TEAM AVALANCHE !

When Avalanche first moved to Waverley Market it was my intention to spend six months assessing the footfall and what we would need to add to the things Avalanche was well known for already helped out by friends and old staff members. I could never have expected events to overtake us the way they did. 

However we have come out at the other end stronger than ever and amazingly busier than we have ever been. As a shop that never gave up on vinyl its revival has certainly helped but we now have a great selection of t-shirts as well as exclusive prints and cards from artists and photographers mostly based locally but of course we are now known worldwide for working with Butcher Billy who is based in South Brazil.

We haven’t forsaken CDs either both new and used and we will soon be launching Avalanche Vintage bringing back vintage clothing and adding more posters as we expand further back into our shop space.  

I’ve been lucky enough to have had some great staff over the years but even those who have returned to help out admit working at Avalanche is far more complicated than it used to be. I do intend to put a team together now but there will be no simple shop assistant jobs.

I want to expand our online presence but in a selective way rather than the usual method of loading up huge files onto different platforms and updating every day. Certainly experience in online selling will be a help to any applicant as will be illustration and graphic design skills. Having a wide knowledge in music is not necessary but a good memory is essential so that knowledge can be quickly built up.

Avalanche is not a shop that has new favourite bands every week and neither do we claim to LOVE most of the new releases. At the same time it is an absolute pleasure to see youngsters being excited about music whether it is over artists we personally like or not. 

I could not be happier with the way the shop has developed with older folk saying it reminds them of the shops of their youth while younger customers feel they have found a shop that understands them. 

There will be two full time jobs with one focusing on our online sales and the other involving running the shop on a daily basis. Though full time it may be possible to take on somebody who already has their own small business.

The fashion designer Alison Harm of Psychomoda will be looking after our vintage offering and of course she already has a small presence in the shop but there may be opportunities for sales staff interested in that side of things.

Avalanche already has a fantastic backroom staff including a brilliant graphic designer which is the only reason I’ve been able to go so long without putting a sales team in place and covered that area mostly myself. I’m currently looking at more opportunities than I can take so to some extent how we move forward will depend on the people we bring in.

People travel from all over the world to visit Avalanche and it is important that they along with all our customers get the experience they expect.

I’ve never found application forms a particularly good way to get staff and we have drawn many staff before from customers or people we come across working in other shops and clearly have something about them. 

Applicants who feel they have something to offer can pop in the shop to discuss things further or email [email protected] with details of relevant experience. 

Once I get a feel for the interest we are getting I will update things. I must stress though that none of the positions will be simple shop assistant jobs.