Attention All Shelf Stockers, Mystery Shoppers and Other Retail Workers. Do You Think a Career Can Be Built From Retail Experience?

Do you think a career can be built from retail experience? Simply ask the store managers, warehouse managers, merchandisers, buyers and other high level retail executives at major Canadian retailers. Almost all of them would say that their careers began as customer service representatives, shelf stockers, sales, mystery shoppers, warehouse and distribution staff and more. The beauty of the retail industry is that entry level positions are easy to come by and you can enter the retail industry at any age or stage in life. 

Many people get their first retail experience because of a need for secondary income. They enjoy the flexibility of being able to find the income in a part-time or seasonal role at a retailer. Many individuals find that this segues into a long and meaningful career in retail. In fact, for almost every retail professional, what began as a retail job turned into a retail career.

So how does retail experience turn into a retail career? First, establishing a foundation that includes a diverse range of experience will be the key. When thinking about roles at retail, each opportunity should consider the big picture. For example – shelf stockers may end up in the distribution side of retail, retail professionals who ensure that products are in stock and priced may end up in the merchandising side of retail, mystery shoppers may end up  with a meaningful career in merchandising or distribution. Product demonstrators and sales staff may end up with a long and fulfilling career in sales of retail or in marketing.

In an entry level role, especially a proven commitment and passion for your role is necessary before advancement is possible. A high degree of efficiency (for example, quickly ringing up sales), the ability to troubleshoot (determining what the problem or challenge is and how to fix it), strong interpersonal skills (remaining calm when a customer is upset), and great communication (both in listening and speaking) are vital. Your performance in your role at retail will set you apart from those who simply take store jobs out of convenience, and it will show that you have star potential.

As you gain experience, you are likely to discover the long term career opportunities that are most appealing to you. Perhaps you would like to explore retail merchandising, assuming responsibility for merchandise displays, signage, and everything else the customer sees when he or she enters the store. Merchandising is an exciting job that engages your creativity, your understanding of human nature, and your knowledge of the products your store carries. Another retail career path is in management. Perhaps you like the idea of being in charge of every aspect of your department, hiring and managing employees, and bringing your personal touch to the customer experience. Once you have demonstrated that you have an aptitude for management, you can rapidly advance up the management ranks, moving on to store manager, regional manager, or even district manager.

The best way to obtain the most experience in a wide variety of different types of retailers is to work with a placement agency that specializes in the retail industry. A placement agency will have you work with different retailers providing support that will teach you how to represent many different brands. A placement agency will give you the most diverse exposure and experience. You may determine that you would prefer a retail career in consumer packaged goods vs. clothing, for example, and the experience you can gain working through a placement agency will prove to be invaluable in your decision making process.

Wherever your retail career path leads, keep in mind that entry-level retail jobs give you the chance to develop a variety of skills that will serve you well.

For more information about building a career from retail experience or if you are interested in obtaining a one of the following retail positions: shelf stockers, mystery shoppers, customer service, sales, product demonstrations or other retail opportunities, please contact Bonnie Yhip at StoreSupport at 1 877-421-5081 or visit www.storesupport.ca.

The Benefits of In-Store Marketing and Planned Product Demonstrations

In-store product demonstrations are usually performed at large retail locations. Most commonly, you will see them at grocery stores, department stores and in shopping malls. 

Typically, grocery store product demonstrations focus on allowing a consumer to taste a particular product while the scope of demonstrations in department stores and shopping malls include a broader range of products and more diverse demonstrations. When walking through the mall, a representative of a brand may stop you to ask you to sample a hand cream or hair product, for example.  

Product demonstrations may involve pre-packaged samples of a product or coupon distribution but, in most cases, will include a live sampling of a product prepared by the demonstrator. How many times have you been in the grocery store and have decided to purchase a product after sampling it at a product demonstration?

The benefits of in-store marketing are immense. More brands are taking a hands-on role in product demonstrations at retail because there is huge ROI in allowing a consumer to try a product while in the midst of shopping. Let’s look at cookies for example. When you visit the grocery store and get to the cookie section, there may be upwards of 100 different brands and types of cookies to choose from. People are creatures of habit and often gravitate towards what they already know they like. An in-store demonstration that enables a consumer who is shopping to try a cookie is likely to see that consumer purchase the cookie, if they like it. Had they not tasted the new cookie they would have purchased a brand of cookie that they know they like and are used to eating often.

Hewlett Packard is an excellent example of a brand who has taken control of its in-store marketing at retail. If you visit Best Buy, the representatives in the computer section who are wearing HP name tag are not Best Buy employees. They are marketers deployed by HP to draw consumers over to HP products and services.

Planned product demonstrations are one of the best ways to introduce a consumer to your product. Product demonstrations should be well planned and include experienced sales staff who are trained to get the attention of passers-by. How many times have you walked right past a product demonstration table where the sales representative is sitting down and not engaging the customers? Product demonstrations are most successful and achieve a higher ROI when the salesperson is trained to stop and engage patrons of the retailer. This is one reason that brands will often hire an in-store marketing provider to facilitate their product demonstrations.

Just like an in-store product demonstration can sway a consumer to try and then buy a particular product; it can also turn a consumer off of a brand entirely. Generally, when a negative outcome occurs it is not the product but rather interaction with the representative that causes the issue. In-store marketing through product demonstrations should be handled with the utmost professionalism. The representatives are a reflection of the brand and it is important that they are professional, personable and knowledgeable about what they are selling.

For more information about in-store marketing and planned product demonstrations please contact Store Support at 905 847 6513 or visit www.storesupport.ca

Best Companies to Work for Part 3 - The Difference Between a Toronto Job Bank and Toronto Placement Agencies

Each year, different organizations such as Canada’s Top 100, The Financial Post’s Top 10 and Fortune Magazine’s Top 100, release their lists of the best companies to work for. Instead of listing who we think are the best companies to obtain work, this article is the third in a three part series that will outline the attributes that make for a great work place, and how you can find the right employment to suit your needs. 

The employment landscape in Toronto has changed since the recession. In the retail industry, many companies only offer temporary or contract positions.

Toronto employment agencies and job banks have become more popular because organizations can count on the employment agency to recruit talent and send qualified talent forward.

Toronto job banks offer job opportunities classed in three categories – temporary, temporary to permanent and permanent. Temporary positions offer you an opportunity at employment over a specified period of time. At the end of the specified time, the employment will end and you will have to return to the Toronto job bank and start the application process again to obtain a position at a different company. A temporary to permanent position involves obtaining employment through an employment agency on a temporary basis where permanent employment may be offered, if the employer is satisfied with your performance. A permanent position is when an employer is seeking to have a permanent position filled. These positions involve a more rigorous interview process because the employer is looking to hire someone that will stay with them for a long period of time. In all of these scenarios you may be paid by the job bank or by the employer directly.

If a Toronto job bank doesn’t have any retailers looking for staff then you likely will not have an opportunity with that agency. In addition, if you are hired on a three or six month contract, for example, at the end of your contract you could be without work for months until the job bank can offer you another opportunity  for which you may apply. Once another opportunity comes up, you will have to go through the interview process again and the job bank will send the organization other candidates to choose from as well so there are really no guarantees.

Toronto placement agencies are professional organizations that many companies use to staff their retail outlets. It is easy to become confused with the difference between a Toronto job bank and a Toronto placement agency.

Toronto placement agencies hire employees and the employees are actually professional representatives of that placement agency. The Toronto placement agencies’ clients are companies who require staff support. When you obtain employment through a Toronto placement agency you are actually employed through the placement agency. You will be sent to different retailers to provide support on behalf of the placement agency.

Toronto placement agencies provide more stability and flexibility than Toronto job banks. This is because when you work for a Toronto placement agency there are no interruptions in employment or breaks between one opportunity and another. You don’t have to interview with different employers because the placement agency is your employer. The placement agency is staffed according to the number of clients they have. Your schedule is flexible because you are in a position to set your own schedule. You tell the placement agency the days and hours you can work and they will schedule in with their clients based on your availability.

Toronto placement agencies are some of the best companies to work for in the retail industry because of the stability and flexibility they provide. For more information about the best companies to work for or opportunities with the Toronto placement agency StoreSupport, please visit www.storesupport.ca or call Bonnie Yhip at 1 877-421-5081.

Article released in the Canadian Grocer paper

High prices? Blame suppliers, retailers tell Senate hearing

Article released April 24, 2012 by Canadian Press

Canada’s retailers are blaming their suppliers for the large gap between their prices and identical goods for sale south of the border, despite the nearly equal value of the two dollars.

Canadian merchants are being unfairly singled out for having higher prices than their American counterparts, Diane Brisebois of the Retail Council of Canada told a Senate committee Tuesday.

She said because Canada’s population is so small in comparison, large multi-national vendors can enforce a special Canadian price for brand name products and it can be anywhere from 10 to 50 per cent higher than in the U.S.

“There are price differences between Canada and the U.S., but they are not always determined at the retail level,” Brisebois told the committee.

In an interview afterwards, Brisebois said Canadian retailers have no choice but to buy from the Canadian distributors of American manufacturers because they are restricted from going into the U.S. and buying there.

Canada is not the only country affected, she said. Other nations outside the U.S. also face the same challenge called “country pricing.”

“There are a lot of people who believe that American multi-national manufacturers use their secondary markets to ensure they can remain competitively priced in the U.S,” she said.

Canada’s retailers have been hammered in the media and by politicians for “gouging” their customers, but she said that is simply not the case.

A Bank of Montreal comparison last spring found an average differential of 20 per cent between the two countries on well-known consumer goods.

Brisebois presented her own list of 15 consumer items contrasting what Canadian retailers must pay their suppliers to their counterparts south of the border. Although she did not name the brand names, Brisebois said the comparison was for exactly the same item.

Some typical examples:

• Hair conditioner (1.18 litres) cost the Canadian retailer $10 and the U.S. retailer $6.23, for a 43 per cent mark-up, she said.

• a 46-inch LED TV was $1,001.00 in Canada and $888.75 in the U.S., 13 per cent difference;

• An automobile tire cost $169.69 for the retailer in Canada and $128.21 in the U.S., a 32 per cent difference.

The biggest differential on the list was for an over-the-counter painkiller, which cost Canadian retailers more than double the U.S. price.

“We are not saying this is the case for all suppliers, but there is enough evidence to suggest this is very serious,” Brisboise said.

Brisebois told the senators that other factors also played a role, including import duties as high as 18 per cent, government regulations, transportation costs, and Canada’s protectionist supply management system on eggs, poultry and dairy products.

Two subsequent witnesses–Eric Levert of Reebok-CCM Hockey and Lisa Zajko, a tax lawyer with Deloitte & Touche–told the committee Ottawa should eliminate duties on finished goods unless there is a competing Canadian producer.

That may be the case on more consumer items than the government believes. Ottawa last looked into the issue in the 1990s.

Levert said his company now outsources 90 per cent of the hockey equipment it makes to Asian factories.

The Canadian operations only produce sweaters and hockey sticks for professionals, yet heavy duties remain on imports of hockey equipment, he said.

“What we are showing is that Canada, supposedly known as the hockey country, is paying 18 per cent (duty) on hockey skates, 15.5 on all protective equipment and 8.5 per cent on helmets, while the U.S. is paying zero,” he said.

Levert said his firm would have no objection to the removal of all duties, even on products Reebok is manufacturing in Canada.

When he testified last fall, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he would be willing to look at duties, although his officials told the senators it would have minimal impact on the price gap.

But Brisebois disagreed, and Levert also suggested government levies for importing finished goods were significant. He said a $15 duty on a product in his business ends up costing consumers up to $35.

The committee has yet to hear from major foreign manufacturers, and it is not clear whether it will do so before presenting its findings later this year.

Good Retail Merchandising is Vital to Brand Perception and Customer Retention

How often do you go to the grocery store to find that your favourite product is sold out or is out of stock? How does this impact your customer experience and your perception of the retailer and the brand? If you are in the consumer packaged goods or retail business and this has happened to you then you now know how frustrating this type of occurrence can be from a customer’s perspective. 

Good retail merchandising is the key to a brand’s success as it relates to brand perception, sales and customer retention. When a customer visits a retailer and items that they are looking for are not there simply because they have not made it to the shelf or, worse, are out of stock, it hurts the perception of both the brand and retailer.  

Think about it. If you love Tide detergent and on your weekly grocery runs to Loblaw’s you cannot buy it two weeks in a row, what would you do?

1.       You may switch grocery stores and start shopping at Metro because Tide is always in stock there. In this scenario the retailer is impacted.

2.       You may switch brands of detergent, deciding to buy Sunlight instead. In this scenario the brand is impacted.

3.       You may become frustrated, decide to switch grocery stores and go to No Frills, for example, to find that there is a huge cost savings by switching to the store’s “No Name” brand detergent. In this scenario both the brand and retailer are impacted.

In all three scenarios, had the brand been in stock and on the shelf, the customer would not have been inconvenienced and the brand would have retained its customer. We gave Tide as an example, which is a well-known item with massive brand recognition in the marketplace as well as a dedicated customer following. This brand may be considered “worth” switching retailers for. Many other brands may not yet have gained such consumer loyalty, which is why the stakes are high in retail merchandising.

Outside of offering a fantastic product, accessibility and reliability is a huge factor where customer retention is concerned. Products that are not properly merchandised (price tags are not on merchandise, for example) and not adequately stocked, result in lost sales for the brand and retailer and, in the worst case scenario, can result in a shift in customer loyalty.

Retail is extremely competitive and if you are a customer whose retailer is not carrying what you need you can be rest assured that another retailer (competition) within close proximity will. Something as simple as working with a company who offers retail merchandising services will ensure that the perception of your brand is not impacted by issues that occur at the retail level. Retail merchandising is something that requires constant attention to ensure that at any given time your product is in stock, on the shelf and priced, ensuring the accessibility that the average retail customer expects.

For more information about how you can improve your brands retail merchandising, brand perception and customer retention please contact Store Support at 905 847 6513 or visit www.storesupport.ca