Pros
They offer breakfast and occasional lunch.
Welcome gift bags
The managers will treat you to lunch when you first start.
Cons
Not anesthetically pleasing building for it to be a headquarters
Do not work here if you are coming from a bigger company especially from a bigger state. The Senior buyers and DMM want to be seen and do all the talking. If you're an assistant buyer, associate buyer or merchant and are use to leading your vendor meetings and making decisions on your own category do not work here. Majority of the teams are older women and they tend to hire within because they rather have impressionable young employees they force their perspectives on. They tell you the littlest instruction that someone knows already to do. (For ex: telling you to reschedule a meeting and you're already on the email and can see it needs to be rescheduled) The first red flag I ignored is when they said they view each other as a family. It's in their mission statement and in the hallways. Of course, there are amazing employees but truth is there are higher ups that are intimated by strong and direct individuals especially if you have worked at bigger companies. They will spin your words and say its "harsh, and not postive". Don't let the welcome gift bag, occasional free food, and gift cards they give you when you first start fool you. It's also based in a not ideal safe area.
The company has a strong emphasis on being a “family,” which is reflected throughout the office and in its messaging. However, my experience was that this culture sometimes translated into a lack of openness to different perspectives, backgrounds, and opinions.Many tasks came with unnecessary oversight and instructions for processes that most professionals would already understand. For example, being reminded to reschedule a meeting while already actively managing the email thread created the feeling that trust and autonomy were limited.
The company also lacked diversity, both culturally and professionally. Many team members appeared to have similar backgrounds, often coming from the same previous companies (many came form Payless)or having started with the company as interns while in college. They do not like other ideas, views suggestions or perspectives unless it comes from them.
Do not work here if you are coming from a bigger company especially from a bigger state. The Senior buyers and DMM want to be seen and do all the talking. If you're an assistant buyer, associate buyer or merchant and are use to leading your vendor meetings and making category decisions; do not work here. Majority of the teams are older women and they tend to hire within because they rather have impressionable young employees they force their views upon. While there are many talented and kind employees, I felt that some leadership members were uncomfortable with direct communication, strong opinions, or employees bringing experience from larger companies. Feedback or differing viewpoints were sometimes interpreted as being “too harsh” or “not positive” rather than being viewed as opportunities for accountability and improvement.
The first red flag I ignored is when they said they view each other as a family. It's in their mission statement and in the hallways. Of course, there are amazing employees but truth is there are higher ups that are intimated by strong and direct individuals.
Additionally, the headquarters does not feel reflective of a corporate headquarters, and the surrounding area did not feel like the most ideal safe location.
I had a great learning experience from the career before my DVP left the company. I was told and able to make it my own with his guidance, when he left they took over nd undid everything he did over the last 15 years. Overall leadership chose to promote within instead of replace the dvp with an experience person who has knowledge of the product and not just business insights. You cannot translate other areas in jewlery or previous experience to a special niche area and expect the same results.
