Posts Tagged ‘MBA’
Saturday, January 22nd, 2011
The Boston Store - Los Angeles - 1910
J.W. ROBINSON & CO – Los Angeles
James Winchester Robinson opened his first store in 1881 under the banner of The Boston Store. The original store was located at Spring and Temple Streets. In 1914, the name was changed to J.W. Robinson & Company and it moved to a new location at 7th and Grand in a building designed by Noonan and Richards. In 1934 the building was modernized by Edward L. Mayberry. The downtown store had six floors of selling space. On the seventh floor were the restaurants, the beauty salon, and customer service. The women’s rest area and lavatory were reputed to be exquisite.
Robinson’s catered to the carriage trade as did Bullock’s and Coulter’s. The store presented better fashions and offered excellent customer service. For years the store competed well with Bullock’s in the downtown market because it was located west on 7th street in an area attractive to the upper-end customers.
In 1957, the company was acquired by Associated Dry Goods and became their fashion headquarters for the West.
In 1952, the company opened its first branch store in the Beverly Hills market. Robinson’s needed that store to capture the carriage trade: customers that were now shopping at Bullock’s, I. Magnin’s, and Sak’s stores located out on Wilshire and at the specialty shops on Rodeo Drive. Even Coulter’s had closed its downtown store and moved to Wilshire. Later, Robinson’s opened a winter-only store in Palm Springs to serve the customers who wintered there. Other suburban stores opened in Panorama City, Anaheim, Santa Barbara, Glendale, Pasadena, Newport Beach, Cerritos, Woodland Hills and the City of Industry.
In 1986, Associated Dry Goods was acquired by The May Department Stores Company (St. Louis). In 1993, the Robinson’s division of Associated Goods was merged with the May Company Southern California division to form Robinson’s May. This was a difficult marriage as May Company was targeting the moderated market and Robinson’s catered to the carriage trade. In 2005, after the acquisition of The May Company Department Stores by Federated Department Stores, the stores were either renamed Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s or were sold.
What happened???? Although Robinson’s had relatively good positioning in Los Angeles, it relied too long on its one store downtown. It did not have the clout with vendors to develop exclusive relationships. As the customers moved west to Beverly Hills and south to Orange County and when the downtown retail market declined, Robinson’s was slow to expand and gave up market share to Bullock’s, I. Magnin’s, Sak’s, and other retailers. Robinson’s started to rebound when Michael Gould became the CEO, but he did not get full support from the parent, Associated Dry Goods. When it merged with May Company, the company quickly lost the carriage trade customer.
I knew Robinson’s well as a competitor when I worked at Bullock’s. The downtown LA and the Beverly Hills stores were well-maintained and operated at high customer service levels. The management was not known as sophisticated. The management development program was not strong so the company was never able to develop talented merchants. I remember when the Attorney General for California looked into price fixing amongst the Southern California department stores. They found a folder amongst the corporate office files at Robinson’s entitled “Price Fixing Agreements”.
I wish there were postcards showing the interior of this wonderful store. I have only one which shows the women’s restroom. As soon as I locate it I will post it.
New Downtown LA J.W. Robinson Store Drawing
J. W.Robinson & Company - Los Angeles - 1917
J. W. Robinson & Company - Los Angeles - 1920's
J. W. Robinson & Company - Los Angeles - 1920's
J. W. Robinson & Company - Los Angeles - 1940 - After 'Remuddling'
Utopia Yarn/ J.W.Robinson & Co - 1940
Rogers Peet Suits/J.W. Robinson & Co. - 1941
J.W. Robinson & Co. - Beverly Hills Store
J. W. Robinson & Company - Newport
Tags: Allied Stores, apparel retail, Associated Dry Goods, big box retail, big box retailers, Boston Store, BULLOCK'S, Bullock's Wilshire, catalog, department store, Department Store History, department stores, direct marketing, Downtown Los Angeles Retail, Dowtown Los Angeles History, ecommerce, executive search, executive search firms, fashion, fashion careers, Fashion Institute, fast food, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, FIT, food service, J.W. Robinson & Co, J.W. Robinsons, john plummer, la times, LOS ANGELES RETAIL, LOS ANGELES RETAILERS, Los Angeles Times, macy's, may company, May Company Southern California, May Robinson, MBA, modesto, national retail federation, New york Times, nrf, NYT, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, private companies, retail, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail recruiters, retailers, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, retailing, Robinson May, Robinson's, shop TV, skywalker, Southern California History, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RETAIL, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RETAILERS, Specialty retail, stores, Supply Chain, susan gill, USC, wholesale
Posted in CALIFORNIA STORES, Retail Postcards | 10 Comments »
Sunday, November 28th, 2010
For years the food services industry has been labeled an industry for low pay and low skills. Research recently completed by Plummer & Associates, an executive search firm, shows quite the opposite. The food service industry now has highly educated leaders.
This new study on the education of Chief Executive Officers at the top 100 food service chains in the United States shows that today over 68% have college degrees. This study also shows a growing trend of CEO’s with advanced degrees as 18% hold MBA degrees, 2% hold MA/MS degrees, and 4% hold JD degrees.
For years the food service industry was known for its career path from ‘dishwasher to CEO’. Our research indicates that while this may have been a viable path in the past, the current trend is for a minimum of a college degree and there is an increasing importance placed on advanced degrees. This demonstrates the importance of the sophisticated intellectual tools and the strategic vision gained through higher education.
Like with other segments of the retail industry, the food service sector has consolidated from regional companies led by founding families into massive, complex businesses requiring sophisticated tools to manage them effectively. This new breed of food service businesses are intensely competitive and are constantly looking for cost and marketing advantages to enhance their market position.
According to Plummer & Associates, some of the complexities facing the food service industry demand a command of the following disciplines:
Marketing – Sophisticated tools have elevated the ability to forecast demand and to measure customer buying pattern changes. These tools also help measure brand awareness, customer loyalty, and the return on investment for all marketing programs. With the advent of social network marketing, the methodology of communicating with the customer is changing.
Merchandising – Food trends and tastes are constantly evolving. To create a competitive edge it is important that food service organizations be active in planning product life cycles, assortment strategies, and new product introductions backed by a superior product development process. All these strategies must mesh well with operations to prevent overwhelming production and unnecessarily impacting quality and costs.
Supply Chain Management/Logistics – Today there are tools available to help food service companies secure significant cost advantages throughout the supply chain while simultaneously improving the quality of customer service. This can provide organizations with a significant advantage over competitors.
Finance – This function has quickly progressed from recording history to active involvement in ‘creating value’ through analytics. This is important as the company competes in the market for capital.
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 of the legal staff. A food service leader is now required to be more involved and responsible for setting the tone of legal strategies.
Human Resources – Once considered just an expense, Human Resources managed effectively must now create differentiation versus the competitors. A company’s talent and culture, including a 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 food service organizations learned the power of information and the ability to forecast demand by day part. Now, leading IT departments 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 it is becoming mandatory that the CEO know the capabilities of these systems to ensure the company gains a competitive edge.
Global Reach – The days when food service companies only operated stores in the U.S. with product secured from U.S. sources are long gone. The implications of global activities are enormous.
Forward thinking food service companies such as Pepsico (Yum!) and Pillsbury/Grand Met (Burger King) who saw the need for talented executives started recruiting programs to attract students from colleges and also actively recruited MBA’s. These recruiting programs are responsible for the majority of CEO’s now leading the food service industry.
For those who are looking to progress up the ladder in food service, the data demonstrates that it takes more than experience in the industry to become a CEO. The food service business now requires the sophistication that comes with a college education and the trend shows an increasing demand for the additional tools gained in an MBA program.
The research shows that a college education is far more important than the particular school attended. While Ohio State University produced three CEO’s, the University of Kentucky produced two, and the University of Central Florida produced two, no other school produced more than one. On the other hand, in regards to CEO’s with MBA degrees, the Graduate School of Business at Harvard University produced four which is statistically important. Close behind is the University of Chicago producing two. It is clear that the industry prefers graduates from the top tier graduate business schools.
Tags: A&W, AFC, apparel retail, Applebee's, big box retail, big box retailers, Brinker, burger, career, careers, casual dining careers, CEO Education, Cheesecake Factory, chili's, Chipotle, college degrees, college education, college graduates, culariny institute, Culinary, Dairy Queen, Darden Group, dina lokets, dining, Dunkin, Dunkin Brands, employment opportunities, executive search, executive search firms, fast casual, fast food, fast food careers, fine dining, Five Guys, food service, food service search, Foster's Freeze, harvard university, heidi plummer, higher education, IHOP, In n Out, Jamba Juice, john plummer, KFC, Long John Silvers, macy's, Marriott, MBA, McDonald's, modesto, Morton's, Papa John, pizza hut, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, quick serve, restaurant, restaurant careers, restaurants, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, Ruth Chris, skywalker, Starbucks, supermarkets, susan gill, taco bell, USC, yum, yum brands
Posted in Candidate Information, Talent Development/Education | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
In 2009, our firm published an article (listed below) indicating the level of higher education held by the CEOs of the top 100 retail companies. We have now identified the ten currently highest paid retail executives and have discovered that this group confirms our previous study. The complexity of the retail business is such that executives who possess the most intellectual tools rise to the leadership roles. The statistics are as follows:
Education of Highest Paid CEOs Education of Top 100 Retail CEOs
BA degrees 90% 85%
MBA degrees 10% 23%
JD degrees 10% 6%
According to our research, the following executives fall into the category of the top ten highest paid executives. Total compensation for each is based upon current public records of publicly traded retail companies in the U. S.
Andrea Jung. Chairman and CEO – Avon
Total Compensation: $13.7 million
Education: Bachelor’s – Princeton University
Michael T. Duke. President, CEO and Director – Wal-Mart
Total Compensation: $13.3 million
Education: Bachelor’s – Georgia Tech
Terry Lundgren. Chairman, President and CEO – Macy’s
Total Compensation: $8.7 million
Education: Bachelor’s – University of Arizona
Francis S. Blake. Chairman and CEO – Home Depot
Total Compensation: $8.3 million
Education: Bachelor’s – Harvard College
JD – Columbia University
Myron E. Ullman – Chairman and CEO – J.C. Penney Company
Total Compensation: $8.0 million
Education: Bachelor’s – University of Cincinnati
Trudy Sullivan – President and CEO – Talbots
Total Compensation: $6.9 million
Education: Bachelor’s – Manhattanville College
Katherine L. Krill – CEO, President and Director – Ann Taylor Stores
Total Compensation: $6.9 million
Education: Bachelor’s – Agnes Scott
Robert A. Niblock – Chairman and CEO – Lowes
Total Compensation: $6.1 million
Education: Bachelor’s – University of North Carolina
Gregg W. Steinhafel – Chairman, President and CEO – Target
Total Compensation: $6.0 million
Education: Bachelor’s – Carroll College
MBA – Northwestern University
Carol M. Meyrowitz – CEO – TJX
Total Compensation: $5.7 million
Education: no degree
Following is the study we released in April, 2009, on the education level of the CEOs for the top 100 retail chains.
TOP RETAIL EXECUTIVES HAVE TOP EDUCATIONS!
A new study conducted by Plummer & Associates on the Chief Executive Officer education at the top 100 retailers in the United States shows that today over 85% have college degrees. This represents a significant increase over Plummer & Associates’ 2002 study that showed only 60% had earned college degrees. The number with advanced degrees has remained about the same; however, the new study shows the breakdown at 23% with MBA degrees and 6% with JD degrees.
Does this continuing trend mean that the industry can no longer be led by the person who starts with a push cart? Our research shows that while working your way 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 the following disciplines:
- Marketing – Sophisticated reporting systems have elevated the ability to forecast demand, measure customer buying pattern changes, brand awareness and customer loyalty, and 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 using 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.
Forward-looking retailers who saw the need for talented executives brought highly educated executives into the retail industry. In the late 60s and 70s the retail industry started recruiting top students from colleges and graduates from MBA programs. The top leaders at that time were: Jewel Tea, Federated Department Stores, J.C. Penney Co, Sears Roebuck & Company, Kroger, The Dayton Hudson Corporation, and The May Department Stores Company. Those recruiting programs have produced many of the CEOs of today’s successful retailers.
For those looking to progress up the ladder in retail, the data indicates that the career path from bagperson to CEO is no longer viable, nor practical. Retailers striving to be successful must compete for the best educated. And future leaders in retail must strive to educate themselves and that education must include minimally the rigors of earning a bachelor’s degree. Earning an MBA and/or a JD degree greatly improves one’s chances. This is not because one needs a degree to punch up a resume; rather it is the intellectual tools gained through formal education combined with on-the-job training that prepares an executive for the rigorous and evolving challenges facing retailers today.
While the 2002 study indicated no particular school had the lead in producing future CEOs, the current research indicates that a new trend is starting to develop. Harvard University has taken the leadership position having five CEOs with undergraduate degrees and five with MBA degrees. Second is The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business with three CEOs holding an undergraduate degree. Columbia University and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University are tied with three CEOs each holding MBA degrees. The University of Illinois has three CEOs with undergraduate degrees.
It is clear the retail industry needs to compete in the market place to bring the brightest talent with superior intellectual tools and education to manage the business for the future.
Tags: big box retail, big box retailers, ceo compensation, CEO Education, college degrees, college education, college graduates, department stores, dina lokets, ecommerce, employment opportunites, executive search firms, fashion, fashion careers, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, heidi plummer, home depot, J Crew, J.C. Penney, john plummr, la times, lowes, macy's, MBA, modesto, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, retail, retail careers, retail ceo, retail compensation, retail executive compensation, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail news, retail pay, retail recruiters, retail schools, retail talent, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, retailing, skywalker, Specialty retail, Supply Chain, susan gill, the gap, TJX, USC, wholesale, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD, yum
Posted in Candidate Information, Talent Development/Education | 23 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 »
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.
———
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.
Tags: big box retailers, bloomingdales, careers, college graduates, department stores, dina lokets, direct marketing, drug store news, ecommerce, employment, executive seearch firms, fashion, fashion careers, fashion retailers, fashion talent development, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, heidi plummer, john plummer, Lord & Taylor, macy's, MBA, modesto, national retail federation, nrf, Operations, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, plummerblog, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, retail, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail opportunities, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, retailing, shop TV, skywalker, Specialty retail, specialty retailing, supermarkets, susan gill, the gap, USC, wholesale, Womens Wear Daily, WWD, yum, yum brands
Posted in Candidate Information, Talent Development/Education | 4 Comments »
