The Trader Joe’s Lesson: How to Pay a Living Wage and Still Make Money in Retail – Sophie Quinton – The Atlantic<\/a>.<\/p>\nMany employers believe that one of the best ways to raise their profit margin is to cut labor costs. But companies like QuikTrip, the grocery-store chain Trader Joe’s, and Costco Wholesale are proving that the decision to offer low wages is a choice, not an economic necessity. All three are low-cost retailers, a sector that is traditionally known for relying on part-time, low-paid employees. Yet these companies have all found that the act of valuing workers can pay off in the form of increased sales and productivity.<\/p>\n
“Retailers start with this philosophy of seeing employees as a cost to be minimized,” says Zeynep Ton of MIT’s Sloan School of Management. That can lead businesses into a vicious cycle. Underinvestment in workers can result in operational problems in stores, which decrease sales. And low sales often lead companies to slash labor costs even further. Middle-income jobs have declined recently as a share of total employment, as many employers have turned full-time jobs into part-time positions with no benefits and unpredictable schedules.<\/p>\n
QuikTrip, Trader Joe’s, and Costco operate on a different model, Ton says. “They start with the mentality of seeing employees as assets to be maximized,” she says. As a result, their stores boast better operational efficiency and customer service, and those result in better sales. QuikTrip sales per labor hour are two-thirds higher than the average convenience-store chain, Ton found, and sales per square foot are over 50 percent higher.<\/p>\n
<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have a decently paying job, but that doesn’t mean I don’t see the value of having a strong, fairly paid middle class. \u00a0It just makes sense. Plus, I bet these employees actually spend money in their place of employment because they can afford to do so. via\u00a0The Trader Joe’s Lesson: How to Pay a Living Wage and Still Make Money in Retail – Sophie Quinton – The Atlantic. Many employers believe that one of the best ways to raise…<\/p>\n
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