Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend (In a Good Economy)

Zales, a well-known jewelry retailer, announced the closure of 115 stores yesterday as part of a drastic expense reduction plan. The company contends that the store closures are those stores that have had consistently poor sales.

In addition to store closings, the company is also cutting capital spending by 65 percent and recently cut 245 jobs.

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend only when a guy can afford them!

“What can you do?”

A few weeks ago I was at a professional organization’s meeting of which I am a member. The organization consists of local chapters that hold regular meetings to network and share knowledge.

One of the people in attendance worked for a company I applied with two weeks prior. I took note and went up to the guy after the meeting concluded for a face-to-face chat.

“Hi, I understand you’re with (name of company),” I say with a big smile.

“Yes, hi.”

“Pleasure to meet you. I applied for (position) with (name of company) a couple of weeks ago and haven’t heard anything back. Would you know about that position or any other opportunities with the company?”

“I don’t know about that position. They were probably looking for someone with experience in that field,” he says.

“Oh, well, would you know of any other positions available with the company…perhaps in your (related) department?” I ask.

“What are your skills? What can you do?” the man replies back.

Slightly perturbed, I answer, “I just graduated from (name of college) with a master’s degree in (major). All my experience is academic as I just graduated.”

“Okay, but what is your experience? What have you done? What can you do?” the man torts again.

With ever-increasing blood pressure, I respond, “I just finished grad school and haven’t worked in the field yet. I’m looking to get into it.”

“I see, but what can you do? What job could you do?” the man repeats like an idiot.

Realizing I’m not getting anywhere, I try to politely escape the conversation with this half-brained moron. He drops his interrogation of my skills and offers crappy advice. I walk away as I curse and mutter vulgarities under my breath.

I hope I don’t come across as conceited but I earned a master’s degree. Unless you’re getting a technical degree, you don’t learn any on-the-job skills or training in academic degrees. However, what earning the degree delineates is that you’re capable and competent. You have the ability to absorb information and complete tasks. You can complete projects on time and show commitment and dedication to see things through. Apparently this idiot didn’t realize that. Seemingly unwilling to teach a job to a youngster, this moron probably prefers some set-in-his-ways jackass that performs the job like a monkey mimics a task. No fresh ideas, no young blood, and no brains.

The job search goes on!

450 Gone From Neiman Marcus

Like Coach, luxury goods retailer Neiman Marcus announced this past week that it will cut 450 jobs and that salaried employees will take a pay cut.

The company also announced that it will announce a loss in the recently completed quarter. Most shocking is that this is the first loss during the Christmas shopping period that anyone within the company can remember.

This past January, the company cut 375 jobs due to plunging sales.

Good times!

Coach Cuts 150 Employees

According to The Wall Street Journal, famed leather-good retailer, Coach, has announced that they have laid off 150 corporate employees as the economy shows few signs of improving. The cuts account for 10 % of the company’s corporate staff of 1,500 and were made across all business units.

The company is also taking other measures to control costs by deferring technology investments, eliminating merit-based wage increases, and slowing down brand expansion by opening fewer stores.

Coach is also attempting to appeal more to price-conscious consumers by discounting bags and pressuring vendors to reduce prices but not quality.

Guess I won’t be finding a job with Coach!

Pocket Change

Apparently this down economy only affects some. The New York Times reports in a recent article that a painting by Henry Matisse sold on Monday for a record $41.1 million, the largest price ever paid for one of the famed artist’s work.

The piece came from the estate of French designer Yves Saint Laurent, a recently deceased mogul in the fashion world.

Let’s have an unofficial “website pool.” What bankrupt company was the CEO from that purchased the painting: AIG, Lehman Brothers, or Citigroup?