La meilleure façon de gagner un complément de salaire | Elora

THE ADVANTAGES OF READY-TO-WEAR AS A WAY OF EARNING EXTRA MONEY

Like any job, selling ready-to-wear has its drawbacks. In particular, if you want to make a difference and earn a good living, you need to have real professional skills. This goes beyond a passion for fashion, as commercial and interpersonal skills are essential.

Regardless of the career path you choose from the wide range of tasks offered by the sector, the ready-to-wear sales profession requires you to :

• Acquire a personal sales technique: the aim is to present products in an original and sincere way, so as to make customers want to buy, without putting pressure on them ;
• Knowing how to adapt to different types of customer: every consumer is different, and if they turn to an adviser in a boutique or at a fashion meeting, rather than to platforms on the web, it's because they want to be recommended according to body shape, the brand's colour profile, its style and its convictions, particularly in favour of a sustainable economy ;
• Be able to respond accurately to customer requests, which means having a thorough knowledge of each of the brand's or shop's products, as well as the various services on offer (returns policy, exchange policy, after-sales service, etc.) ;
• Create a relationship based on trust and empathy, which will make customers loyal to the brand and encourage them to return to sales meetings or shops.

That said, it's clear that ready-to-wear is a field where it's fairly easy to make a good living and generate a substantial additional income, while remaining flexible. There are real opportunities for dynamic, committed people to progress, because the many sales channels offer a wide range of activities, including work done partly or mainly from home.

The same cannot be said for all the jobs offered on the platforms... It's true that the pay for freelance work is attractive, but most of the activities on offer require real expertise in a specific "job description": from web marketing to dropshipping, from graphic design to film subtitling or uploading quality photos or videos, not everyone has access to these jobs - far from it !

As for the various personal services activities, they require an enormous amount of availability, both psychological and face-to-face, without the prospect of earning a lot of money in hourly rates. They should be seen more as a way of getting back to work, or as a step towards retraining, for example after bringing up children or after a period of sick leave that has changed your outlook on life.

Coming back to fashion sales, according to job market data, the average salary for a ready-to-wear sales consultant is around €39,000/year. This figure corresponds to a main activity, not a sideline, but it is reassuring. It's an average, which means that a dynamic person can find a lucrative job in this sector!

Statistics also show that the amount of net income varies not only according to brand and company, but also according to professional experience. At the start of a job, the median pay slip for a fashion salesperson is generally around the minimum wage for full-time work (Source: Indeed).

GROWING DEMAND IN THE READY-TO-WEAR INDUSTRY

Ready-to-wear is one of the cornerstones of the French economy. The fashion sector alone, worth over €150 billion, represents around 2.5% of French GDP. In terms of volume, it far exceeds the entire agricultural sector! Fashion companies generate almost 600,000 direct jobs and a million indirect jobs. (Sources: FashionNetwork.com and france culture).

Physical' ready-to-wear shops are on the decline, mainly due to new online shopping habits adopted by consumers during the Covid crisis, for reasons of both security and convenience. Over the last two years, 'physical' ready-to-wear stores have lost 26% of their business, while purchases in e-commerce clothing shops, which are steadily gaining ground, have increased by 11% overall.

Independent clothing shops, which represent less than 20% of the market in terms of money spent by consumers, account for 60% of physical outlets in the fashion sector.

On the other hand, branded networks (in the form of franchised shops), which account for only 40% of the sector, generate over 60% of its sales. As for non-specialised channels, notably online sales and mass distribution (supermarkets, hypermarkets, etc.), they contribute 20% of total sales (source: jesuisentrepreneur).

It is important to understand that, beyond the figures, it is customer behaviour that has changed. New purchasing trends have emerged, with a growing need for personalised services, inventiveness and emotion. Awareness has grown, particularly in terms ofeco-friendly fashion.

French consumer habits have changed! If they are shunning small, family-run ready-to-wear companies, it's because they have different expectations, across the board.

That's why the role of the sales advisor has also changed and become so important. And that's why strong, enterprising personalities can make their mark in fashion sales.

THE DIFFERENT WAYS OF EARNING EXTRA PAY IN THE READY-TO-WEAR SECTOR

The first status that most people spontaneously think of, even for a sideline activity, is that of employee.

The main advantage of being a salaried employee is undoubtedly the security and stability provided by a regular income, with a pay slip arriving every month. If you are off sick, you are guaranteed to keep your job. The employer often supplements the daily allowances paid by Social Security (depending on the collective agreement to which the company is attached). Not forgetting supplementary health cover, if a mutual insurance policy has been taken out with the company or the group to which it belongs.

Employees may also receive benefits in kind, such as discounts on products sold in the shop, mileage allowances when travelling, or luncheon vouchers. Although these benefits are subject to income tax, they are not insignificant.

That said, there are two very important factors to consider, which counterbalance the conventional wisdom in favour of a salaried position.

Firstly, as an employee, your employer may require you to work hours and conditions that take you a long way from home and/or impose time constraints on you that are rarely negotiable. Nor can you choose the product line you sell.

On the other hand, to find a job in a major ready-to-wear brand or as a sales advisor, you need to know how to submit an application, send personalised emails, respond to online adverts, decipher brand websites to position yourself properly, etc. In short, you need to fit into a mould, which doesn't necessarily match your personality. In short, you have to fit into a mould, which doesn't necessarily match your personality. And, quite often, a 2-year higher education qualification is required.

FLEXIBLE WORKING HOURS AND LOCATIONS

If you're looking for extra work and want to boost your income while retaining the security of your salaried job (if you have one), have you considered the status of VDI (Vendeur/Vendeuse à domicile indépendante/e)?

By becoming a VDI for ELORA, you'll benefit from the dynamism of a company at the cutting edge of fashion design and marketing, as well as a great deal of autonomy.

If you're the queen of fashion shopping and you're always helping your friends and family with their makeovers, then you're probably an ideal candidate: sociable, inspiring and dynamic.

Door-to-door selling is a distribution method that's right up there with the times, because it appeals both to customers' need for proximity and to their desire for novelty.

At ELORA, you can become a ready-to-wear sales advisor without any particular qualifications, and even acquire a diplomapersonal Stylist training. This is one of a number of online training modules available free of charge from the company, once you have joined the team.

Part-time or full-time, it's up to you! Rest assured, this doesn't mean putting a stop to all your personal projects. You have the freedom to choose how you spend your time, so that you can find the right balance between your private and professional life, or to take on another job. For example, you can decide to meet your customers in the evenings or at weekends. In short, you can work when it suits you !

You can move forward at your own pace, depending on the time you have available and the income you want to generate.

The work is not paid in the form of a salary, but in the form of commissions (i.e. percentages) on the sales you make. These percentages are very attractive, ranging from 20% to 39%, with no limit or cap, depending on the volume of sales made and your leadership in the company.

For example, to earn the equivalent of minimum wage from your job at the end of the month, you will need to hold just two meetings a week on average, each costing an average of €600.

The aim is to organise presentation and sales meetings for the ELORA collections at the home of a hostess near you, or at your own home if you wish. But you can also decide to go to the home or workplace of a potential customer. Either way, you will receive a percentage of each sale.

Good to know... With ELORA there's no investment! You don't have to rent an office or a boutique, because you prepare and organise your sales from home, and they can take place at a hostess's home or at yours. You also get a starter kit, which includes the loan of a collection for your first sale.

So don't hesitate to join ELORA! Share in this wonderful adventure of women... 1300 passionate sales advisers. They distribute products throughout France, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg, organising home sales.

For them, of course, the money is there. But they love their work as much as they love the company, with its fashionable products, its benevolence and its commitment to the planet.