I have never left a review for an employer before, but I felt compelled to share my experience for anyone considering a role with this company.
During my time here, I experienced an environment where HR often appeared aligned with senior leadership rather than serving as a neutral resource for employees. The “open-door” culture frequently felt closed in practice; concerns raised through proper channels were often met with further scrutiny, increased oversight, or a lack of meaningful resolution.
Leadership quality was inconsistent at best. In my experience, many upper-level leaders lacked the preparation, communication skills, training ability, and people leadership necessary to support store teams effectively or in general. There was a strong focus on discipline and accountability, but far less emphasis on proper development, coaching, and equipping leaders to succeed. Policies and guidelines were often applied selectively, particularly when leadership appeared to want an employee to leave.
The company promotes autonomy in theory, but micromanagement is very present in practice. Store leadership has limited flexibility with visuals, scheduling, hiring, and team management. Leaders may be encouraged to make decisions, only to be reprimanded when they deviate from a preferred approach even when sell through, product availability, customer needs, or the physical realities of the store require adaptation.
Visual execution was another major challenge. Teams were frequently expected to complete complex projects, including closing or resetting large-volume locations, with limited visual direction or practical support. Instead of clear floor plans, photos, examples, or field leadership, stores often received lengthy and confusing documents that did not translate well to execution. The overall visual process felt outdated, disorganized, and disconnected from the realities of running a busy store.
I also observed serious concerns regarding fairness, professionalism, and how people were treated. I was personally cursed at, belittled, and harassed, and I witnessed behavior that raised concerns about discrimination and inconsistent accountability. Some leaders were allowed to speak to teams in ways that would not be tolerated from others. I watched strong talent become discouraged or leave while ineffective leadership was defended.
The culture often created unnecessary stress. Employees expressed feeling nervous, unsupported, and afraid of making mistakes. Communication from the company was frequent but often lacked practical guidance. There was a great deal of corporate messaging and limited clarity around how teams were expected to execute successfully.
Operationally, the company also created avoidable obstacles. Allocation decisions often made little sense for the market for example, receiving large quantities of cold weather product in South Florida. Technology and promotional systems were unreliable during important business periods, leaving store teams to manually correct promotions or explain errors to customers. At the same time, stores were expected to deliver aggressive results despite new locations opening close together and reducing traffic and sales volume across the market.
The constant focus on credit was also difficult to overlook. Leaders were heavily pressured to drive credit applications, often at the expense of a more authentic customer and employee experience. Product quality and value have also declined in my opinion, while pricing has increased. Sizing can be inconsistent across styles, construction issues are noticeable, and the quality does not align with the price customers are expected to pay.
Work life balance was limited as well. Taking vacation, combining time off with PTO, or making time for family often involved multiple approval processes and unnecessary barriers. The expectation was to remain fully available while navigating a company structure that offered little trust or flexibility in return.
One of the most difficult experiences was being placed in a location and being tasked with removing the entire leadership team immediately before the holiday season. That type of direction, without appropriate planning, support, or consideration for the impact on the business and remaining team, reflected the overall culture I experienced.
There are talented store level employees working hard every day, but they deserve stronger leadership, more consistent policies, better communication, practical training, and a workplace culture built on respect rather than fear.
For anyone considering employment here: there may be opportunities to gain retail experience, but I would strongly encourage you to carefully evaluate whether the culture, leadership approach, and work life expectations are the right fit for you. In my experience, there are better companies that invest in their people, value professionalism, and create environments where employees can succeed without feeling expendable.