Pros
If you love fashion, then this is a great environment for you. One of my favorite things about working here was getting exposed to so many different brands in so many different areas of retail. NM does a great job about vendor education because reps are constantly coming in to talk about their product or show you how to use something. If you are interested in learning about a wide variety of labels or learning how to sell different types of products, this is an excellent place to go. The potential to earn money is unlimited because you work on commission (the rate varies by department. for example, Shoe's gets 10% but CUSP is 6%). The benefits are also really great, unlike other retail companies I have worked for. I really loved (most) of the customers who shopped there. I think it is a stereotype that the very wealthy are mean. I made a lot of great relationships with clients and really enjoyed helping them. I also loved that they give you iPhones (beyond the obvious reason that you get a free phone) because it really did make the whole clientelling process easier and more effective. I believe more companies in the future will be following NM in this regard. Finally, there is always something going on, whether it be an event or a trunk show or even a famous designer visiting, so even if there is nothing going on in a particular day you always have something to look forward to. I really enjoyed our events and getting to meet really interesting designers and brand reps.
Cons
The commission sounds great, and they really sell it to you when you are hired, but there are so many returns. Unfortunately, in a store like NM, there are a lot of people who are shopaholics and buy just to buy. There is always, always stuff coming back, even for the top sales associates. This makes it really difficult when its payday because one week you can have a stellar check because you sold that piece that was $$$. However, a month later that piece comes back and your next check is -$. Returns are just a part of retail, so I could look past this, however, I just could not get past the store environment. Everyone is a shark, out for themselves. If you are a shark, good for you, apply here. But you better be the biggest, baddest shark or else you will get eaten alive. People steal your sales, steal your clients, and do whatever to get that $. Especially during the slow season when it is s-l-o-w and all those returns roll in. Management seems to ignore the fact other associates try to sabotage each other because they believe that competition creates more sales. However, I was under the impression teamwork built sales. Nope. Don't even ask your fellow associate to help you with something because either; A) they just will ignore you or B) they will then claim they deserve part of the commission. After weeks of dealing with outrageous sales-stealing behavior, being hazed by my fellow employees, and over hearing gossip about myself, I complained to my manager who told me, "greed is good" and that I needed to "want it more". Any time I asked for advice all I was told is to reach out to more clients and ignore the other associates and just sell. That is all well and good, but it is really hard to go to work everyday when everyone is mean to you.