Pros
- Good progression opportunities if you are willing to work hard. - Great discount and a fun, casual environment. - Some really fun events and a lot of the training tools are amazing, really world class. - Lots of fun people and you get to meet and have great conversations with head office team members, allowing you to network and grow your brand. Even the senior managers are very approachable and friendly. - Solid systems, policies and procedures shared with Cotton On Group which are easy to use and of a generally high standard.
Cons
- It is a real volume retailer and you need to work very hard to get results and to be successful. You’ll always start early and finish late if you’re to get your work done to an acceptable standard. - Regularly changing priorities. Lots of “you must get this major change done within 2 hours with no notice and no extra resources”. - You are treated very junior, even as a middle manager. Very limited access to financial information or the tools you need to drive your business. This is slowly improving but still far from ideal. - No bonuses and only one incentive program every year (only 3 prizes up for grabs for 30+ Area Managers with challenging targets). No Christmas party either. - Scheduling is not “Work life balance” friendly. It’s very strictly controlled, even when it’s detrimental to the business’ operations. - Things are often so fast moving that they forget anything long term, including your development. $$$ are always tight so there’s no budget to grow people.