Should Fashion Brands Still Make Employees Move for a Job?

When Kimberly Minor accepted a role as senior vice president at Bath & Body Works in 2016, it came with an unexpected catch: she had to sell her home in New Jersey and buy a new one near the company’s Columbus, Ohio headquarters.

It was a dream job, but the thought of uprooting her husband and two children was daunting. Ultimately it proved to be the right move: Minor bought a house in Ohio, where she and her family live to this day, even though she left Bath & Body Works in 2018.

“It just came down to this house,” said Minor. “There was no budging.”

Requiring a new recruit to buy a house is rare (Bath & Body Works declined to comment on Minor’s hiring, noting it has changed management since spinning off from L Brands in 2021). But lower stakes push-and-pulls over where employees should live and work are constantly playing out across the corporate world.

Last month, Foot Locker announced it would move its headquarters from New York to St. Petersburg, Florida, but isn’t requiring Manhattan staffers to relocate. The North Face recently posted a want ad for a creative director who must live in Denver.

The question of location has only become more fraught as hybrid working has gone mainstream. While many companies have settled on a three days in, two days out policy, some companies are unwinding work-from-anywhere arrangements adopted during the pandemic. Last month, Amazon announced corporate staff would return to the office five days a week. In June, Patagonia told 90 remote customer service staff they would need to relocate to one of seven metropolitan areas near a Patagonia “hub” or lose their jobs. Similarly, in May, Walmart asked remote US employees to relocate to regional headquarters in Arkansas, California and New Jersey. In February, UK-based fast fashion brand Asos also recalled its remote teams.

Whether it’s a company-wide relocation or tweaks to work-from-home guidelines, many of the same considerations apply: namely, how to balance the need for in-person collaboration against employees’ expectations of flexibility. The Business of Fashion spoke with experts about how companies and employees can meet in the middle — literally and figuratively.

The Company Playbook

It’s easy to pitch a designer or marketer the prospect of moving to New York or Milan. But for less-obvious fashion locales, companies must build a compelling culture and offer the kind of resumé boost that makes people want to come to them.

As the largest sportswear brand in the world, Nike draws talent to Portland, and competitors — Adidas, On and Under Armour have corporate offices in the city today. Columbus is another hub, with Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch and DSW based there, plus Procter & Gamble and, until 2020, Macy’s a few hours away in Cincinnati. Walmart lures top retail talent from around the world to Bentonville, Ark., and Amazon’s five-day-a-week mandate is a bet that few employees will be willing to walk away from the e-commerce behemoth over a commute. The North Face’s new creative director won’t be lonely in Denver, home to parent VF Corp. and a host of smaller outdoors brands.

“Some companies really lean into [their hometown], and it becomes part of their roots,” said Lisa Yae, managing partner at executive search firm Hanold Associates. “These brands have a ‘salt of the earth’ culture that attracts people who don’t want to be just a small fish in a big sea.”

A competitive salary, covering relocation costs and resources like community tours, real estate agent recommendations and guides to local schools can help ease the transition.

Brands also need to keep an open mind about individual recruits’ needs. BIPOC talent are sometimes anxious about moving to less-diverse cities. For women, who often shoulder caregiving responsibilities — even as breadwinners — moving can create seismic disruptions to family life, making a transition stressful or even impossible, Yae said.

However, the most important factor in convincing an out-of-towner to take the plunge is to show “runway” — proof a recruit can build a long-term career.

“You don’t move just for a job,” said Caroline Pill, partner at executive search consultancy Heidrick & Struggles in London. “You move for the succession job — the career longevity needs to be spelled out in a much more literal way.”

That was the perspective Minor initially took, viewing her role at Bath & Body Works as a necessary step to break through the ceilings she encountered in markets like New York, where she struggled to make the leap to brand president. Today she works as CEO of the Women of Colour Retail Alliance, a nonprofit supporting underrepresented women in their retail careers.

Minor’s ability to toggle between consulting for fashion brands in Ohio while advising other women in the industry is partly due to her experience in Columbus, which is home to numerous retailers.

The Talent Strategy

When it comes to requiring employees to spend time in the office itself, companies should start by considering which teams will actually benefit from being on site — typically design and marketing staff, rather than engineering and IT, for example.

And if leaders are going to require a full return to the office, they need to make it worth it for employees by showing up and making themselves available.

Candidates should also ensure that the company can clearly articulate how it will deliver on the promised benefits of in-person work. This can include weekly one-on-one meetings with senior leadership, mentorship programmes, open-door policies, company-sponsored socials, and vibrant employee resource groups for underrepresented staff or those with common interests.

If a brand is insisting on relocation without those elements in place, it’s likely a red flag that their executives are applying an outdated approach to leadership and culture, Minor said.

“[Good leaders] say ‘let’s sit down and see what are our real needs, who needs to be where and how can we support them,’” she said. “If those conversations aren’t being had, then those brands are going to start to just die on the vine.”

Editor’s Note: This article was updated 04/10/2024 to correct Kimberly Minor’s title at Bath & Body Works and to reflect that Minor did not live in Cincinnati during her career.