Nov 19 2008
Like to Work on Your Own? Try Retail Merchandising!
Between 1987 and 1995 I worked for a book and magazine distributor as a retail merchandiser. Basically I put out books and magazines at grocery and drug stores and sent back the old stock. I set my own hours and worked with very little supervision, getting my instructions and materials by mail from my employer. If I had to leave in the middle of the day to pick up a kid from school or make a doctor’s appointment, it was no problem.
Welcome to the world of retail merchandising: a subcontracted form of retail stock work that pays better than average and is flexible and easy to get. Retail merchandisers work independently and typically service several stores on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
Merchandisers do not work for the stores they service, but rather for the product manufacturer or the firm that distributes the products. Trucks first deliver the merchandise to the store. Then the retail merchandiser comes into the store and puts the merchandise out on the sales floor. Additional duties that are often assigned to a retail merchandiser include inventory, reordering, pulling and returning of old stock, and assembly and display of floor shippers that hold product for special promotions. Often merchandisers will be given scanner to for receiving and reorders.
I loved merchandising. It was the perfect job when my kids were small and when I was in college. I had a lot of control over my work schedule and could set my own pace. I was able to wear pretty much whatever I wanted to work so long as it was neat and clean, including jeans. In addition to merchandising the books and magazines, I also worked briefly for a company that distributed costume jewelry. Other companies that routinely hire merchandisers include battery companies and their distributors, sunglass manufacturers, cosmetics companies, snack food companies like Frito Lay and General Foods, publishers, candy companies, cd and dvd companies, and grocery distributors.
Merchandising does have some drawbacks. Usually no benefits are included except for an occasional 401K plan. (My current merchandising job does offer a 401K after 9 months of employment with an employer matching plan.) The hours are usually part-time, and recently some of the larger corporations have even started paying by the box, which may or may not be a good deal depending on your stamina and the specific product you merchandise.
Sometimes a lot of travel is involved, and while typically you will be paid mileage for that, it still is a drag on your vehicle and the insurance is of course your responsibility. Wages range from $9 to $15 per hour to start, which isn’t going to make anyone rich, but on the other hand, pay tends to be higher than a comparable job in-store with a regular schedule.
Merchandising is also a good bridge into a route sales or district sales job, especially for college students or women with young families, and it also can lead to jobs in supervision for any of the many companies that hire retail merchandisers. Both of those kinds of jobs pay fairly well and come with benefits, so starting out in merchandising isn’t necessarily a dead end. Merchandisers also come into contact with lots of store managers and sales reps, so they often hear about good job opening with other companies before those jobs are ever advertised. Often the stores that merchandisers service will make them competing job offers if they like their work and demeanor.
To read more about merchandising and to check out the retail merchandising jobs currently available in your specific area, go the www.narms.com. NARMS.com is the official website of the National Association of Retail Merchandisers. You can set up an account there, post your resume, and check in every so often for new leads. After awhile, employers will even contact you without you even checking the site. Not everyone is comfortable working independently, so many of these merchandising jobs turn over often, making them fairly easy to get.
Merchandising may not be your dream job, but if you’ve recently been laid off or let go due the recession, a merchandising job might keep you in groceries until you can get back on your feet. Lots of retirees pick up merchandising jobs and keep them for years, and the jobs are also popular with women who have small children and want to earn money but also want to be home when the kids are home.
With so many people losing their jobs lately due to the bad economy, I thought it would be good to start featuring some nontraditional kinds of jobs that can be picked up easily and quickly.
Who knows? Maybe one of them will be for you!
