1. By: Loretta Davis

2. Jami Folk- Mall Manager Piercing Pagoda Angela Savvopolous- District Manager Piercing Pagoda Sherri Merkel-Owner/Operator Merkels Shoes

3. Mall Manager-Piercing Pagoda

4. Has worked for Piercing Pagoda for the past twelve years. After one year promoted to store manager. After 7 years promoted to Mall Manager. In charge of 3 Piercing Pagoda stores, managers in training, and staff.

5. Lead by example. Show your team that YOU care about the store and its performance. Show your team that you care about their individual successes.

6. Conference calls Checking numbers Checking in with the stores and the teams to make sure they are ready for the day Motivating staff Training store managers in training to be sure they are on the right path

7. Customers upset when they see that all the gold products are not made in Italy like they used to be. Customers think we have lower quality products because of where they are made Store closings because of bad economy, makes you wonder if one of your stores will be closed next

8. District Manager-Piercing Pagoda

9. Born & raised in small town in Minnesota Moved to PA in her early 20s with a small amount of retail management experience and no college education Got a management position at Piercing Pagoda in the York Galleria Mall Has been with Pagoda for the past 10 years Has been a district manager for 7 years

10. Stay connected with your team even if you are not physically present. COMMUNICATION is key! Always be approachable by your staff, let them know that you are there for them no matter what the problem may be. Do not bully or offend, know how to coach your team.

11. A lot of conference calls, with upper management and staff from home office, as well as the management under her. Reviewing sales and business reports on a daily basis. Seeking out opportunity areas for sales and business to go over and work on with team. Doing store visits on a monthly basis to be sure everything is running smooth and the store looks good. Touches base on a daily basis with managers and teams.

12. Being able to communicate with everyone, even without being physically there. Has learned to create effective communication channels so she is always connected with the store. Has them call her with numbers throughout the day, emailing and phone calls have become part of every day routine

13. Company downsizing due to store closings and territory and district re-structuring Have to worry about losing your job when so many stores are closing

14. Owner- Merkels Shoes

15. Inherited Merkels Shoe store from her father in law 15 years ago. Owns a skating rink with her husband, which he manages Manages and completely runs the shoe store herself with no business management experience previously.

16. When you own your own business no two days are the same. Ring sales, look over sales figures, train people, buy new merchandise ect. Hectic and a lot of work

17. Work with certain vendors that you have accounts with, who send you catalogs each season Call in and order what you want from the catalogs after analyzing what you believe will sell the best and how many you will sell Find new vendors to buy from at trade shows a few times a year Make sure you keep styles that frequent customers are used to, to keep them coming back.

18. Hard to communicate with vendors who have call centers in other countries. Makes it difficult to find the right person or department to speak to. Overall quality of shoes has gone downhill and you have to watch who you order from. Competitors can buy similar styles and sell at a cheaper price, this is why it is important to recognize the things that keeps your customers coming back and cater to that.

19. Communication is key in management Communication is also important when working with vendors in the buying/merchandising process There are ups and downs to every position, you just learn how to deal with them over time. Globalization has made it an uncertain time in business, but you have to find new ways to connect with customers and realize the reason they shopped with you in the first place.