Footwear Jobs

Canadian footwear retailers maintain a nationwide presence. To keep each location properly staffed, shoe stores need to hire entry-level sales and stock associates as well as experienced assistant and store managers. Applicants with passion for shoes and enthusiasm for helping customers generally enjoy the best chances of gaining employment.

Entry Level Jobs

Entry-level associate positions represent the type of jobs most widely available to applicants. Job titles for associate positions designate employees as either sales or stock specialists.

Sales associates mainly assist customers in finding pairs of shoes, while stock associates primarily handle and organize merchandise in storage and on the sales floors.

Requirements

Classified as entry-level jobs, both opportunities require nothing of applicants other than the flexibility and adaptability needed to work in fast-paced environments centered on sales and customer service.

Managerial Jobs

In contrast, candidates submitting online job applications for management positions secure hiring consideration only after fulfilling several qualifications. Some stores hire managers with significant experience in serving customers, supervising employees, and achieving sales goals.

Candidates pursuing careers in retail management with the shoe store chain must also possess relevant college degrees or some other type of post-secondary education background related to desired jobs. Most footwear retailers maintain such high standards for managerial job openings due to the major responsibilities the positions entail.

Jobs and Salary Information

Sales Associate

Candidates applying for sales associate jobs need to possess general knowledge of shoes and other fashion trends. The entry-level job involves using product knowledge to identify and meet the footwear needs of customers.

What Do They Do?
Sales associates also use point-of-sale systems like cash registers to ring up purchases, calculate and collect payments, and conclude the customer shopping experience. Maintaining the cleanliness and organization of the sales floor ranks among the other leading job duties of the position.

Starting pay for sales associates typically hovers around $11.00 CAD or $12.00 CAD an hour, with opportunities for increased earning potential based on commissions.

Stock Associate

Stock associate jobs entail splitting time between storage rooms and the sales floor. Job duties range from receiving product shipments and keeping inventory organized to stocking new footwear on shelves or displays and assisting customers as needed. Stock associates also help sales associates keep stores clean and attractively presented.

Provincial minimum wage generally serves as the standard rate of pay for the entry-level position, as most stock associates earn between $10.00 CAD and $11.00 CAD per hour.

Management

Assistant managers and store managers work together to build and lead teams of talented employees, maintain high standards of customer service, enforce company policies, and ensure the commercial success of the store.

What Do They Do?
Specific responsibilities include hiring and developing entry-level workers, planning budgets and improving sales, providing leadership during work shifts, and analyzing industry trends and market research to gain a better understanding of customer demands.

Managers also order new merchandise based on departmental needs, coordinate and oversee the flow of inventory, and handle administrative paperwork related to the various aspects of running successful shoe stores.

Keeping a positive attitude and displaying an energetic personality as well as a strong interest in footwear and fashion in general often helps separate managerial applicants with similar types and amounts of work experience.

The annual salary for a typical manager usually ranges from $20,000 CAD to $45,000 CAD and varies by job title.