SHAWN SULLIVAN/Courier-Post Bryan Stoetrzer, vice president at A.C. Moore, checks out the merchandise at the Deptford Store.

By EILEEN SMITH
Courier-Post staff

Working in retail requires standing on your feet -- and thinking on them, too.

The starting pay is frequently low -- typically between $6 and $7.50 an hour -- but opportunities for advancement are high.

“Retailing is one career where you can graduate from high school and move through the ranks into management, without going to college,” said Melanie Willoughby, president of the New Jersey Retail Merchant Association.

In the Garden State, retailing is especially big business. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the average annual retail sales per capita was $9,922 $732 above the national average.

Sales is only a small part of the giant retail pipeline, Willoughby notes. In addition to sales clerks, there are customer service representatives, accountants and security personnel.

Becky Embry, who manages the health and beauty and cosmetics departments at Wal-Mart in Burlington Township, began her career with the discounter as a cashier in Watertown, N.Y.

After she transferred to the South Jersey store, she began managing, beginning with the cashiers' staff.

“As divisions became available, I kept applying until I got it,” she recalled.

Her advice to others: “Be a goal setter. Take pride in what you do.”

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burk notes that 73 percent of the company's managers start out as hourly workers. The potential for advancement is one of the appeals of retail.

“Someone could start as a sales associate and become a buyer,” Willoughby said. “Or you could manage assets and learn to prevent theft and shoplifting.”

Traditionally, the low wages of retail clerks were supplemented by commissions, or a percentage of sales. But many retailers have done away with commissions except for selling such goods as men's clothing or shoes, in which skilled measuring is required. Some retailers offer “spiffs” -- cash for selling selected brands -- or bonuses based on performance. Almost all give employee discounts.

“If you're really good, you will be promoted rapidly and the financial rewards will come,” Willoughby said.

For example, Blackwood-based A.C. Moore pays its store managers $100,000 or more.

Like the chain of craft stores, some retailers offer a structured career ladder based on the philosophy of promoting from within. Among them are Circuit City, Macy's, Target, Toys R Us and Wal-Mart, Willoughby said.

Bryan Stoetzer, a vice president at A.C. Moore, got a job sweeping the floor at a store in 1988 when he was a college student.

From there, he went into a management program. He broadened his skills by becoming a buyer. He also managed several stores, including the chain's top-

performing branch in Wilmington, Del. Eventually, Stoetzer moved to the executive suite.

“The structure was there to help me succeed,” he said. “But I had to recognize the opportunities and capitalize on them.”

Stoetzer's career path included 80-hour work weeks. It also instilled him with an appreciation for the chain's retail staff.

“Good sales people know instinctively when a customer has a question,” he said. “We are where we are today because of the people who have those skills.”

The Washington, D.C.-based National Retail Federation says people who do well in retailing share specific personality traits. They enjoy and understand other people. They are flexible and resourceful. They are decisive, able to solve problems and capable of performing well under varied working conditions.

Willoughby said people who value flexibility frequently gravitate toward retailing because they want to work part-time.

“Senior citizens, moms and students retail can be a part-timer's dream come true,” she said.