H&M has outlined a plan to stay in fashion as it recruits employees to work at its fast-growing fleet of stores, but also sees rivals getting more vocal about compensation.
The Sweden-based retailer is launching a national recruiting campaign this fall meant to attract new talent to its expanding fleet of stores, the first campaign of its kind from the retailer as it aims to talk more about compensation, benefits and career opportunities at the retail chain. The high-profile move comes at a time when major retail chains such as Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT) have recently generated headlines for their plans to raise salaries for their lowest-paid workers.
“The hope [of this campaign] is to attract across-the-board, super strong talent in the U.S.,” Daniel Kulle, president of H&M North America, told Fortune.
Some of the benefits H&M wants to tell potential new employees about: the average part time sales advisor makes $10.76 while the average for full time retail employees is $12.03, both well above the federal minimum wage of $7.25. H&M is also rare in that it is a retailer that gives part-time employees paid vacations and also pays for seven holidays. Birthdays are also paid time off. H&M said in the past, it hasn’t always communicated its benefits, but wants to be more vocal today.
“Sometimes when you come from Europe, you are a little naïve that everyone understands that,” Kulle said.
H&M employs about 13,000 people in the U.S., including the roughly 2,800 new jobs it added last year. The company expects to add roughly the same amount of employees this year, as it plans to open 61 new stores, including a Herald Square flagship location in New York City that will be the retailer’s largest location when it opens on May 20. H&M is anticipating to expand annually at a rate of 10% to 15%, which means the U.S. store count will be well above 400 by the end of 2015.
While the U.S. is the company’s second-largest sales market after Germany, it is also one of H&M’s greatest growth markets. Sales in the U.S. leapt 26% for the year ended Nov. 30, among the better performing markets that H&M serves. The fast-fashion retailer has won over shoppers by churning out new trendy designs quickly, taking away business from teen-focused retailers and other rivals that take longer to replenish their stores.
H&M says that beyond the entry-level jobs it is looking to hire for, another benefit is the retailer’s practice of elevating retail employees to the corporate level. Currently 35% of employees in the corporate office began their career as sales associates.
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While Kulle himself wasn’t initially hired by H&M as an associate (though he did take a few months to train on that level to learn about the company), he says his 19-year career at H&M highlights the company is a perfect fit for employees looking to advance their career.
“It shows that if you have the right attitude, then you can more or less do whatever you want,” he added. “Everything is possible at H&M.”
