Posts Tagged ‘employment’
Monday, January 3rd, 2011
Bullocks Downtown Los Angeles – 1907 – Grand Opening
In 1907, John Gillespie Bullock and Percy Glen Winnet opened Bullock’s at the corner of 7th & Broadway Streets in downtown Los Angeles. The two had worked at The Broadway and convinced Arthur Letts, Sr, founder of The Broadway to back them in this new retail venture targeting the more up-scale customer. The store grew over the years as it acquired buildings on 7th Street between Hill and Broadway; one of the buildings was a competing department store. In 1923, John Bullock and P. G. Winnet bought out Arthur Lett’s interest.
In 1929, the company opened its first branch store on Wilshire Boulevard. This luxury Art Deco designed store targed the wealthy as they moved to the nearby Hancock Park neighborhood from the downtown’s West Adams district. Later, the Bullock’s Wilshire store became a separate division within Bullocks. For years Bullock’s Wilshire merchandised the store in Palm Springs which only operated in the Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons. The Palm Springs store served the Hollywood community with winter homes in that area.
Bullock’s was known as a chain which targeted the better customer and provided unparalled customer service. The company had approximately 65 buyer/managers in each store until 1970. Up until then, the company believed that having buyers in each store for each department helped provide a localized assortment. However, it was hard for Bullock’s to buy from larger manufacturers as each store could not meet minimum quantity orders. The company did have exclusive relationships with key better vendors which helped it retain the better market position.
The third suburban store was opened in Pasadena (it was designed to be converted into a hotel if it did not succeed as a store). Later the chain continued to expand with stores in Westwood, the San Fernando Valley, Santa Ana, Torrance, Lakewood, San Gabriel Valley, Orange County, Las Vegas, Pheonix, and San Diego.
Bullock’s acquired I.Magnin & Company in 1944 to form Bullocks-Magnin. In 1964, publicly held Bullocks-Magnin was acquired by Federated Department Stores. This was a hostile takeover. P.G. Winnet, the founder, opposed the sale. His son-in-law, Walter Candy who was President, was for the sale and gathered support of the management team. Abe Fortes, who later became a Supreme Court Justice, was the attorney representing Federated. (Note: Bullock’s in Northern California was a separate division of Federated Department Stores.) This acquisition affected both Bullock’s and Federated for many years. First, many of the management team were protected for supporting Mr. Candy and the Federated acquisition so it was agreed that directional and management changes would not be made for five years. That is one of the key reasons Bullock’s did not convert to central merchandising until 1970. P.G. Winnet mostly continued working out of the Bullock’s-I Magnin offices but did visit stores and was known for pinning candy on sales people who he recognized as outstanding. Secondly, Federated was restricted from further growth through acquisition. The Justice Department was concerned that Federated was gaining too much share of the department store sector which at the time was the largest individual segment in the retail industry.
In 1988, Bullock’s was sold to the R.H.Macy Company as Federated was owned by Campeau and needed cash. As Macy’s-Atlanta took over merchandising, Bullock’s lost its better positioning. As I understand it, under Macy’s store gross margin production shrank dramatically. In 1995, Bullock’s name was formally changed to Macy’s. Now, all the Bullock’s sites are known as Macy*s or Bloomingdales since the R.H. Macy Company was acquired by Federated Department Stores.
Bullocks was known for:
- Merchandise assortments which trended towards better.
- Higher quality salespeople who were focused on customer service.
- Strong fashion presentation with upgraded and well-maintained stores.
- Special events.
What happened??? When Federated Department Stores acquired Bullock’s it was a leader in Southern California but was marginally profitable. As management changes were made the company became highly profitable and in a dominant market position because the company secured top merchandising talent, invested in systems, and had the capital from Federated Department Stores to upgrade facilities and to expand into new markets. The downtown store continued to slide as the market demographics changed, the Southern California transportation system collapsed, and as customers shopped more at shopping malls. Bullock’s flourished until Nordstrom’s entered the Southern California market. At that time, Bullock’s began losing some of its fashion edge as markdown programs were reduced with the intent of increasing profitability but in reality allowed fashion to become stale in comparison to Nordstrom’s. Bullock’s remained dominant but should never have allowed Nordstrom’s to gain a foothold in Southern California. (Note: Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy’s (Federated Department Stores) started with Bullock’s as a trainee. Keep in mind, the Bullock’s motto was….” to build a business which shall know no end”.
Today, the former downtown Bullock’s store building is divided between a St Vincents Jewelry Mart, a parking lot, and small retail stores. The Bullock’s Wilshire store now houses the Southwestern Law School. The Bullock’s Wilshire store is kept in its original Art Deco splendor and serves as a reminder of department store retailing in the grander days.
I started my retail career with Bullock’s. Although I grew up in Modesto, California, about 300 miles north of Los Angeles, I knew Bullock’s especially well. My mother was from Los Angeles. My grandmother used to knit infant clothing for Bullock’s downtown. My godmother, Ms. Paquita Machris, used to take me twice a year to Bullock’s Wilshire to pick out clothing. Her personal sales person, Ms. Dineen, met us at the MotorCourt and took us through the store followed by a lunch in the tea room where I enjoyed my first taste of Babas au Rhum. Years later, I always made sure Ms. Dineen was well taken care of as she had the largest sales book in the entire Bullock’s chain. I joined Bullock’s when I taught Statistics at U.S.C. I then became a part of the Personnel department in the corporate offices. I remained with Bullock’s until 1978 when I was recruited to Mervyn’s, a new publicly held company in the San Francisco Bay Area.
My collection of Bullock’s postards are shown below. If anyone has memories of Bullock’s I hope you will feel free to memorialize your memories in the Comments Section below. I know I have many friends and co-workers who are anxious to do so. You must receive my permission to copy or reprint any of these postcards.
Bullock’s Downtown
Bullock's Downtown 1920's
July 4, 1921
DownTown LA 1912
Bullock's Downtown 1930's (note outdoor dining - before smog)
Bullock's Downtown - 1930's
First Floor 1914 - Later became Cosmetics floor
Gown Room - Third Floor - Pre 1920
Children's Departments - Fourth Floor - Pre-1920
Millinery Room
The Tea Room…..
Tea Room - 1920's
The Lobby - Tea Room
The Foyer - Tea Room - 1920's
The Foyer - Tea Room - 1910
Tea Room - The Grey Room - 1920's
Tea Room - 1920's
Tea Room - 1930's
Tea Room Kitchen - 1930's
California Poem Sent to Bullock's Downtown Customers - 1924
Bullock’s Wilshire – Opened 1929
Bullock's Wilshire
Bullock's Wilshire - Fine Pottery and Glassware
Bullock's Wilshire - Fine Jewelry Gorham Sterling & Precious Stones
Bullock’s Pasadena
Bullock's Pasadena - Designed to be a hotel if it did not work as a retail store.
Fashion Postcards Sent to Bullock's Pasadena Customers
Bullock’s Santa Ana
Bullock's Santa Ana - Company developed mall- Sister Company I Magnin is co-anchor
Bullock's Downtown Easter Placecard - Shirley Temple - 1928
This placecard was provided to me by someone whose Great Aunt worked at Bullock’s and kept this placecard. She had Shirley Temple, Ma Kittle, and Bob Hope as customers. I have not verified the signature. Bullock’s, Bullock’s Wilshire, and Bullock’s Palm Spring served many of the Hollywood Stars!
Tags: apparel, apparel retail, big box retail, big box retailers, BULLOCK'S, Bullock's Alumni, BULLOCK'S DEPARTMENT STORES, Bullock's History, Bullock's Palm Springs, Bullock's Wilshire, career, careers, catalog, defunct department stores, defunct retailers, Department Store History, DEPARTMENT STORE POSTCARDS, department stores, direct marketing, ecommerce, employment, executive search, executive search firms, fashion, fashion careers, Fashion Institute, fast food, FDS alumni, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, food service, grand dames, heidi plummer, Hollywood Celebrities, I MAGNIN, KCET, L A Times, los angeles, Los Angeles Department Stores, Los Angeles History, LOS ANGELES RETAIL, LOS ANGELES RETAILERS, macy's, modesto, national retail federation, nrf, Orange County Register, plummer & associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, POSTCARDS, R H Macy, retail, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, Retail History, Retail Los Angeles, retail recruiters, retail stores, retail talent, retailers, retailexecuivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, San Fernando Valley News, San Gabriel Valley News, Santa A, Santa Ana Register, Shirley Temple, shop TV, skywalker, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RETAIL, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RETAILERS, Specialty retail, stores, supermarkets, susan gill, The Daily Breeze, USC, wholesale, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD
Posted in CALIFORNIA STORES, Retail Postcards | 23 Comments »
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
Should an unemployed retail executive suspend his/her job search during the holidays?
Every retailer knows the holiday season is a busy time. Store executives are working iron days, merchants are following sales trends closely to ensure inventories are balanced, human resources are keeping the stores staffed with temporary employees, and senior management is in constant angst about the season’s prospects. Your natural fear is that retail executives will not have the time to consider you for employment or that you will be seen as a pest if you bother them.
Nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, if you suspend your job search during the holidays you might be losing out on some significant opportunities. Keep in mind…
1. Retailers traditionally make executive changes after the fiscal year ends on January 31. January, February, and March become the busiest seasons in the recruitment of retail executives. As a result, the holiday season is a good time for you to make an impression with retail executives; and,
2. Retailers with positions open want to fill them before the fiscal year ends.
Your approach during the holiday season is important. Following are some things to think about for your holiday season job seeking activities:
• Retailer executives, like everyone else, think about family and friends during the holiday season. This is a good time to keep in contact with your network by sending a holiday email with your resume attached and letting them know that you appreciate any referrals as they hear about opportunities. You might also consider making a short call to wish them the best. Your object is just to stay in front of them.
• If you know a specific company has a current opportunity, be aggressive. No matter how busy they are, they need to fill that position before the end of the fiscal year.
• This is also a good time to build your relationships with recruiters, and industry consultants. They are not as harried as those in the retail industry.
Tags: apparel, apparel employment, apparel retail, big box employment, big box retail, careers, catalog, christmas employment, cosmetics, department store, direct marketing, ecommerce, employment, employment opportunities, executive search, fashion, fashion careers, fast food, fast food employment, grocery, grocery employment, holiday employment, job search, john plummer, modesto, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, restaurant employment, resume, retail, retail careers, retail employment, retail executive, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail jobs, retail recruiters, retail services, retail talent, retailers, retailing, seasonal employment, shop TV, skywalker, Specialty retail, supermarkets, USC, wholesale
Posted in Candidate Information | 1 Comment »
Monday, October 4th, 2010
I often discover a gap in a candidate’s employment history while reviewing their resume. What is surprising is that so many individuals do not know what to do about these employment gaps. Some individuals try to hide it, which is lying. Others try to stumble through an explanation which makes an employer suspicious.
There are many reasons for a gap in your employment history. These could be:
- Your employer went out of business leaving you looking for employment.
- Your employer terminated your employment due to a staff reduction.
- Your employer terminated you for cause.
- Or, you quit.
Any of these reasons could leave you with an employment gap while you were looking for a new career. Sometimes, the gap is longer because of an economic downturn or because your family did not want to relocate.
What ever the reason, you should show the employment gap on your resume and be ready to fully explain what you were doing during that time. If you do not have a prepared and honest explanation it will lead prospective employers to think that something else was going on in your life … maybe incarceration.
The last thing you want to do is cover up an employment gap. If your perspective or, worse yet, your new employer finds out about the cover up, you will most likely be not hired, or terminated. Now, it is too easy for employers to verify accurate dates of employment; and, employers do check.
Honesty is the best explanation. An example of a good explanation is ….” after I left company xyz, I started looking for opportunities in my city. Unfortunately, there are no other retailers there so I tried to transfer my skills to another industry. My son/daughter was in his/her senior year in high school so our family made a choice not to relocate. A year later, I found myself still looking. With my son graduating, our family has now agreed to relocate.”
There are many other reasons. Do your best to honestly explain the situation.
Tags: ace hardware, Amazon, amercian apparel, auto zone, big box retail, big box retailers, catalog, charming charlie, Chipotle, creers, Darden Group, department stores, dina lokets, direct marketing, ecommrce, employment, employment gaps, employment opportunites, employment opportunities, executive search, executive search firms, fashion, fashion careers, fashion industry, fast food, food service careers, Gap, HEB, heidi plummer, home depot, J.C. Penney, job changes, job search, john plummer, kroger, Limited, lowes, macy's, McDonald's, modesto, Morton's, Nordstrom, orchard supply, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, Publix, recruiters, restaurant careers, restaurant recruiters, resume, retail, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, retailing, safeway, Sears, shoptv, skywalker, stores, supermarkets, Supply Chain, susan gill, the gap, True Religion Jeans, trueserv, USC, Walmart, wholesale, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD, yum
Posted in Candidate Information | 8 Comments »
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
The first blush comment from most in the recruiting industry is that recruiting executives to family-owned private businesses is difficult or near impossible. But, if you look at the facts, there are large family-owned companies that have successfully grown and have successfully recruited top talent. For example, look at Hershey, S. E. Johnson, H. E. Butt, Wegman’s, Jockey International, and Carlson Companies as prime examples of successful family-owned businesses.
In my opinion, it is not the family ownership that makes recruiting difficult. The issue is the management style of the ownership. The style of the executive evaluating the opportunity is equally important.
An executive considering joining a family-owned business has several questions to ask. These are:
What will be my future with the company? Is there opportunity for personal growth? Are there family members involved who will limit my chances for promotion?
What is the financial health of the company and is the family willing to invest more or dilute their ownership through debt or equity? Is the family willing to be open about the financials and their strategies?
How willing is the family to invest in new equipment, research, systems, etc?
Is the family open to new ideas?
Is the family willing to share interest in the business to key executives? Will this interest be developed on an open basis? Will this be on a true partnership basis?
Is the family really willing to delegate responsibilities to non-family members?
How long does the family plan to own/control the company? What will be the exit strategy for the family ownership: IPO, strategic sale, or other? Are all family owners on the same page in terms of the exit strategy?
At the same time, family owners have questions to ask the prospective executive. Among the questions are:
Is this executive really committed? Will he/she put in the effort required to take the business to the next level?
Is this executive willing to share the risk? If the economy gets soft, will this executive pitch in and work harder and smarter and also accept the earnings declines that the ownership suffers…or will this executive just move on when times are tough?
Will this executive work with us as we ponder through difficult times and difficult financing issues?
Is this executive willing to put skin in the game (i.e.: personal finances, or extraordinary effort)?
The success or failure in both parties trying to develop an effective working relationship depends on both parties’ questions being put on the table and answered truthfully and in an open manner.
The company that is not willing to provide full and honest disclosure and not truly willing to answer all the executive’s questions will make recruitment difficult. A recruiter will be able to bring in a hired hand but will not be able to recruit a true partner for the business.
The executive who wants the upside but who also wants guarantees is probably not the right executive either.
For a recruiter, the challenge is to quickly learn about the family and their willingness to answer the questions candidates will ask. To the degree the family is willing to answer those questions will determine the level of candidate the recruiter will be able to bring to the table. This requires a skilled executive recruiter who knows how to assess family organizations and also assess candidates for their ability to fit the circumstances.
As a side note: These issues are not as important with larger family-owned public companies. In smaller family-owned public companies these issues and the management style are still important. Even though the ownership and the financial data is public information, the family involvement in the business and their longer term intentions need to be disclosed to potential executives. What is most important for the executive to discover in these circumstances is whether the family self-interests are aligned with the short- and longer-term needs of the business.
Tags: big box retail, big box retailers, career, careers, catalog, department stores, dina lokets, direct marketing, ecommerce, employment, employment opportunities, executive search, executive search firms, family companies, family owned, family owned companies, fashion, Finance, heidi plummer, human resources, IT, job changes, john plummer, la times, modesto, national retail federation, nrf, Operations, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, private companies, privately held, privately held companies, resume, retail, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail recruiters, retail talent, retailers, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, retailing, shop TV, skywalker, supermarkets, Supply Chain, susan gill, USC, wholesale, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD
Posted in Candidate Information, Talent Development/Education | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
This is a serious question that cannot be easily answered.
The first question you need to ask yourself is why did you look at this other company and why did you let it get to an offer stage if you were not serious about leaving?
Were you unhappy with your superior?
Were you underappreciated and underpaid?
Was your career path blocked?
Did you have concerns about the future of your employer?
Do you have an especially high regard for the prospective employer?
Before you accept your current employer’s counter offer, you seriously need to think about what has really changed with that counter offer that will make you happy. It may be easy to go back home and tell the family that you will not need to relocate because your employer made all kinds of promises and rewarded you with extra compensation. But, if conditions were bad enough to make you look elsewhere, there is little chance that things have changed significantly.
The truth is that most employees who accept a counter offer from their current employer usually leave the company within two years.
Why? In my experience there are several reasons.
Your current employer may never fully trust you again. Because you got to the stage of an offer, there is suspicion that you traded too much secret information.
Your employer also may believe you will leave again in the future. So, favored appointments will tend to go to those in the organization that have earned management’s trust.
If you were transferred away from a superior you did not like, that executive usually remains with the organization and will become a political opponent.
If you were disillusioned with your company’s future, the likelihood of that changing is minimal.
My advice to any executive is that you should not seriously look at other career opportunities if you fully believe your career is on track. Why jeopardize your role with your current employer and why create a reason for your employer to have less reason to trust and invest in your development?
On the other hand, if you feel that your advancement is blocked or if you have reservations about your employer’s future, you should actively look for other opportunities and be committed to the change.
Tags: big box retail, big box retailers, career search, careers, catalog, college degrees, college graduates, department stores, dina lokets, direct marketing, ecommerce, employment, executive search, executive search firms, family companies, family ownership, fashion, fashion careers, food service, heidi plummer, IT, job changes, job opportunities, Limited, macy's, MBA, modesto, national retail federation, nrf, nrf stores, Operations, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, privately held companies, restaurants.fast food, resume, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail recruiters, retail talent, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, shop TV, Specialty retail, supermarkets, Supply Chain, susan gill, talent, the gap, USC, Victorias Secret, wholesale, Womens Wear Daily, WWD, yum
Posted in Candidate Information | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) has declared that the recession is officially over. For retailers, the question is how robust will the economy be in the next couple of years. Most economists and Mr. Ben Bernanke, Chairman – Federal Reserve, are forecasting a slow recovery. Why? The economy still needs to work through consumer debt and the consumer needs to find ways to increase their income so that they can spend again. In the recent past, consumers spent wealth gained through the inflated housing market. Unemployment is still high and will take time to recover. And, the baby boom generation is moving into retirement which means that this big population bubble will be spending less.
So, why is now the best time to bring on strategic hires? First, let’s define strategic hires as executives who can do significantly more than the incumbent. More importantly, let us define a strategic hire as someone who will help change the course of your business. This will be someone who is more strategically oriented to:
• Analyze the customer base to refine the definition of the targeted customer and then develop marketing programs to communicate with the newly targeted customer to increase traffic, sales, and margins;
• Create a store environment which matches/exceeds the targeted customer’s expectations and allows you to build a brand through the retail experience;
• Seek ways to find basis point improvements in operations efficiencies while also improving customer service;
• Build a culture which meets/exceeds customer expectations and recruit and develop exceptional talent;
• Build a merchandising program which excels at providing the merchandise expected by the targeted customer, which constantly reviews new products and categories while rationalizing existing sku’s, which excels at making money through effective merchandising and consistently finds margin basis point improvements, and which creates excitement for the merchandising program throughout the company;
• Lead a finance team which is more than a recorder of numbers to one dedicated to helping the organization by providing the analytics and instructions for the merchants to understand the financial impact of their decision making and for the other functional areas to understand the best return on investment strategies. This is a Value Creator!;
• Build a supply chain program which results in reduced inventories with the same or better levels of customer service while also reducing logistical expenses;
• Build systems to support the operational, marketing, and merchandising program enhancements; and
• Develop strategies to expand the company in new markets internationally.
In these times when the nation is still ‘over stored’ and, with so many competitors offering the same or similar goods, those retailers who will excel in the next few years will be those who have some advantage, whether it be perceived value by the consumer or operational, marketing, financial, and/or human resources strengths. It will be up to the retailers who want to excel to find a way to create this differentiation in the market place and this is best done by hiring strategic executives who can create and maintain the differentiation.
How do you find these strategic hires? Strategic hires require a major investment. In this market it can cost $100,000 to $150,000 or more to relocate an executive. In addition, you have costs related to the time it takes the executive to learn the company and become comfortable in the new role. These costs represent an investment you cannot take lightly and you definitely cannot afford to make a mistake. This means the process for identifying and recruiting candidates must not be taken lightly and also requires an investment.
Yes, in this employment market there are many executives who are desperate for employment and who are available on job boards. Although these may be top caliber executives, the important questions are: (1.) Are they the right executives for your strategic role? and, (2.) Do they have the best skills and experience as well as possess the strategic mind set? Your organization can interview dozens of these looking for the right individual. The important question is whether you are interviewing from dozens to hope for the right person or are you interviewing and selecting from a slate which has several candidates with the most appropriate skills, experiences, and personal characteristics to make sure you are getting the best strategic player for your team.
It may seem self-serving, but I strongly believe the best return on your recruiting investment for a strategic player is accomplished by engaging a search firm which specializes in serving the retail industry and which has a track record of recruiting strategic players which have proven to make a difference over both the short- and the longer-term. When you consider the cost of making a mistake, this approach is your best investment.
How do you select the right executive search firm? Based upon my years of experience in the recruitment of senior retail executives, I strongly recommend you take careful time and put in significant energy to choose a retainer based search firm to manage the recruitment of strategic hires. I recommend you interview at least four firms before you make your choice. Questions you should ask include:
-Does the search firm and the consultant who will work with you on your assignment truly understand the definition of a strategic executive and know how to determine if candidates have the experience that you require? Keep in mind, you are not asking who the search consultant knows, but, instead, what companies should be targets and why executives in those companies have the specific experience required. You are looking to guarantee a strong slate of candidates from which to select. Feel free to ask the search firm to provide you with a list of targeted organizations (along with reasons why) with their proposal to conduct the search assignment;
-Does the consultant know how to select a strategic versus a tactical executive? I recommend you have the search firm as part of its proposal prepare a position specification fully describing the position and the candidate. Instead of providing the search firm with the details of the position and the candidate, I suggest you have the search firm do it so you can assess their understanding of the position and your needs.
-Does the search firm have the resources to invest into the search assignment to determine all possible talent pools to find the best candidates? In my opinion, it is not in your best interest to have the search firm only identify the most obvious and visible executives. You require a firm which has a research group and which has databases available to identify all appropriate talent banks.
-Does the search firm have relationships with the obvious target companies to prevent them from contacting potential candidates in those target organizations? Why should you engage the search firm which recruits for the targeted organization as this means the search firm will be barred from recruiting executives from this organization to yours; and,
-Will the consultants working on your assignment have the time available to do the work? If the lead consultant is handling too many assignments at a time, it is likely he/she will not have the time to do your assignment justice.
First and foremost, you are in charge of your company’s future. You are not lucky to have a particular search firm working for you. Instead, you are smart to choose the right firm to do this strategic assignment. In my opinion, by following this process you should be able to build a team which will make a difference.
Tags: ahold, big box retail, bloomingdales, brinker group, careers, catalog, catalog retailers, Chicos, chili's, darden, department stores, dina lokets, direct marketing, e-commerce, ecommerce, employment, executive search firms, fashion, fashion careers, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, Finance, HEB, heidi plummer, home depot, IT, john plummer, kroger, la times, Limited, Lord & Taylor, lowes, macy's, modesto, national reail federation, nrf, nrf stores, Operations, pizza hut, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Publics, Publix, retail, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, retailing, safeway, shop TV, skywalker, Specialty retail, strategic hiring, supermarkets, Supply Chain, susan gill, taco bell, the gap, USC, wholesale, winn dixie, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD, yum, yum brands
Posted in Talent Development/Education | 11 Comments »
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
One of the worst labels an executive can get is “job hopper”. This is an executive who has had multiple employment changes in a short period of time.
In the eyes of the prospective employer this raises many red flags. Job hoppers are usually the first candidates to be ruled out by employers and search firms as there are so many good candidates who don’t carry this baggage.
There are many reasons for too many career changes. These can be:
-unfortunate circumstances
-bad choices
-bad timing
-incompetence/malfeasance
-the idea that one should always be looking for the next job
-listening to a self-interested recruiter who wants the executive to move on to earn another fee.
We all make bad choices. Once is understandable. After that, it is a reflection upon the individual’s personal judgment or his/her inability to do good due diligence before accepting new employment.
Obviously, the executive who changes employment because of incompetence or malfeasance is always eliminated.
Just as importantly, the one who is always looking for his/her next job with another employer is also eliminated from candidate slates. The reason is simple. Employers are not simply looking to fill a position. They want someone in whom they can invest for future returns.
The tough issue is for those who ran into unfortunate circumstances.
-They had to leave an organization because of personal or family illness
-The family ended up not making the move or could not accept the new city
-The executive who followed a superior to a new company and accepted the superior’s due diligence on the new company which failed shortly afterwards.
-The new employer was acquired or new management was installed that terminated current employees.
-The economy tanked in 2009.
One of these events in a career is understandable. But two or three such events make it difficult to avoid the deadly job hopper label. Be honest and factual when you describe the circumstances to a prospective employer. Covering up your mistakes will only hurt you.
If you are labeled as a job hopper, it is very similar to having a low credit score. You can work your way out of it. You need to be dedicated to your new employer and committed to building your new career in that organization.
If you are tempted to make a jump simply to catch up with your peers, consider that you may be about to commit a fatal error.
Tags: ahold, big box retail, big box retailers, career, careers, catalog, Chicos, college degrees, college education, college graduates, convience stores, department stores, dina lokets, direct marketing, ecommerce, employment, executive search firms, fashion, fashion careers, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, grocery stores, heidi plummer, human resources, IT, job opportunites, john plummer, kroger, la times, Limited, macy's, MBA, modesto, national retail federation, nrf, NY Times, Operations, personnel, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, plummer search, plummersearch.com, resume, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail recruiters, retailexecuivesearch.com, retailexecutiveseaerchfirms.com, retailing, safeway, shop TV, Specialty retail, supermarkets, Supply Chain, susan gill, USC, Victorias Secret, wholesale, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD, yum, yum brands
Posted in Candidate Information | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
There is no doubt that running a retail business is complex and demands executives with more education. On the other hand, fashion retailing is also a creative art form and requires executives with passion for color, design, and texture. As we bring in executives with more business skills, are we losing the creative senses so required for fashion? If so, what do we need to do as an industry to recruit and develop those with the creative talent to create uniqueness, important differentiation, and stimulate the emotional triggers that are the foundation of the fashion business?
Following is an article we published in 2009 which shows the trend towards highly educated CEO’s in fashion retail.
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Higher education grows as a key to CEO success in fashion retailing.
The second report in a series of retail industry surveys conducted by Plummer & Associates reveals that 60% of the Chief Executive Officers in the top 50 fashion apparel retailers hold a bachelor’s degree. Of this group 26% also hold advanced MBA degrees.
As expected, 34% of the CEOs in fashion apparel retailers have advanced directly through the merchant ranks. It is also significant to note that the remainder of the CEOs developed through the financial and operating sides of their businesses.
While this survey showed no trend toward any one school producing today’s CEOs, CEOs with advanced degrees tend to hold degrees from Harvard, Columbia, George Washington University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, New York University and Darden at the University of Virginia.
A similar study ( http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/04/prweb2298774.htm) conducted earlier this year by Plummer & Associates shows that fashion apparel retailers lag behind CEOs of other major retailers for bachelor’s degrees. Out of the top 100 retailers, 85% of the CEOs have bachelor’s degrees as compared to only 60% of fashion retail CEOs.
CEO EDUCATION
TOP 50 Fashion Retailers
Bachelor Degrees 60%
MBA Degrees 26%
Top 100 Retailers (all segments)
Bachelor Degrees 85%
MBA Degrees 28%
JD Degrees 6%
The researchers fully expect the trend toward advanced degrees for fashion apparel retail CEOs to continue. As the retail industry consolidates and business demands become more complex, CEOs will need all the intellectual tools a formal education provides.
While working from the cutting table to the top may have been a viable career path in the past, the constantly evolving and complex nature of today’s retail landscape requires that executives must couple their ground up experience with the sophistication and strategic vision gained through earning a college degree.
Retailers have consolidated from regional companies led by founding families into massive, complex businesses requiring sophisticated tools to manage them effectively. This new breed of retailers is intensely competitive and constantly looking for cost and marketing advantages to secure their market position.
Some of the complexities facing retailers today demand a command of following disciplines:
Marketing – Sophisticated reporting systems have elevated the ability to forecast demand, to measure customer buying pattern changes, brand awareness and customer loyalty, and to help build brand value. Each retailer now operates through more than one channel, (retail, e-commerce, catalog, direct marketing) requiring that the decisions made for each channel are highly strategic.
Supply Chain Management/Logistics – Today there are tools available to help retailers secure significant cost advantages throughout the supply chain while simultaneously improving customer service. This gives retailers significant competitive advantages.
Merchandise Management – Advanced technologies are now required to source merchandise for product development, assortment planning, SKU rationalization, customer knowledge, trend analysis, and inventory and category management. The most important part is utilizing these technological advances to increase profitability.
Finance – This function has quickly progressed from recording history to active involvement in creating value through analytics and is now vital in allowing a retailer to compete for capital against all other industries.
Legal – Our society has become more litigious making larger businesses more of an attractive target. The complexity of new regulations has resulted in an increase in legal staff. A retail leader is now required to be more involved and responsible for setting the tone of legal strategies.
Human Resources – Once considered just a major expense, Human Resources managed effectively must now create differentiation versus competition. A company’s culture and devotion to the customer are now more important than ever.
Information Technology – In the past, technology seemed to be the sole domain of the IT department. . With advanced POS systems, the retailer has learned the power of information and no longer relies solely on market information provided by the vendor. Leading edge IT departments now interrelate with the entire organization by providing useful information to aid in decision making, control costs, forecast and analyze. Companies are now operating enterprise wide systems and the CEO must know the capabilities of these systems to ensure the company gains a competitive edge.
Global Reach –The days when retailers only operated stores in the U.S. with product only secured from U.S. sources are gone. The implications of the global activities are enormous.
In the late 60’s and 70’s the retail industry started recruiting top students from colleges and graduates from MBA programs. These forward-looking retailers saw the need for talented executives and brought highly educated executives into the retail industry. The top leaders at that time were: Federated Department Stores, May Department Stores Company, Allied Stores, J.C. Penney and Company, Sears Roebuck and Company, and The Gap. These recruiting programs produced many of the CEOs of today’s most successful retailers.
It is clear that fashion retailers need to compete in the market place to bring the brightest talent superior intellectual tools and education to manage the business for the future. And, it is also clear that college recruitment programs need to be continued and expanded so that fashion retailers can maintain an edge over competitors.
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