If you are serious about the retail business, do NOT work here! - Co-Manager Forever 21 Employee Review

Coming from a lengthy retail management background, this is like no other company I have seen. First of all, I was never trained. I was basically thrown on the floor to sink or swim. In 8 months with the company, i still have not received proper visual training, or thorough operations training. The store manager taught me things halfway one time, and I was expected to pick it up and be a pro the next time. The company as a whole is just now receiving P&L reports at the store level, and no one knows how to read them. The budgets make no sense and do not work for the size store I am in currently. Upper management talks down to everyone, and hardly even speaks to sales associates. Management gives documentation out to associates like candy so much so the associates laugh at the threat of receiving a write up. Sales associates receive no training as well. The store manager schedules them on their first day alone in their zone with no help and the management on that day are too busy being sales associates as well that they have no time to train them. In order to save payroll, management has to be sales associates, so there is no time for coaching and development. The growth potential is there as far as being promoted to an assistant manager, but the way people are promoted makes no sense. This company seems to be about who you know in order to be promoted. The company has a no fraternization policy, but all levels of management interact with associates on a regular basis outside of work. District level and regional managers are very un-encouraging in that instead of helping you figure out your business and how to improve it, they send nasty condescending emails out yelling about your sales. The store manager does not lead by example at all. Instead of helping out on the sales floor on busy days, she will stand behind the register and ring, even during her MOD shifts. Payroll isn't monitored consistently, so come Friday and Saturday, if sales have been low, the schedule gets cut to a ridiculously low level, causing everyone to be overwhelmed with work and leaves them no time to help customers. The stock rotation makes no sense, causing tons of items to be marked down before they even get to the floor. Assistant managers get promoted from being head cashiers with no management training at all, and then causing them to suddenly be managing people they used to work side by side with, so they aren't taken seriously. Managers tend to be treated like glorified sales associates with keys to the store. I was promised bonus and opportunities to travel to other store openings. In 8 months, no one has even explained the bonus procedure. I have never received formal feedback, or any type of review. DM's require stores to hold weekly management meetings, causing all members of management to travel to the store even on their day off for a 1-2 hour meeting each week. I do not recommend taking a management position at all. Other companies look down on the management here and would not consider hiring them in their company as a manager.