Retail companies are often criticized for paying low wages, requiring long hours, and offering too few opportunities for full-time employment.
So we set out to find the companies — specifically in fashion retail — where employees love coming to work every day.
We asked Glassdoor.com to help us review hundreds of employee ratings to identify the best companies.
The most common benefit that the happiest of employees cited was deep discounts on store merchandise, including 50% off at Brooks Brothers and 30% off at J. Crew. Other perks that employees praised included tuition reimbursement, flexible hours, "great people," good customers, and "thousands of dollars worth of free products."
But even the best companies have unhappy employees. We've included both positive and negative reviews for each company in the ranking. Complaints included long hours, the stress of prom season (Men's Wearhouse) and the cost of adhering to dress code standards (J. Crew).
For the purposes of the report, we included companies with U.S. store locations that had received at least 25 employee reviews in the past year. The company ratings are based on a 5-point scale, with "1" being very dissatisfied and "5" being very satisfied.
10. Men’s Wearhouse
Company rating: 3.4
Pro: “TMW offers a pretty good discount on purchases, 401k, discount on company stock and tuition reimbursement. The company has a great message of servant leadership and transparency.” – Men’s Wearhouse Employee
Con: “Prom season (March-June) can get very stressful for all employees in a store. There are a lot of people to be helped in a short amount of time. Patience decreases and tensions rise.” – Men’s Wearhouse Wardrobe Consultant (North Canton, Ohio)
9. The Gap
Company rating: 3.4
Pro: “Flexible hours, good pay, opportunity for getting a raise, rewards program, flexible hours, discounts at Gap, Gap Outlet, Old Navy, and Banana Republic.” – The Gap Sales Associate
Con: “Many employees don't work at a rapid fire pace like we need to and it leaves a lot on the shoulders of those who do.” – The Gap Sales Associate (Bloomington, Ill.)
8. Francesca’s Collections
Company rating: 3.5
Pro: “Really great company to work for, upper management keeps close ties with the stores to make sure they are successful and that they are being honest with their work ethics. Great management, great atmosphere, and really nice people in general.” – Francesca’s Collections Boutique Key Holder (Chicago)
Con: “The employee discount could be better, considering we always have a rack of clothes (clothes that are the last one) that are 30/40% off.” – Francesca’s Collections Boutique Associate (Lone Tree, Colo.)
7. Nordstrom
Company rating: 3.5
Pro: “Working at Nordstrom is a good place for money hungry sales people. It's commission based (no hourly) so sky’s the limit with income. Customers are nice.” – Nordstrom Sales Person (Los Angeles)
Con: “LONG hours including late nights and weekends. I have 1 day off in the next 10 days and close every night.” – Nordstrom Sales Person
6. Brooks Brothers
Company rating: 3.6
Pro: “Co-workers, management, customers were great. You really learn to care about the client. And of course, half-off merchandise.” – Brooks Brothers Sales Associate (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Con: “Clothing is predictable, not a lot of new product knowledge required. Team is competitive and fake. Management does not care about personal or professional development, only sales.” – Brooks Brothers Sales Associate (New York, N.Y.)
5. Sephora
Company rating: 3.6
Pro: “Great people, great values, great products and training. LOTS of free products for employees. Like thousands of dollars worth of free products per employee.” – Sephora Sales Associate (Boulder, Colo.)
Con: “Low pay in comparison to rest of department stores. There will never be one consistent schedule.” – Sephora Makeup Artist (Costa Mesa, Calif.)
4. Burberry
Company rating: 3.7
Pro: “Team-based, salary and commission, room for promotion, very educational, treat employees well, relies on a lot of latest technology.” – Burberry Sales Associate (Santa Monica, Calif.)
Con: “You have to to be prepared to work some serious hours, an average of between 9-12 every day.” – Burberry Employee (London, England)
3. J. Crew
Company rating: 3.7
Pro: “Clothing discount! 50% off sale items and 30% off regular priced.” – J.Crew Employee
Con: “Dress code is ridiculously expensive to follow! You don't have to wear their clothes but to keep up with their dress code that changes every three months is really hard.” – J.Crew Sales Associate (Chesterfield, Mo.)
2. Nordstrom Rack
Company rating: 3.7
Pro: “TONS of room for advancement, upper management is very approachable, most staff seemed happy with their positions which contributed to everyone pulling their weight, lots of teamwork, lots of creative freedom regarding merchandising (depending on your location/department), very accommodating to time off requests.” – Nordstrom Rack Retail Associate (Willow Grove, Penn.)
Con: “They constantly change your schedule without telling you. A lot of pressure to open up accounts and get a customer's email. Very awkward hours that makes it hard to plan ahead and have a personal life.” – Nordstrom Rack Customer Service Representative (Woodland Hills, Calif.)
1. L.L. Bean
Company rating: 3.9
Pro: “Excellent pay, great chance for advancement. Employee recognition programs. Employee feedback programs. Upper management really cares about the employees. Great work/life balance. Customers are fun to wait on.” – L.L. Bean Retail Store Sales Representative (Freeport, Maine)
Con: “There is NO room for growth from a part-time sales position. I met people who had been there for years and and barely gotten a raise let alone a promotion. While I was there, they hired several managers from outside the company instead of hiring from within.” – L.L. Bean Seasonal Sales Representative (Tysons Corner, Va.)
You've see the best places to work...
Now meet the worst employees of the year >
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