We are now wrapping up our seventh year of recruiting for the retail sector of the fashion industry.  This sector was introduced to Rag Trade in order to meet the demand for quality retail candidates with experience in the fashion industry.  Retail has continued to increase over the years with the development of new retail stores and there are more developments on the way.  

There is still room for growth concerning the amount of information available to the public about retail.  It is exciting to see that the majority of candidates wanting to work in retail now, are new to the industry, and they do consider retail to be a serious career option and they are hungry for information and training.  We have also been informing our candidates of the possibility of retail being a stepping stone into other areas of the fashion industry, such as buying, merchandising, area and regional management.  

To confirm that fashion retail (like other industries) is capable of providing training, it is important that more candidates new to the industry are hired.  It is also vital that untrained candidates are hired now, so there is a new group of retail professionals in the market ready to step into management roles to keep up with the rapid growth of the new stores opening.  
 
There are 3 main expectations of candidates within retail:

1. Pay rates equivalent to other industries
2. Opportunity for progression for workers with proven success
3. Annual pay increases for good performance and/or commission/bonus incentive schemes

Candidates of high calibre from other backgrounds interested in retail are not ready to lower their pay or career expectations.  The latest findings from the New Zealand Income Survey for the 2004 quarter showed that all occupations recorded increases in average hourly earnings between June 2003 and June 2004 quarters, while Service and Sales workers recorded the highest increase of 4.8 percent. 

Clearly businesses in general are willing to pay to retain or hire good staff and it is good to see that retail seems to be catching up in this area.

This time last year, we were hoping to see more money spent on staff financial rewards and training.  Clearly businesses in general are willing to pay to retain or hire good staff and it is good to see that retail seems to be catching up in this area.  
The facts below demonstrate how the retail industry is a significant part of New Zealand’s economy:

 

• New Zealanders spend more than $12,000 in shops every year, for every adult, child and baby. That adds up to annual retail sales of more than $50 billion.
• The industry employs 325,000 people, about 20 per cent of the national workforce.
• There are more than 49,000 retail outlets including shops, service stations, cafes & restaurants and car sales yards.
• New Zealand has more than 150 national and regional chains operating about 7,500 stores. The vast majority of New Zealand’s retail outlets are owned independently and operated by their owners.

Facts sourced from The NZ Retailers Association website www.retail.org.nz   
In the bigger picture, those of us concerned about the long terms effects of New Zealand’s trade deficit can help by supporting NZ owned businesses.  It is estimated that for every dollar we spend on foreign-made products, we take a dollar away from our families and communities.  After an unpredictable summer, most retailers appear to be bouncing back and as we enter into our eighth year for the retail division we are budgeting for yet more growth and wish all of our clients and candidates a prosperous winter and every success in 2005.