Lisa Panattoni is President of Merchandising at Ross Stores, Inc., where she directly oversees men’s, home, cosmetics, lingerie, and hosiery. She has been at Ross for almost 12 years, and has spent 25 years of her career in off-price. In college, she majored in Communications and minored in Business, working part time at a ski and tennis store. While working at this store, the buyer resigned and Lisa was offered the job. Shortly afterwards, Lisa entered the training program for Weinstock’s department store in Sacramento, California. After spending six years working for Weinstock’s, she moved to the east coast to work for Marshall’s, where she discovered her aptitude for the fast-paced world of off-price retail. Lisa sat down with Scholars to talk about their internships and answer any questions they had about careers at Ross and the industry at large.
Words of Wisdom
Use internships to find out what you want. “It’s your chance to decide, do I like this role, do I like this company?”
Ask a lot of questions. “Be curious. Make sure you’re getting what you need out of your internship. Seek out people that will help you.”
Nobody is going to care about your career as much as you are. “You’re going to find people in your life that give you good advice or are your mentors, but I really encourage people to take responsibility for their own career and not expect their boss to be the one who gets them promoted - it really is on you!”
Listen more, talk less. “It never hurts to be the one who absorbs and reads the room, and then have your own opinion - but don’t feel like you have to be the one who’s out there talking. Listen and figure out what’s going on.”
Seek out people who will tell you the truth. “There is nothing better than finding somebody who will actually give you direct feedback.”
Be humble and transparent. “Remember that integrity counts. You’re going to work with, and for, a lot of people. Being nice is not overrated - you can give very direct and difficult feedback, but you can also be a decent person. In the end it will get you a long way."
Do your homework. “There’s so much information that’s accessible now. Whether it’s an interview or a meeting, spend ten minutes and get some basic information on the company. It’s really important and separates you from everyone else. You’ll be more confident and present yourself better.”
Q&A
Q: “You said you started off in a place that was smaller and moved on to somewhere that was bigger and structured. I’m trying to find out for myself whether I should start off somewhere that’s more corporate, or somewhere that I’m passionate about that’s smaller, what advice would you give when it comes to that?”
A: “I think there’s a lot of value in getting the experience from a bigger, more corporate environment, because I think you learn some business basics you might not get in a more specialty environment. So it might be a little easier starting off more corporate, you probably have a better line on your resume and you can make that choice later to move to somewhere smaller.”
Q: “What made you want to stay in off-price?”
A: “The first buying job I had was more traditional and I moved from there to off-price. The thing about off-price is there’s just a speed and immediacy to it that’s different from anything else. So if you’re a merchant here, every single week you’re getting a report on how you’re doing and what the customer likes. It’s not about if I ran the right ad, or whether it was merchandised well in store, it really is only about the value and what the customer sees - so she walks in the store and says, wow, and puts it in her cart- or she doesn’t. The next week, you know whether you were smart or whether you made a mistake and then you connect the dots and you learn. You’re using all that information and applying it to your work. I love the fact that you live in the short term and long, you’re making decisions for what’s going to be in stores next month, or maybe three months, or a year, so you’re in a lot of different spots and it’s very fluid. I like that pace, I think it’s fun because it’s one of the closest jobs to the product.”
Q: “What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced throughout your career?”
A: “When I got promoted to a manager I was so excited, and then I had my first staff meeting and there were just all these people sitting around me. I realized I needed to learn how to be responsible for, and manage, other people - help them, coach them, develop them - that is a very big transition.”
Q: “What are your thoughts or advice for moving on to a new company?”
A: “When I look at resumes, I look for people that have stuck it out and been at someplace for more than a year or two and got promoted. I know it’s changed somewhat and people move and switch companies a little bit more. I wouldn’t jump too much, I would try to make sure that at least you got what you needed or achieved something where you are. If you’re miserable, you’re miserable. That’s a different story.”
Q: “What was the most exciting moment in your career?”
A: “That promotion from assistant to buyer was a pretty big deal, I have to say. But I would actually say those times when I see someone I’ve coached, developed, and hired being promoted have been some of the best moments. That feels pretty good when you have people come along who are new and hungry to watch them succeed.”
Q: “Did you ever picture yourself becoming a merchant or did you have a different plan starting out?”
A: “At first I didn’t even think about it as a career, but once I started I knew it was absolutely what I wanted to do. Did I ever think I was going to be President? No, I didn’t. I think that you really have to work hard and start to find your place in the world, but I don’t think most people start out knowing exactly where they’ll go.”
Q: “What’s your favorite thing about your job?”
A: “The people and the product. I think we have the best merchants in the country, although I may be a little biased. I love my team, they’re creative and they challenge me. I think finding the thing that you love that gets you up every day is important.”
Q: “What are some trends you’ve seen becoming bigger in the marketplace and some that are falling out?”
A: “It definitely shifts and some businesses shift faster. I don’t know how many of you shop Ross - the crazy thing about our customer is that she knows immediately if something is a good deal and buys it just like that. Trends change quicker than you would think, the world’s so small now and everybody had access to everything, you just have to see how people will react. It’s about testing and trying new things in whatever business that you're in.”
Q: “How do you balance your work life with our personal life when you have such a big role?”
A: “I’d say Ross is a company that recognizes and appreciates the fact that everybody has a life outside work, and it’s important to find a company like that. I think you have to keep things in perspective - people work hard, it can be demanding. I’m pretty good at separating the two, when I go home, I really try to go home. I try not to let the emotion or craziness of the day carry to the rest. Now I don’t have kids, but lots of people here do, and if you have to be at that soccer game you have to be at that soccer game. You’ve got to create space and make sure you manage your calendar so that you have time for the important things. You’re not going to be very good at your work if you don’t enjoy your life outside of work.”
Q: “How have you worked your way up as a woman President in a predominately male industry?”
A: “We have a lot of really great women role models at Ross, but there’s a lot more businesses and industries that are a lot more male dominated. I haven’t spent a lot of time worrying about it. Generally speaking, I’m confident in myself and my abilities. Retail in general, there are more women leaders, so it’s a good pick.”
Q: “What was a role that you would say you grew the most in?”
A: “I started in home and grew up from an assistant in home, so when I took over men’s I felt like I had no idea what I was doing, but through that I grew a lot personally and professionally. Whatever point in your career, you can still learn a lot. It takes a while, it was at least six months before I started to feel comfortable - it is great that you can still learn so much even after you’ve been doing something for so long.”
Q: “What are good questions to ask to find out about the company culture?”
A: “You’re better off meeting more people in the company - here potential hires will probably meet 5 or 6 people in the company. Ask specific questions, for example, ‘describe for me what the manager is like’, or ‘how do you train and develop people?’. Ask some of the softer questions – how people articulate the answers will tell you a lot about the company.”
Q: “How do you handle new tasks that you don’t know very much about?”
A: “I try to find somebody that does, and to approach new tasks with no ego. Pretending that you know something doesn’t get you anywhere.”
Thank you Lisa for taking the time to speak with us about off-price and provide insight as to how we can best achieve success in the industry!
Stay tuned for our next recap.
Katherine Manson, 2016 FSF Scholar