Anyone work in clothing sales? Harry Rosen, Nordstrom, NM, etc?

[Kent Wang]

If your previous position was in sales, which I assume is more of the type you work out of office and call people, why don't you try that for manufacturers or distributors to sell to retailers? That would be a completely different experience than retail sales.

 

[Omega Man]

You can also call you previous colleagues and solicit them for business.

 

[Chiaroscuro]

If you get into a higher end store and build a quality client list, than you can make some decent money. I knew a woman who made around 100K selling cosmetics at Saks.

Retail isnt for everyone though.

 

[jarude]

Originally Posted by JesseJB

I worked retail at Nordstrom a while back. I very rarely met anyone with a real passion or knowledge of what they were selling- it's more your ability to push product. It can ruin the whole "menswear thing" for ya.

+10 zillion billion. Throw out any appreciation for what looks good and what doesn't, and start hustling ugly **** to asshole sons-of-bitches. Nobody cares if you have good taste, if you dress well, if you're nice, or whatever. Push **** on people, that's all your boss will care about. Its fun if you're a student and want to shut off your brain and socialize with the mass of college chicks you will inevitably work with, other than that it sucks mega dicks.

Do something fun, work on a cruise ship or something. Retail is fun for one shift and then you go home and night and think "holy ******* ****, how do people do this for a living."

 

[sho'nuff]

although i do believe during good economic times the commissions and wages were perhaps considerable enough to maintain a retail career, i cant help to think that a lot of these claims of 100000 + /year incomes were at least a bit exaggerated by the worker. i always have had experience of people exaggerating their pay whenever they talk about it, if you look into it (or find out from another source incidentally that is how i found out not that i really cared) you ll find out that in this country they always exaggerate.
but if they really can pull 100000 a year regularly at normal places like saks and bg then hell im going to apply too.
you see, that is my other point, why dont you see hoards of people applying for these jobs?

 

[Chiaroscuro]

Originally Posted by sho'nuff

although i do believe during good economic times the commissions and wages were perhaps considerable enough to maintain a retail career, i cant help to think that a lot of these claims of 100000 + /year incomes were at least a bit exaggerated by the worker. i always have had experience of people exaggerating their pay whenever they talk about it, if you look into it (or find out from another source incidentally that is how i found out not that i really cared) you ll find out that in this country they always exaggerate.
but if they really can pull 100000 a year regularly at normal places like saks and bg then hell im going to apply too.
you see, that is my other point, why dont you see hoards of people applying for these jobs?

I could believe 100k in cosmetics. Any man with some experience with women knows how much makeup they have. High end makeup is seriously expensive, and people with money will buy it. If you factor in holiday sales, plus base pay 100k could be possible. Only a salesperson with a high base pay and a fantastic client list could do this though.

 

[West24]

Originally Posted by sho'nuff

although i do believe during good economic times the commissions and wages were perhaps considerable enough to maintain a retail career, i cant help to think that a lot of these claims of 100000 + /year incomes were at least a bit exaggerated by the worker. i always have had experience of people exaggerating their pay whenever they talk about it, if you look into it (or find out from another source incidentally that is how i found out not that i really cared) you ll find out that in this country they always exaggerate.
but if they really can pull 100000 a year regularly at normal places like saks and bg then hell im going to apply too.
you see, that is my other point, why dont you see hoards of people applying for these jobs?

actually they are. i know when a position came up for a certain spot hundreds and hundreds applications were sent in.

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by Jayhawk1412

I used to work retail, and this description is VERY accurate.

On the other hand, you can actually make pretty decent money if you work at a big volume store and you're a decent salesperson.

I worked the sales during my breaks in college, and I would make anywhere from $30-50 per hour. Then, during slower times I averaged around $23 per hour, so not too shabby for a job that requires no real responsibility.

When and where was this? Because $23 an hour in retail is certainly the exception and not the rule.

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by West24

actually they are. i know when a position came up for a certain spot hundreds and hundreds applications were sent in.

Because there is high unemployment and stores like Saks pay almost (by almost I mean almost every department) 100% commission, so their risk is very little (if you don't make up $750 of draw, they let you go; $750 is nothing to them) if you don;t perform.

At the same time, the turnover is so high that positions constantly become available. Why is the turnover so high? Because you don't make the money that they promise you can make.

 

[Chiaroscuro]

Depends on what he's selling and what the commission is. His base pay is probably factored in as well.

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by Chiaroscuro

Depends on what he's selling and what the commission is. His base pay is probably factored in as well.

What base pay? Saks, NM, BG, Barney's etc all work on draw vs. commission. You don't sell, you get paid less than $400 a week (before taxes!) and they only cover that for a while (arrears), until they let you go.

Also consider:

1) Making a clientele list takes many, many, many years
2) Many sales people I know that have been in the biz for many, many years that have very large clientele lists say that customers are shopping less and less with 'their salesperson'. Frankly, 'clienteling' in regards to clothing (especially men's clothing) does not work like it used to. A combination of factors, including the internet, the readily availability of all but the most obscure brands and the general dehumanization of contact that has been occurring don't help.

On a side note, cosmetics is the exception to the rule, since most women don't want some random person touching their face and applying make up. However, many of the cosmetic brands in major retailers are as every year passes by more and more leased departments, and often the sales people in the leased departments don't work on commission, rather are paid a salary / hourly rate.

 

[brlfvr]

^ This.

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by Kent Wang

If your previous position was in sales, which I assume is more of the type you work out of office and call people, why don't you try that for manufacturers or distributors to sell to retailers? That would be a completely different experience than retail sales.

It is. It's called 'account executive'. Very hard to get into, but pays far, far better than a normal sales job and is frankly, far easier. Also, a lot more perks, like full clothing allowance.

 

[m_00]

i would love for somebody on here to speak honestly about what a regular day looks like at a harry rosen.
i mean for one there is always at least 15 sales associates on call at any given time.
so you're splitting the pie 20 ways (theoretically).
and i'm sure there are always really hot days but i would imagine most people aren't grossing more than 200 dollars a day if you averaged it out.
i think the myth of 100k in commission retail sales is always an inflated number.
just doing the math on what you'd have to be selling a day doesn't add up.
but if there is someone on here working at a high volume downtown/major city retail location who is doing it, i'd love to hear from you...

 

[woodywoodford]

I worked retail at Nordstrom a while back. I very rarely met anyone with a real passion or knowledge of what they were selling- it's more your ability to push product. It can ruin the whole "menswear thing" for ya.

The only person I've ever met in retail who actually demonstrated any passion at all about the products they were selling was my high school teacher who retired and took a job at the hometown suit shop. It's a shame that the place only sells cheap small town stuff, cause I've been keeping an eye out everywhere for another like him. I suspect it has to do with the internet - people research what they want nowadays, so the store clerks don't actually need to do anything more than ring the till. Random schmucks command lower pay than the ones who know what they're talking about. Sad.