Brook Fashion Idea

Go onto the BBC or Sky or any of the retail industry news sites retail jobs news and look into the state of the retail and fashion industry and you will et a fair idea of what their respective employment prospects for 2012 looks like. There is a mixture of news out there, some retail companies are going into administration, while others are doing alright with a tiny few are actually doing well. Some retail companies are cutting their employment figures resulting in jobs casualties. Yet, some retails have been smarter to the changing consumer needs that have arisen since the recession and it is these companies that are hiring, giving jobs and providing employment to their local communities. The retail sector of course is made of a variety of companies from up top-end boutiques through the discount stores: within food retail, Salisbury’s has done well, while the all-time champion, Tesco has missed the boat a bit. The message from this example though is not good for the fashion industry – Tesco’s was focused too heavily on its non-food sector, which is where the biggest losses were incurred, while Salisbury’s was focused on its core market – food. Now conventional wisdom suggests that people are not buying luxuries such as clothing. This is true in part, the reality is people still need to wear clothes or return to Adam and Eve. My feeling is that we shall see some clothes retailers fall while others that adapt to the now entrenched recession, will prosper. It is these questions about these retail companies that you should be asking yourself: do I buy from this store? Look at a few token stores to see if they engage their customer needs well. If they do, then it is these companies that you should be applying for jobs in retail with. Finding retail jobs can be difficult with the bigger operators / high-street companies. don’t be intimidated though. They are employers who are run by people out of your local community. There are retail jobs and there are retail jobs – look carefully and you will find work with the retail company that will keep you employed for years to come as they successfully maneuver through the remainder of the recession. Retail will always exist and that means there will always be retail jobs for employees to choose from. Chin up.

Within fashion, you would be forgiven for thinking that it is the fashion houses that cater in budget clothing will be ones to try and find jobs with, as people don’t have money and therefore scaling back? Right? Well maybe but then tell me what happened to Peacocks? bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-16580309 They budget for the low-end market …why then are they calling in the Administrators? Take another example of fashion jobs being lost but then initially rescued by a company buy-out: bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-16445315. So it is not so easy as targeting budget cloths fashion houses to find your next fashion jobs. The secret is to find well run fashion houses to fins your next fashion job. Look at their products that they sell. Do they sell good quality products at affordable prices. Do you see customers buying from these store? Would you buy from that store or fashion range? If so, then consider if they are a well run fashion outlet. Do they have too many staff on the floor, are they suitable stocked, overstocked or under stocked? These are all questions you should ask yourself before applying to them a for a job. How well organised is their HR department – how well did they handle your fashion jobs application? When applying for jobs with these companies, don’t be afraid to ask intelligent questions about the state of the business as a whole and the role you are applying for. Read about the company in general. Are they offering jobs in fashion to other people or in other part of the country?