I was told by a friend a few years ago (her mom was a SA at Chanel in Europe) that they get 20% off bags. But dont know if it is still like that
Working at Hermes
- Thread starter dutchglory
- Start date
Why is that? I worked retail for many years and I could afford designer items and such… You just have to be good in managing your money.
To clarify… I am a normal person, I don’t come from money.
I don’t have a family to take care of, I am still in my 20s, I pay my rent, food and basic necessities on my own.
I don’t drink/smoke/go clubbing and I am really good at managing my income.
I don’t buy 10 bags a year. I rather buy 1/2 Hermès bags or 2 Chanel classics a year. That’s all.
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she just works for pocket money
she is not contributing to to putting a roof over the head of her family, food on the table or clothes on their backs
are you seriously suggesting that is typical of sales people in luxury stores?
and, Ally ambrosio, what proportion of your family's income was your salary?
that was rhetorical and does not require an answer
Unless someone already work in retail so opportunity cost isn't really a factor. I can see SA's being able to afford the quota bag though, assuming they just put all their budget into one bag instead of buying several a year (let's say, 2 Chanel or 3 LV's?). Even for us regular clients (non VIP/VVIP) we can barely buy 1-2 quota bag a year anyway so it's not that big of a deal. Otherwise, you must really love a brand to put in your valuable time and effort working there for the perks
It's more cost effective to just fly over to Paris.
I agree! I worked in retail and I could buy 2 (really expensive) bags per year (Hermès or Chanel ) because those are the two brands I like to invest my money in. Otherwise I could easily get more bags of other brands… that’s all.Unless someone already work in retail so opportunity cost isn't really a factor. I can see SA's being able to afford the quota bag though, assuming they just put all their budget into one bag instead of buying several a year (let's say, 2 Chanel or 3 LV's?). Even for us regular clients (non VIP/VVIP) we can barely buy 1-2 quota bag a year anyway so it's not that big of a deal. Otherwise, you must really love a brand to put in your valuable time and effort working there for the perks
you mean that blonde from Australia youtube with her mother from London?
Yes, have been asking myself that, too.
I ran a search which led to this page on this thread, but there are obviously more recent posts there
forum.purseblog.com
by the way, my DH, who is always interested in talking shop with various managers and SAs at premier luxury boutiques, got the impression that the take home was significantly higher (perhaps when you add in everything including sales goals; pooled commission; individual; and whatnot), but IDK
ETA: the thing that the SAs mention — at least the ones Ive spoken to— is not about the inability to buy a BKC, but rather the constant stress of having to say no to so many clients every day. I can imagine that many of these individuals csn be unpleasant or rude as well.
Working at Hermes
I want to share some benefits about being a sales assistant. Many people ask us if we could easily purchase a bag for ourselves, the answer is NO, we have a few chances every year for purchase items for ourselves. We occasionally have some discount event for staff, goods available vary every...
forum.purseblog.com
ETA: the thing that the SAs mention — at least the ones Ive spoken to— is not about the inability to buy a BKC, but rather the constant stress of having to say no to so many clients every day. I can imagine that many of these individuals csn be unpleasant or rude as well.
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It’s totally reasonable that someone prioritizes purchasing luxury bags even with a smaller income. Or that some SAs have other forms of income and could afford multiple expensive bags.
But most Hermes SAs I know have 1 or 0 quota bags. The discount they get is 30%, and they have to be approved by the SM (at least in the U.S.). For many, it’s not a priority financially. And I have heard many talk wishfully about getting one ‘one day.’
I actually think it’s crazy that most of them cannot afford a Birkin easily on their salary. It must be a strange feeling selling to people obsessed with getting one when you don’t have one yourself. Hermes should really give them a steeper discount or just gift them one after, say, 5 years of work.
But most Hermes SAs I know have 1 or 0 quota bags. The discount they get is 30%, and they have to be approved by the SM (at least in the U.S.). For many, it’s not a priority financially. And I have heard many talk wishfully about getting one ‘one day.’
I actually think it’s crazy that most of them cannot afford a Birkin easily on their salary. It must be a strange feeling selling to people obsessed with getting one when you don’t have one yourself. Hermes should really give them a steeper discount or just gift them one after, say, 5 years of work.
I work in retail and on my team we have people from different backgrounds.
Some are independently wealthy (family or married well), some of the older ones like myself have had other careers in fashion and have chosen to go into fashion retail at the tail end of our working lives( as opposed to being freelance ) for the stability of a regular wage.
Others (my assistant for instance) are design graduates who cant afford to take unpaid internships with a 'house' and so this is the best way to earn a living working in fashion creatively for someone starting out.
One thing I can tell you is NOBODY got rich on a retail associates wage.
Retail Managers wages vary greatly depending on the size of the team they are managing, the company they are working for, etc etc
Even with annual bonus few will earn in excess of £100k.
Even at the top end of the salary scale Hermes prices with or without discount would be prohibitive to buying very much by the brand.
A Birkin would amount to roughly 2 months wages...
Some are independently wealthy (family or married well), some of the older ones like myself have had other careers in fashion and have chosen to go into fashion retail at the tail end of our working lives( as opposed to being freelance ) for the stability of a regular wage.
Others (my assistant for instance) are design graduates who cant afford to take unpaid internships with a 'house' and so this is the best way to earn a living working in fashion creatively for someone starting out.
One thing I can tell you is NOBODY got rich on a retail associates wage.
Retail Managers wages vary greatly depending on the size of the team they are managing, the company they are working for, etc etc
Even with annual bonus few will earn in excess of £100k.
Even at the top end of the salary scale Hermes prices with or without discount would be prohibitive to buying very much by the brand.
A Birkin would amount to roughly 2 months wages...
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This is so interesting! Thank you dear! When it comes to B/K can you reserve the bag you want by checking what’s coming in the delivery for instance ? Do you also have to wait a certain period of time to get those bags? Thanks
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Designer items sure, but B's and K's are in a league of their own after all. However I'm based in a Nordic country where a sales associate would never make the $ 52,198 per year salary that was quoted as a US average. If I exchange that to euros, that yearly salary would actually place the person in the highest earning 10 % of the population. Realistically, an SA could be making half of that or a bit more here. And obviously (unfortunately) Hermès bags are still not any cheaper here
that might be.
I just finished reading the thread 880 linked above. It clearly says that SA will even hesitate to purchase heavily reduced items, except for a few ones a year.
So.... I guess you are right!