When Altitude Sports started hiring for its holiday rush, the 91原创 e-commerce retailer ran into a recruiting problem: There weren鈥檛 enough people to fill the available positions.聽
鈥淲e didn't have the traction to reach our target,鈥� Altitude Sports co-CEO Maxime Dubois said in an interview. 鈥淲e went to the market and really studied the situation and found out that we weren't competitive enough.鈥�
So the outdoor gear and clothing company raised wages by $2 an hour for its customer service and distribution centre workers.
Canada鈥檚 tight labour market has left many retailers scrambling to attract workers ahead of the holiday shopping season, a massive sales period that for some eclipses the rest of the year.
Economists say that despite the apparent worker shortage, broad wage increases haven't followed.
Yet Altitude Sports shows the effectiveness of a pay hike.聽
The Montreal-based retailer's base pay is now $16.50 an hour 鈥� $3 above Quebec鈥檚 minimum wage 鈥� though some employees make more.
After raising wages, hiring became easier. The company's workforce quickly climbed to 520 workers, up from 220, as it ramps up for its busy holiday period.聽
鈥淲e adjusted to the market to make sure that we were still relevant for current and new employees,鈥� Dubois said. 鈥淲e started seeing the effect in our hiring pipeline right away.鈥�
Many retailers started hiring early for the holidays this year but a review of job postings suggests some retail positions continue to go unfilled after several weeks.聽
While some employers blame generous pandemic benefits for keeping people at home, economists say there are several factors contributing to the labour crunch.聽
鈥淎 lot of restaurants and retail stores were closed for extended periods of time during the pandemic so some workers have left the industry,鈥� said Fabian Lange, an economics professor at McGill University. 鈥淭hey may have gone back to school or pursued other interests, so that would contribute to the shortage.鈥�
He dismissed the suggestion that unemployment benefits have discouraged people from finding a job or that low-wage workers have accumulated enough savings to sit out of the workforce for an extended period.聽
鈥淭here might be a little bit of that going on, but I find it hard to believe it would contribute to sustained labour shortages,鈥� said Lange, also the Canada Research Chair in Labour and Personnel Economics.
Part of the issue may be that few companies appear to be raising wages in response to the labour shortage, he said.聽
鈥淭here is no evidence that wages are going up,鈥� Lange said. 鈥淚f anything, after inflation, wages are declining.鈥�
That makes Altitude Sports an outlier in the economy.聽
It also raises questions about how long a lone retailer can sustain higher wages without also raising prices, potentially making it uncompetitive.聽
Dubois said Altitude Sports' prices will remain stable for the remainder of the year, with discounts available on Altitude Sports' sister website The Last Hunt.
Some brands are increasing their MSRP 鈥� manufacturer's suggested retail price 鈥� beginning next spring to cope with higher material and supply-chain costs, he added.
Still, while prices likely won鈥檛 rise before the holidays, that doesn鈥檛 mean supply won鈥檛 be affected.聽
In a note to customers in early October, Dubois and co-CEO Alexandre Guimond urged people to consider shopping early this year.聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing delays in new arrivals (and) shipments being cancelled outright,鈥� the letter said. 鈥淐onsequently, we鈥檙e projecting a lower-than-usual stock level available for you over the fall and winter seasons.鈥�
Dubois said he felt it was important to be honest with customers.聽
鈥淲e don't want to scare anyone, it's just really the plain truth,鈥� he said. 鈥淚nventory is less flush than usual. We鈥檙e 15 per cent behind where we wanted to be in terms of stock.鈥�
Manufacturers have focused on more profitable adult sizes, which will make the selection of some youth outdoor clothing and footwear particularly sparse, Dubois noted. 聽
In other cases, some models or designs won鈥檛 be available at all because of material shortages.聽
鈥淭here are some polar fleece makers who haven't been able to provide their brands with the yardage they need because they just didn't have the raw material,鈥� Dubois said.聽
Still, he said Altitude Sports has focused on hiring to ensure customer service is top-notch throughout the busy period.
鈥淭he average wait time to speak with someone is 20 seconds and we never want it to go over three minutes during Black Friday,鈥� he said.聽
The online retailer is also testing different transportation options to ensure it has backup plans to quickly deliver items across the country.
鈥淚t's really about executing well and making sure our clients get the same experience in a rush time and they would get in the middle of summer,鈥� Dubois said.聽
Altitude Sports began selling outdoor goods and clothing online in 1999, making it one of the first retailers in Canada to offer e-commerce.
That e-commerce experience, along with its focus on customer service and wide selection of brands, has helped it fill more than a million orders across Canada in its last fiscal year, Dubois said.聽
"Web adoption has exploded over the pandemic and we're focused on keeping our customers satisfied while attracting new ones."
This report by The 91原创 Press was first published Nov. 1, 2021.
Brett Bundale, The 91原创 Press
