Entry level jobs in Merchandising

Looking for more jobs in Merchandising? Check out the most recent job postings in Merchandising.

Below you'll find all of the companies that we've covered that may offer entry level jobs in Merchandising. You can also look at internships in Merchandising.

Crate and Barrel

by on May 16, 2012

Crate and Barrel Logo

Furniture shopping brings out the worst in me. I tend to revert back to my childhood when my sister and I would team up (by fighting of course) to make our parents miserable so that we could leave the furniture store sooner. Luckily, my fiancée loves going furniture shopping with me. She’s found that if she creates conditions for success (making sure that I’m in a good mood and have recently had a meal), I can actually act like a human being at places like Crate and Barrel. In case you’ve never been to a Crate and Barrel, it’s a giant furniture and housewares store that is essentially my worst nightmare. It all started with one store in downtown Chicago, but now Crate and Barrel is headquartered in Northbrook, IL and has more than 170 stores including CB2 and The Land of Nod locations.

Read the full article →

Chloe + Isabel

by on May 9, 2012

Chloe + Isabel Logo

There are essentially two completely different jewelry businesses. There’s the high-end business that is centered around gold, platinum, diamonds, and other gemstones (I know all about that having recently bought an engagement ring). Then there’s the fashion focused business that is more about completing an outfit. The latter is where Chloe + Isabel is focusing. They are a New York, NY based startup that targets 18 to 28 year old women with jewelry in the $18 to $200 price range. That’s not all that unique. What is unique is that Chloe + Isabel is approaching this market by combining direct selling with web-based social technology. Essentially they’re bringing affiliate marketing to a group of people who may not even know what affiliate marketing is.

Read the full article →

Claire’s

by on April 27, 2012

Claire's Logo

When I think of shopping malls, I instantly think of escalators, Auntie Anne’s pretzels, and overpriced gadget stores. Because I was never a teen/tween girl, my memories don’t include Claire’s. In case you’ve never heard of Claire’s, they are a retailer of “fashion trends, accessories and jewelry for young women.” They have more than 3,000 stores across the world and are in 95% of U.S. shopping malls. That’s a massive retail presence. While Claire’s is headquartered in Pembroke Pines, FL, they only have Customer Service and Investor Relations located there. Most of the action (and most of the jobs) seems to be at Claire’s Hoffman Estates, IL office.

Read the full article →

GNC

by on April 20, 2012

Considering a job in Sales but lacking experience? SinglePlatform is hiring and training 50 new grads.

GNC Logo

Lifting weights is one of the best things that you can do for physical fitness. Strength training can have amazing effects on its own, but you can get extraordinary results when you combine your training with proper nutrition. There’s a next step if you really want to get serious: supplementation. There seems to be a supplement for everything, from gaining muscle to improving brain function. And if there’s a name that you think of when you think of supplements, it has to be GNC. They’re a Pittsburgh, PA based worldwide retailer of health and nutrition products that include vitamins, supplements, minerals, herbs, and more. If you’re looking to get more out of your body, there’s something at GNC that will at least claim to help you do it.

Read the full article →

Eastbay

by on March 13, 2012

Eastbay Logo

I remember when getting a new catalog in the mail made for an exciting day. My favorite catalog had to be Things You Never Knew Existed, but most of the ones I got were focused on baseball or fishing. I don’t know why I remember this, but I was always jealous of a friend who got the Eastbay catalog. It was filled with all kind of sporting goods and apparel, and for some reason I never thought to sign up to get it. While Eastbay, which is based in Wausau, WI, still has a catalog business, they’ve unsurprisingly moved a lot of what they do online. To me the coolest thing about Eastbay is their story. According to Wikipedia, they were founded in 1980 to “to meet the performance needs of local high school and college athletes within Central Wisconsin.” By 1995 they had grown big enough to go public. A few years later they were bought out by Woolworth’s, which became Foot Locker, Inc. It just shows how big a company can get even if they start by serving a small niche market.

Read the full article →

OpenSky

by on February 16, 2012

OpenSky Logo

Yesterday I came across Fast Company‘s list of The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. I love lists like these not only because they’re an interesting read, but also because they’re a fantastic source for company ideas. Unfortunately, this list in particular is always a little disappointing in terms of the latter–mostly because I’ve already written up a lot of the companies. That’s why it took me until #49 on a list of 50 to find a company to tell you about. Luckily, OpenSky looks pretty cool. They’re a New York, NY based company (with another office in Nashville, TN) that is changing the online shopping experience through a focus on curation (that’s a big buzzword lately). They’ve hand selected some of “the brightest stars in food, healthy living, style and design” to provide product recommendations. You can “add” any assortment of these experts to customize your shopping experience.

Read the full article →

Wayfair

by on February 6, 2012

Wayfair Logo

I’ve made a point of being more active in Cornell’s entrepreneurship community, so I like to think that I do a good job of keeping tabs on which other companies have been started by fellow alums. That’s why I was shocked to learn that the #2 online retailer of home furnishings and housewares was not only a company that I’d never heard of before, but a company founded by two Cornell grads. It’s called Wayfair–they’re based in Boston, MA and did $500 million in sales last year. The reason I hadn’t heard of them is that they were known as CSN Stores until last year (they were founded in 2002). CSN Stores was focused on building out 200+ product specific properties with generic domain names like Bedroomfurniture.com, Cookware.com, AirHockeyTables.com, and AllBarstools.com. Last year they decided to get serious about branding and started pulling all of their sites into the Wayfair brand.

Read the full article →

Specialized

by on January 19, 2012

Specialized Logo

They say that you can’t forget how to ride a bike, but I’m giving it my best try. In elementary and early middle school I was constantly riding around town. I picked up inline skating for a year or two after that, and never got back on the bike. Now I tell people that I hate bike riding. I don’t actually hate it, but as I mentioned in my post on Niner Bikes, I love seeing people’s reactions to that statement. My twelve year old self would be disappointed that I don’t even own a bike, let alone a cool brand like a Cannondale or Specialized. Luckily for Specialized, they’ve been able to grow an impressive business without me as a customer. They’re based in Morgan Hill, CA, and from what I can gather their annual revenue is measured in hundreds of millions of dollars (but I can’t find a reliable source on that). That’s impressive considering that it all started in 1974 when founder Mike Sinyard sold his “old VW Microbus for $1,500 and used the money to fund a cycling trip through Europe.” That led to importing Italian bicycle parts into the United States, and a business was born.

Read the full article →

UncommonGoods

by on January 17, 2012

UncommonGoods Logo

Today is my seven year anniversary with Amy. Now that we’re getting married, we’ll be getting a new anniversary, but for now this is a date worthy of celebration. As a result, I was thinking about presents that I’ve bought her in the past, and I remembered one of the first gifts that I got her. It was an “in vitro orchid”– a tiny orchid plant in a test tube with some sort of nutrient filled gel. I can’t remember how I found it, but I know that I bought it from UncommonGoods, which is a great site for finding “unique gifts and creative design.” They’re based in Brooklyn, NY, and they “believe that creativity and the expression of individuality represent two great human treasures.” UncommonGoods was founded in 1999 and is a registered B Corporation, which means that they “have struck an insightful balance between the realities of business and each of the key components of sustainability – including human resources, environment, community, financial, and governance.”

Read the full article →

WhaleShark Media

by on December 28, 2011

WhaleShark Media Logo

You probably should have already purchased and given all your gifts for the holiday season, but if you haven’t, it’s a wonderful time to get deals. Retailers are eager to grab a few more dollars from all of the people returning ugly sweaters and books they’ll never read, so they’re offering deals. And if you’re looking for deals, you’ll likely end up on some WhaleShark Media properties. They’re an Austin, TX based company that runs “the world’s leading marketplace for coupons and deals.” Their sites include RetailMeNot.com (one of my favorites), Deals.com, CheapStingyBargains.com, CouponShare.com, and a lot of others. I’m not exactly sure what separates these sites from each other, but they seem to do really well in search rankings and that is why they reach more than 265 million visitors every year.

Read the full article →

4-H

by on December 17, 2011

4-H Logo

One of my favorite classes at Cornell was Animal Science 290, which was better known as “Meat Science” or “Meats.” We did pretty much everything including slaughtering, butchering, curing, cooking, and eating, but, even better, we learned all about the scientific reasons for why we were doing what we did. Everything about the class was great (especially the eating), but one of the unexpected benefits was getting to interact with an entirely different group of students than I was accustomed to. A lot of the kids in the class actually grew up on real, working farms, and I don’t think that I had ever met anyone my age who grew up on a farm before Cornell. They were the kind of kids I assumed did 4-H in high school. It turns out that my view of 4-H was a bit narrow, as it’s much more than an organization for farm kids–it’s a non-profit that “empowers youth to reach their full potential, working and learning in partnership with caring adults” in all environments. 4-H is based in Chevy Chase, MD, and it’s pretty clear from their website that they’re trying to build an image that goes beyond agriculture. Still, 4-H is administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture and works through the Cooperative Extension of “America’s 109 land-grant universities,” so agriculture remains extremely important within the organization.

Read the full article →

Blue Nile

by on December 16, 2011

Blue Nile Logo

If you’ve been reading for very long, you’ve probably seen me mention my girlfriend Amy. She’s awesome. She was the setter on Cornell’s volleyball team, she spent nearly 3 years as a consultant at McKinsey, and now she runs Competitive Intelligence at Groupon. I’m constantly impressed by her, and I’m extremely thankful for how supportive she has been as I’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs to build this business. Considering that she’s stuck with me long enough to see One Day One Job achieve meaningful profitability, I figured it was time to put some of those profits towards a ring. I was referred to an amazing custom jeweler who walked me through the entire process and helped me design something that she’d be happy wearing forever. On Wednesday afternoon I got the ring, and on Wednesday night I popped the question. Thankfully, she said yes! While I didn’t use Blue Nile for the ring, I thought it was a fitting company to take a look at today because I was constantly on their site doing research during the process. They’re based in Seattle, WA, and they’ve become “the largest online retailer of certified diamonds and fine jewelry.”

Read the full article →

Urban Outfitters

by on December 5, 2011

Urban Outfitters Logo

I’m a strong believer in the theory of hipster relativity. If someone has more interesting facial hair than you, wears more plaid than you, or has thicker rimmed glasses than you, then he’s probably a hipster… at least to you. I’m pretty far up the chain (though I do have an affinity for plaid), which means that a whole lot of 20-somethings look like hipsters to me. The only thing I don’t get is where they get all of their cool hipster gear. I often walk by Urban Outfitters, and occasionally step inside. The store is packed with people and filled with what I consider to be hipster merchandise. This confuses me, because I know that no true hipster would shop somewhere so mainstream. I mean, Urban Outfitters, which is based in Philadelphia, PA, is publicly traded, has nearly 200 locations, and also owns Anthropologie, Free People, BHLDN, and Terrain. I guess the only loophole for a hipster shopping at Urban Outfitters is if you liked corporations before they were cool.

Read the full article →

BeachMint

by on November 17, 2011

So far our survey says that you find the job search frustrating. Tell us more so that we can help.

BeachMint Logo

Back in June we told you about Birchbox, a company that offers a subscription to customized beauty product samples for $10 a month. It’s an interesting model, and it seems to be working out extremely well for them. BeachMint is a “social commerce” startup with a similar subscription model, but a very different approach. They’re a Santa Monica, CA based company with four brands: JewelMint.com, BeautyMint.com, StyleMint.com, and ShoeMint.com. I think you can guess what each offers a subscription to. When you sign up they give you a quiz to get a sense of what you like and what you don’t like, and then they start making new recommendations for you every month. It’s a little weird in that it’s structured like a subscription, but you don’t have to buy every month (but it sounds like it’s more of a monthly opt-out than opt-in). I kind of wish they stayed true to their name and would send me to a different beach every month.

Read the full article →

Birchbox

by on June 30, 2011

Birchbox Logo

My exposure to new beauty products usually happens in hotel bathrooms. I get introduced to new soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and occasionally something really exotic like a face wash. As you can probably guess, I’m not what you would call beauty obsessed, so I don’t have all that much interest in what new products are out there. But for people who are always looking for something new to try, Birchbox is the answer. They’re a New York, NY based company that offers a $10 a month subscription to customized beauty product samples. They also sell full-size products and offer a ton of content on how to make the most of the samples they send you. The coolest thing about the business is that Birchbox doesn’t even pay for the samples–they get them for free from manufacturers to promote the products. Birchbox works with some really well known brands, so quality is never a question.

Read the full article →

Salmon Cove

by on May 19, 2011

Salmon Cove Logo

I love salmon (especially fly fishing for them). I also love Cornell Hockey. And I can get pretty excited about clothing if it matches my style. That’s why I was extremely interested when I heard about a clothing line called Salmon Cove that was launched by two former Cornell hockey players (Ryan Vesce and Ben Wallace) in 2008. I never ended up buying anything, but I occasionally checked back in to see how they were doing. Recently I noticed that I was seeing a lot of Salmon Cove ads targeted to me on Facebook, so I visited their website to see what was new. The company is now based in Chicago, IL (just around the corner from me), and it has relaunched with new owner/leadership. The brand and style are still the same–preppy–but they’ve certainly added a Midwestern flair with shirt names like The Macinac Button Down and The Harbor Springs Button Down. If I had to compare them to anything, it’d probably be Vineyard Vines, but Salmon Cove definitely has their own style (and an awesome fish logo on all of their clothing).

Read the full article →

Trunk Club

by on May 12, 2011

Trunk Club Logo

I think I went almost 3 years after graduating from college without buying any new clothes. I had a decent enough wardrobe, I didn’t need work clothes because I started my own company, and I wanted to save as much money as I could so that I could keep my company going. Then I featured Gilt Groupe and Bonobos , which both had some exciting opportunities for new grads. After looking at their job opportunities, I discovered their referral programs which allowed me to score a bunch of clothing for free. I’ve certainly become more fashion conscious as I’ve spent my referral credits, but I still have trouble deciding what looks good on me. I know there are plenty of other guys who have this problem whether they’re looking for something to wear to an interview or a night out on the town. Trunk Club is a Chicago, IL based company (their office is two blocks from mine) that aims to solve this problem by making style decisions for their customers. You tell them a little about yourself (or come in for a fitting session), and they’ll send you a “trunk” full of clothes that they’ve picked out for you. It works like a hotel mini-bar, you keep what you want and send back what you don’t (with free shipping both ways). You obviously only get charged for what you keep.

Read the full article →

deviantART

by on May 10, 2011

deviantART Logo

Sometimes what you think is a niche community isn’t really “niche” at all. I’ve come across deviantART periodically while browsing the web, and I always thought how cool it was that there was a place online for artists to share their work. I had no idea that deviantART was a Top 100 website in terms of traffic and has “over 16 million registered members and over 145 million unique artist generated works of art.” I knew that it was a sizable community, but I had no idea that it was that sizable. While deviantART is a place for all kinds of art, there is definitely a focus on manga and digital art. Other categories include photography, traditional art, literature, Flash, filmmaking, and skins for applications. If it’s artsy, there’s a good chance that there’s a place for it on deviantART. The site was founded in 2000 in Hollywood, CA, and it’s unclear whether it was with the intention of building a business. Regardless, deviantART now appears to be a thriving business with a bunch of job openings.

Read the full article →

Ever consider a career in teaching? Here’s some info on how to get started.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Logo

There’s a long history of poking fun at Martha Stewart, and it started well before she went to prison. There’s just something funny about someone who takes perfection in domesticity as seriously as she does. My family even played an integral role in the satire of Martha with my little sister’s appearance in the parody magazine Martha Stuart’s Better Than You at Entertaining, which was a follow up to Is Martha Stuart Living? (here’s a picture my sister as young Martha Stewart in the parody). We can keep laughing at Martha Stewart, but she’ll always get the last laugh. She has an amazing track record of reaching the top in nearly everything that she has done–from babysitting for Mickey Mantle’s kids to starting a successful catering company in her basement to building a New York, NY based media empire in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Martha Stewart is apparently now worth well over half a billion dollars, and has used her personal brand to build amazing print, television, online, and merchandise properties.

Read the full article →

Cabela’s

by on March 29, 2011

Cabela's Logo

Being a fly fisherman, I sometimes get frustrated with living in Chicago. Not only are there few opportunities to go fishing without a decent drive, but the winters are way too long (it’s supposed to be spring now, and it’s not). To get through the winter I’ll often visit fishing stores, look at websites, and read through catalogs. It’s not much, but it’s all I have. And Cabela’s provides all three options. The company is based in Sidney, NE, and they’re the “largest mail-order, retail and Internet outdoor outfitter in the world.” It all started in 1961 with a tiny classified ad that Dick Cabela placed in a newspaper because he wanted to sell some fishing flies that he purchased while visiting Chicago for a furniture show (since Nebraska is even less of a fly fishing destination than Chicago is). Despite a lackluster response to the original ad, Dick Cabela kept trying. The company grew organically, and now Cabela’s is dominating three major retail channels. The truly amazing part of the story is that Cabela’s has been able to maintain their commitment to customer service throughout all of the growth. I’m not a big customer (I try to support local shops), but I have quite a few friends who are extremely loyal Cabela’s customers because of the quality of products and service.

Read the full article →

One Kings Lane

by on March 22, 2011

Want to sign up for One Kings Lane? Here’s an invite.

One Kings Lane Logo

I was way ahead of the game when I told you about Gilt Groupe three years ago (it’s still where I get most of my non Bonobos clothes). Back then it was still unclear whether online sample sales would be successful–now there’s no question. Daily deals are as hot as can be, and One Kings Lane was founded in 2009 to offer the “world’s top home decor brands and designers at up to 70% off retail.” They’re headquartered in San Francisco, CA, but they also have large presences in New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA. One Kings Lane has found an extremely lucrative niche, and now they’re focused on growing their user base and continuing to deliver amazing deals on high-end products. The business model is proven, but One Kings Lane is facing stiff competition–especially from Gilt Home.

Read the full article →

American Greetings

by on March 15, 2011

American Greetings Logo

I can’t remember the last time that I bought a greeting card, but I can remember the last time that I was part of the purchasing process. A good friend of mine was getting married, and he needed a card for his soon to be wife. Because of the dearth of cards for brides from their grooms, I made it my job to suggest alternatives. Trying to convince a stressed out groom to give his new wife a condolences card probably isn’t the nicest thing to do, but it’s certainly entertaining. Yes, greeting cards can be funny, but there’s more to them than that. That’s why American Greetings calls themselves the “leading manufacturer of innovative social expression products that assist consumers in enhancing their relationships.” The Cleveland, OH based company is the largest publicly-traded greeting card company in the world, and their brands include American Greetings, Carlton Cards, Gibson, Recycled Paper Greetings, and Papyrus along with a number of other paper products and online brands.

Read the full article →

Build-A-Bear Workshop

by on January 20, 2011

Build-A-Bear Workshop Logo

Today the Fortune 100 Best Companies To Work For list came out. I’m not a huge fan of these lists, because they seem to be mostly driven by PR prowess. Still, they can be great tools to learn about new companies, which is why I’ve been running through the list to see which companies might appeal most to college students and grads. One that stood out right away was Build-A-Bear Workshop, which came in at #48 on the list. I’ve never built a bear, but I’ve walked by enough of their packed-with-kids stores to understand the brilliance of their business—they turn buying a stuffed animal into an activity. The company is headquartered in St. Louis, MO with stores across the country and a distribution center in Columbus, OH. Now, Build-A-Bear Workshop is really big on bear puns, so if you can’t deal with that, you better stop reading now.

Read the full article →

Spin Master

by on December 23, 2010

Spin Master Logo

I may be 26 years old, but I still love getting toys for Christmas. I don’t mean expensive gadgets—I mean real toys. In past years I received gifts like a Marshmallow Shooter and a Fisher-Price T.M.X. Tickle Me Elmo (only entertaining for about five minutes), and this year I got the most awesome remote control helicopter ever. It’s not an Air Hogs helicopter, but I’ve always been impressed with that particular brand. They do some pretty cool stuff when it comes to flying toys, so I thought that my Christmas List could help your job search. Spin Master is the Toronto, CA based company (with locations in the US) that owns the Air Hogs brand in addition to other toy brands like Aquadoodle, Bugville, Flick Trix, Liv, Moon Dough, Zoobles, and plenty of others. They make all kinds of stuff that you and I are too old to play with, but I guess you’d have an excuse if you worked for them.

Read the full article →

Bluefly

by on December 14, 2010

Bluefly Logo

I’m a big fan of buying stuff online, so I’m shocked when some of my friends tell me that they still buy everything at real brick and mortar stores. It’s so old fashioned. It used to be just books and electronics, but over the past years I’ve even started buying clothes and even shoes online. Companies like Bonobos and Gilt Groupe make online clothes shopping super easy, but they’re relative newcomers compared to Bluefly, which was was founded in 1998 in New York City. They’ve made a name for themselves by offering high end fashion brands at great values, and they’re as much a fashion company as they are an e-commerce company. Bluefly is pretty small—under 100 employees—considering that the company’s stock is publicly traded on the NASDAQ, but that’s not surprising considering that they made it through the late 90s and early 2000s.

Read the full article →

Hunter Boot

by on December 2, 2010

Hunter Boot Logo

About a month ago my girlfriend bought a pair of boots. A few weeks later when we were in Connecticut for Thanksgiving, we stopped into a shoe store so that she could buy special socks to go with these boots. The idea of needing special socks for a pair of boots is kind of odd to me, but who doesn’t love a good pair of socks? Then I saw it. A stack of boxes that went to the ceiling. This store was ready for the holiday shopping season, and their main preparation was stocking Hunter boots. Lots of them. Uggs were hot for a while, but now people want boots that can actually get wet, and they’re flocking to Hunter Boot. The company is headquartered in Scotland, but they have offices in London and New York too. They’ve made their name on their Wellington boots—Wellies for short, and though they’ve been around for more than 150 years, they’re seeing quite a surge in popularity right now.

Read the full article →

Quidsi

by on September 28, 2010

Quidsi Logo

Usually when a company has a weird name and no website of their own, you start to think that they may be some kind of entry level scam. Not having a home page for you company is a big warning sign; however, I’m not too worried about Quidsi. They’re a Jersey City, NJ company that made it to the Inc. 500 with 1535% three-year growth to $182.5 million in annual revenue. That’s two orders of magnitude great than most of the other Inc. 500 companies we’ve looked at. As far as I can tell, it’s all coming from two businesses—Diapers.com and Soap.com. Both are retail sites that allow you to buy household goods easily online. Although I’m sure there are a lot of other reasons for their success, you have to think that Quidsi has truly reaped the benefits of owning some top notch domain names.

Read the full article →

ModCloth

by on August 30, 2010

ModCloth Logo

I just got back home to Chicago on Saturday, and I arrived to see the latest issue of Inc. Magazine waiting for me on the kitchen counter. It’s a big day for me because it’s the Inc. 500 issue where they list the 500 fastest growing private companies in the United States. It’s my absolute favorite tool for finding new companies to feature, which is why we’re going to take a look at ModCloth today. They came in at #2 on the list with 17,191% growth over the past three years to get to over $15 million in revenue. And all of that growth has been “built on a foundation of love for vintage and retro clothing.” The company, which is based in both San Francisco and Pittsburgh, was started by high school sweethearts Eric Koger and Susan Gregg Koger, and they aim to “provide a fun and engaging shopping atmosphere” for their customers by using social media to interact with them. ModCloth is big on democracy, so customers actually get some say in the direction the company’s buyers take.

Read the full article →

American Eagle Outfitters Logo

When I think of outfitters, I think of an adventure. I think of a business that is going to prepare me to fishing, hunting, canoeing, horseback riding, camping, or something along those lines. Apparently my definition is accurate, but the broader definition of an outfitter, at least according to Wikipedia, is “a shop or person that sells men’s clothes.” I guess that makes Bonobos and Gilt Groupe my two favorite “outfitters.” It also means that Pittsburgh, PA based American Eagle Outfitters was accurately named, at least until they started selling women’s and children’s clothing in addition to their men’s line. Maybe that’s why use see them using AE much more often than AEO. I’m sure you recognize the clothes, and you probably have seen one of American Eagle Outfitters 950+ stores in the last shopping mall that you visited. Their brand is all over the place, so it’s hard to miss.

Read the full article →

Pages: 1 2 Older Jobs