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Container Store Staffers Make Double the Average Retail Salary

By Adele Chapin
Photo: Getty
Photo: Getty

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If employees at The Container Store seem particularly cheerful, it could be because they're pulling in almost double the average retail salary. Business Insider talked to the company's founder and CEO Kip Tendell about why the average Container Store salesperson makes close to $50,000 a year, while the national average retail salary hovers just above $25,000, according to Business Insider's interpretation of Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Higher pay is a big part of Tindell's strategy for attracting great workers, and his thinking is that one great staffer is just as productive as three good employees. He told Business Insider: "But if you can, why not hire great people? And you can pay them twice as much and still save, since you get three times the productivity at two times the cost. They win, you save money, the customers win, and all the employees win because they get to work with someone great."

Not only does The Container Store give employees annual raises of up to 8% of their salaries, Tindell also drops a somewhat incredible post-recession factoid: "We've never laid anybody off in the history of the company." The Container Store's stock prices recently took a hit earlier this month, but Tindell told the Wall Street Journal that they'll stay the course on their pay structure. "We're very confident in the strategy. You don't start changing your business model because comparable-store sales are a point and a half or so lower than you thought they would be," he said.
· The Container Store Pays Its Retail Employees $50,000 A Year [BI]
· Slob to Type A: 14 Stores To Solve All Organizational Needs [Racked]
· The Pay Gap Between Retail CEOs and Store Employees Will Astound You [Racked]

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