Skill requirements in retail work: the case of high-end fashion retailing

Dennis Nickson, Robin Price, Hazel Baxter-Reid and Scott A Hurrell
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Dennis Nickson: University of Strathclyde, UK
Robin Price: Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Hazel Baxter-Reid: Queen Margaret University, UK
Scott A Hurrell: University of Glasgow, UK

Work, Employment & Society, 2017, vol. 31, issue 4, 692-708

Abstract: This article considers skill requirements in retail work, drawing on the example of high-end fashion retailing. It considers debates about the required ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ elements of skill for such work. Drawing on Cockburn’s typology – skill residing in the worker; in what is required to perform a job; and as a socially constructed political concept – it seeks to offer a more nuanced discussion of the nature of skills in retail work beyond the usual characterization of such work as being inherently low skilled. Data are reported from 37 interviews with managers, supervisors and employees in a range of high-end fashion retailing outlets. The article recognizes how this work was seen as skilled by the interviewees, particularly with regard to the desired product knowledge and selling ability required for such work. Lastly, it seeks to refine Cockburn’s typology in understanding skill requirements in retail work.

Keywords: high-end fashion retailing; retail work; soft and hard skills (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:31:y:2017:i:4:p:692-708

DOI: 10.1177/0950017016672791

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