Riding to prosperity on a pair of jeans

The busy shopper’s best friend

Riding to prosperity on a pair of jeans

By Sara The Bargain Queen 17 November 2007 No Comment

A world of (fashion) opportunities A funny piece of Australian trivia: here, thrift stores are called op shops, short for ‘opportunity shop’.

The opportunity that thrift stores provide is for poor people to wear the cast-offs of wealthier people — which might sound trivial, but it can really help people to change their lives. For example, to get a job you need to dress appropriately at the interview. Easy if you’re well-off, but really tough if you’re poor and don’t own appropriate clothes.

(In America, Dress for Success helps people in that situation.)

That all came to mind today while I read this Wall Street Journal article on an Indian department store that helps its young employees break out of poverty.

“Humble jobs at the mall are lifting legions of Indians out of poverty.

“Basic sales jobs, unremarkable and often derided in the West, are providing careers, confidence, and a shot at entering the consumer class to millions of impoverished young men and women across India. [...]

“Until recently, much of the new wealth in India went to college-educated computer programmers, consultants and call-center workers. [... Now] India’s [economic] growth is being led by a sharp rise in domestic consumption. Stronger spending power is opening up opportunities concentrated in service sectors like retailing, banking and hospitality and telecommunications. [...]

“[In the Pantaloon department store, the manager] teaches new recruits about confidence, sales, fashion and even hygiene. [...] Their outside interests and social lives increasingly tilted toward Pantaloon and away from the slums.”

Source: Moving Up in Mumbai, Wall Street Journal

It’s an incredibly inspiring story, well worth the few minutes it takes to read it. (And if you’ve ever wanted a reason to go shopping in India… ;)