Question about SA's

[keykoo]

I've been wondering for a while what SA's at "upper class" department stores make and what sort of qualifications they have.

Has anyone worked in an upper tier department store as a SA?
How do you get a job at a place like Barneys as opposed to JC Penney's?
What is the career path like? e.g. Stocker -> SA -> Buyer?
What sort of commission is standard?

I'm not looking to get into this business, just curious

 

[thekunk07]

a family member is in sales at barneys and is good for 90-120k, depending on the year.

 

[PG2G]

Wow, seriously? No wonder they are so damn good

 

[Brian SD]

Originally Posted by thekunk07

a family member is in sales at barneys and is good for 90-120k, depending on the year.

Honestly I had these guys pinned at no more than $35k a year. I'm surprised to hear that some make so much.

An SA at Barney's was really helpful in trying to find me some Phillip Lim 3.1 shorts in my size, she even called me the day after my initial inquiry to let me know she finally found some (in the wrong color

)

 

[keykoo]

What was his history before being a SA at Barneys?

 

[unjung]

I was at Barney's in SF the other day and talked to an SA there who was very helpful, had a great suit on, and inferred that he had enough sense to directly correspond with several designers to provide them with input on what he was moving and what he wasn't. The people at Saks were jack-asses, but admittedly, I was wearing jeans and yellow Onitsuka Tigers... they kept trying to direct me to the streetwear floor and weren't super happy about the time I spent on the menswear floors.

 

[keykoo]

For the Saks men's store in SF, the advanced designer floor is where you need to be (5). Both Ricardo and Joshua are really good up there. Extremely fruity, but nice and helpful.

 

[dfagdfsh]

it ranges from slave wages to $100k+ (or even $200k+)

it depends on your ability to bring in sales basically, and where you work. if you are one of the head SA's on the designer floor at one of the NYC branches of Saks, Barney's, etc, you will easily be breaking $100k+

most of the high end places operate on a rather good hourly wage (think $15+ if you are a mover) + a set commission %. also many of these places are unionized, so the benefits are very good.

FWIW, there is also no guarantee that just because you're working at barney's you'll be making more money than someone at abercrombie & fitch. it depends a lot on what you're selling, your ability to sell, and what sort of compensation structure you have.

IME the biggest things into landing one of the higher end jobs is experience (+++++), proven sales ability (ie: they want to know your sales number) and a knowledge of a product.

 

[bluemagic]

Plurals are not spelled with apostrophes.

 

[keykoo]

Originally Posted by bluemagic

Plurals are not spelled with apostrophes.

Go back to reddit.

 

[dfagdfsh]

also, after working in a 'mid tier' retailer, I think that many people have totally unrealistic expectations of the service they can expect. yes, you should always be politely greeted, but don't expect someone to spend 4 hours tracking down an item at 75% off for you when they have other customers who are demanding their attention.

I also think people are much ruder to SA's than they'd like to believe.

 

[theom-]

Holy **** this is great. I was in barneys at the grove a couple months ago I was talking about jeans and **** and the
SA said I should apply for a job there and that I'd probably get it. I'm going to apply next summer fosho.

 

[dfagdfsh]

Originally Posted by tigerFormula

Holy **** this is great. I was in barneys a couple months ago I was talking about jeans and **** and the
SA said I should apply for a job there and that I'd probably get it. I'm going to apply next summer fosho.

no offense, but it is a long road to get to the point where you're making $100k+ a year as an SA. you will probably start at the co-op floor, in a junior position, and will be making 'ok' money for your age. the people who make bucks are people who have a natural talent in sales and establish very good relationships with frequent high rolling customers.

also you will most likely need previous sales experience to get hired at barney's

 

[theom-]

Man, if i am making ~$10 at my age I'd be happy.

 

[dfagdfsh]

you should be making more than $10 at any decent retail job.

go check out **** like american eagle or gap. high volume + commission = $$

honestly I have considered trying to get a job at an ed hardy store