, and every season, is its people.
Articles referenced:
Retail Statistics for 2022: 53 Data-Backed Retail Stats To Know (shopify.com)
115 Customer Service Facts (Including Trends and Statistics) | Indeed.com
Retail Facts and Figures – October 2022 Update (shopreme.com)
Riding the Retail Wave: More Job Opportunities in Retail
In the spirit of retail holiday hiring, here are some more sales opportunities including retail, direct to consumer, and wholesale.
Account Executive - Specialty NE & Midwest
Tis The Season: Retail Holiday Hiring
Holiday retail sales are likely to increase between 4% and 6% in 2022, according to Deloitte’s annual holiday retail forecast. eCommerce sales will grow by 12.8% to 14.3%, year-over-year, during the 2022-2023 holiday season.
Due to recent inflation, budgeting is top of customers’ mind this season. Brands are having to be strategic about their Q4 hiring forecasts and distribution of talent. Some areas brands are digging into for hiring are:
The number of roles to fill vs. the number of people to hire.
When to hire (now vs. later as customers are starting holiday shopping now.)
Peak weeks vs. peak days (Customers are forecasted to be less interested in Black Friday and boxing day deals and more focus and multi-day discounts over the season.)
Diversifying the support needed for all channels of service for the customer to maximize ease of purchase and quality service (forecasting the needs for DTC, BOPIS, and in store success and hiring to those needs vs. historical holiday hiring forecasting.)
With current and anticipated customer purchasing trends throughout the season, the second week of October could be considered a bit of a delay for Q4 hiring. However, creative, strategic, and focused brands can still hire optimal talent in time for the holidays.
Get creative in how you connect with your market talent. As we head into the holidays, retailers are focusing on creativity and strategy with their hiring and marketing efforts. Brands across the country are hosting company hiring events and are taking to their corporate blog posts to communicate their seasonal hiring strategy with full transparency. We are also seeing an increase in brand partnerships beyond hiring but in a way that could drive talent interest. For example, Howard Meitiner, managing director at Carl Marks Advisors said that retailers that have “increased their visibility through strategic partnerships, will benefit in terms of sales from such exposure (Neiman’s/Farfetch, Toys R Us/Macy’s, Amazon/Kohls, Ulta/Target etc). This is a winning strategy when the partnership adds value to both parties.”
Meet your talent where they are. Store signage, flyers at the local coffee shop, and job postings on your website’s career page are classic ways to let talent know you are hiring, but these are no longer the most effective way to grab the attention of your talent. More brands than ever have turned to virtual hiring tools and social media strategies for hiring. Brands are tapping into passive interested talent by meeting them where they are, on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
Consider referral incentives this season! We believe that good people know good people. Encourage your employees and customers to support your hiring efforts by offering a Referral Bonus Program! The return on asking for referrals can be good, but the return when incentivizing referrals is better!
If you’re ready to grow your retail team for the peak season and could use a helping hand, connect with us or shoot us an email at info@emergingblue.com!
References & Additional Sources:
Kohl’s Prepares for the Holidays with Seasonal Hiring Across Stores and Supply Chain (kohls.com)
Remote Work, Quiet Quitting May Make Holiday Hiring Difficult For Retailers (forbes.com)
Holiday Retail Forecasts and Predictions for 2022 | RIS News
How retailers are hiring for the holidays in 2022 | Retail Dive
Now Hiring: THE GREAT.
We have 3 exciting new job opportunities in Los Angeles with THE GREAT! Founded by long-time friends and business partners, Emily + Meritt, THE GREAT is a growing contemporary womenswear brand with roots in vintage denim and classic Americana style. Learn more about these opportunities below.
D2C, Retail, Wholesale, and More!
It Pays To Have Friends
We believe that good people know good people. Learn more about how you can refer a friend and get paid.
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":
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
Opportunities in Sales including DTC, Retail, & Wholesale
It Pays To Have Friends
We believe that good people know good people. Learn more about how you can refer a friend and get paid.
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:
Looking For a Role in Retail or HR?
We’re always hiring for Retail & HR jobs in fashion, home, & beauty.
Check out the jobs we’re working on today:
Human Resources Business Partner - San Diego
Human Resources Business Partner - Carlsbad
The Perfect (out)Fit
One of the top driving factors for success of a retail business is the strength of its internal team, woven-in values, and company culture.
Retail post-pandemic is a new frontier in many respects, one of which has largely been finding great employees and retaining them.
A workplace without a strong company culture can see employee burnout and high turnover, especially in a retail environment. To create the most positive retail experience for your customer, investing in your dream team is a great first step.
The impact of the “great resignation” has hit retail specifically. With the challenge of an increased interest in remote and hybrid work, and a shifting view by perspective employees on what defines “perks of the job,” it is more competitive than ever to be the retail brand that employees commit to joining!
Investing in employees can appear in many ways, most commonly in the form of financial compensation and benefits offered. However, in recent years, there has been a shift in the priorities of employees’ values; this shift being placing a higher value on overall company culture than compensation. According to Business News Daily, “American millennials are more likely to care about work culture over salary (65%) than those age 45 and older (52%).”
To build a retail business where employees feel supported, there must be a compelling mission, goals, and values that are well-defined and implemented into all work practices, most crucially being the hiring and onboarding processes. If hiring managers articulate the company values during the interview process, employees are more likely to understand and reflect those values on the retail floor.
There are three underlying values that are trending as top priority in the retail sector: employee voice, diversity, equity, & inclusion, and sustainable practices.
Company culture extends beyond shared lifestyles and common interests. Employees want to feel heard by their leaders. An insider at Fast Company wrote, “If you look at some of the strongest companies around the world, regardless of industry, a common thread is that leaders in those businesses don’t just dictate. They also get feedback from their teams and consider what workers say.” Retail is a particularly important industry for employees to feel heard, as they serve as the face of the brand and interact with customers in-store, every single day. Likewise, retail employees provide invaluable internal feedback on the day-to-day retail operations.
There is a level of responsibility for company leaders when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In fact, a study found that “more diverse workforces perform better financially compared to those that are less diverse.” It can be challenging to know where to implement these practices. An insider at Forbes suggested, “Start inside and ask your teams what types of training they would find beneficial when it comes to diversity, inclusion and belonging and how they would like to see the company improve its efforts in the months and years to come.” When business leaders engage with their employees and respect their opinions on these sensitive matters, they make their employees feel supported.
These authentic conversations about diversity, equity, & inclusion should always be included during the employee hiring processes. One of our amazing clients, Vans, leads diversity and inclusion in the workplace by great example. We are proud to align ourselves with a brand that has such a strong commitment to providing a diverse and inclusive workplace for their employees. If you haven’t heard of it before, check out their “Off The Wall” mindset that promotes and embraces creativity and self expression.
Most consumers, including employees of the fashion retail industry, have expectations of sustainable and ethical transparency from fashion retailers. Many employees are seeking opportunities to implement change on a local or global scale. Liv Simpliciano, policy and research manager at Fashion Revolution, said “Transparency is the antidote to greenwashing. Scrutiny might sound like a scary thing [for brands], but it’s actually a capacity-building exercise.” For brands looking to grow their retail businesses, ethical and sustainable transparency, in addition to a positive work culture, is attractive to both employees and customers.
Vuori is a great example of a brand that is actively invests in sustainable practices. In fact, they offset 100% of their carbon emissions to help combat global warming. Not to mention, they’re rated the #1 retailer to work for in Encinitas, CA.
Vuori’s 2021 Footprint. More information about their sustainable efforts can be found here.
If you’re looking to grow your fashion retail business and build a strong team of employees that are the perfect brand-fit, there is much to consider. By having honest conversations with your applicants and digging into what values they’re looking for in a company, you’ll find that you are able to identify the right fit most efficiently. Creating a strong company culture by hiring employees that share a passion for your mission is what will guide your retail business into undeniable success.
Emerging Blue focuses on the brand and the fit, Britt Noyes is our Retail Recruiting Director for Retail with 8+ years of experience in the fashion retail industry. If you’d like to partner with Britt to grow your brand’s retail business or support in finding that perfect brand-fit candidate, reach out to us at info@emergingblue.com.
Now Hiring: Interior Design Consultants & Retail Sales and Interior Design Associate
Experienced in Interior Design? We’re thrilled to be hiring for several roles with our client, an online interior design company, who is launching a temporary pop-up in SoHo! This is a great opportunity to be among fellow creatives who share a passion for interior design in an inspired space.
Check out these opportunities here:
Now Hiring: Sales Associate Specialty East & West
#DoubleJobAlert! We’re hiring two Sales Associates for Mizzen+Main, Specialty East and Specialty West to manage both territories of independent and men’s specialty accounts. 3+ years working with specialty accounts in wholesale sales is preferred. Menswear experience is a plus! Both roles are located at their headquarters in Dallas, Texas.
Click here to read the job descriptions:
Fenty Beauty Is Now Available At ULTA!
One of the most rapidly growing, inclusive beauty brands of 2022 (and one of our personal EB favorites), Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, is now available at ULTA!
Fenty Beauty was founded by Rihanna, who is most commonly known for her notable achievements in the music industry. Originally from Barbados, she has always had a fascination with makeup, and would model her mother’s lipstick even as a young girl. Makeup has always been one of her special tools for creativity and self expression.
“Makeup is there for you to play with. It’s there for you to have fun with. It should never feel like pressure, and it should never feel like a uniform.”
Having noticed a gap in the industry of tones for all skin types, Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty in 2017 so that “people everywhere would be included.” Her focus has always been to create a lightweight product that works for all skin tones, especially those that are traditionally most difficult to match. One of our favorite things about her line is her goal to “make skin look like skin.”
Fenty Beauty has grown exponentially since it’s initial launch, and is now one of the largest players in today’s beauty industry. In an industry that has been so traditionally exclusive, we admire her commitment towards inclusion of all people with all skin types. There is no doubt that the success of a brand with these strong values at the core of it’s foundation, is well deserved.
Click here to learn everything there is to know about Fenty Beauty.
Click here to see what other amazing beauty brands are now available at ULTA!
Now Hiring: Head of Sales, Wholesale
Exciting leadership opportunity as Head of Sales with Mizzen+Main to oversee their wholesale business and manage their existing relationships with their big box and specialty retail partners. If you’re a director looking for the next step in your career, this is the perfect opportunity for you. Golf experience is a plus!