Perry Ellis Reviews

Does anyone have any experiences at Perry Ellis?

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I didn’t work at Perry Ellis directly, but I designed their headwear and men’s cold weather accessories through a contract agreement with a past employer. I worked directly with the licensing team in NY. Those two ladies were really sweet and seemed to enjoy working there. It’s hard to say what the company culture was truly like, but I enjoyed my experience as a contractor working for them.

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Good to know, thank you!

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As a vendor, I can tell you they are great to work with (and they pay their bills!).

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I worked for Perry Ellis for two years in NYC.
It all depends on what department you are in and your position.
My last job in this Industry was with PE. It was a nightmare.
I was told I needed to wait one year before asking for a “merit” raise.
My whole team (including management) agreed to the raise one year later.
The owner of Perry Ellis said NO and that I made enough money. My salary was well below what my
position, job responsibilities, and experience should have been. I was getting paid much more at other companies with less responsibilities. I was in the design department. Haven’t looked back.
P.S. The head of the IT department threatened me in front of an other employee. He was annoyed because I was very computer savvy and he couldn’t BS me. Management Did slap his hand and he was told never to speak to me directly again. Basically, a restraining order. OMG!

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I worked at PE in Commerce, CA as a freelancer for a few months and the vibe was VERY weird and unfriendly. I would say good morning to people, smile at others the coffee pot, hold open the door for others, and they would ignore me and walk right through the door. I understand freelancers don’t stick around for long, but come on. These were not high-level people, they were my everyday coworkers.

The woman I was working under complained to others about my work, and when I asked her if there was anything I could do to improve, she said everything was great and she “already re-did [my] work.” I don’t even understand this mentality at all. Especially since I was freelancing… if I’m so crap, just get rid of me?

Seemed like a lot of turnover in the upper echelons.

I was there during their Christmas party and it was absolutely the saddest thing I have EVER seen. They had store bought cookies and apple cider in the break room on the half hour you had for lunch. If you wanted to stay and chat with others longer than that, you’d have to clock out and stay later to make up for the time (no one did this). This was for ALL their employees there, not just freelancers.

The whole experience left a very bad taste in my mouth. I would never work there after that.

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I held a very senior level designer position in the LA office before it closed a few years ago.
They pay about 30% less than other companies for the same job and duties and that is from bottom to top. There is some stability and quality to your day there, and the people overall were very nice. No weekends were required, you work normal hours and the office conditions were pleasant even though it was very fast paced and stressful as the fashion industry is. The CEO, Oscar is based in Miami and would come out to view the lines and hire people-he was always very civilized and calm however his objective seemed to be to get the line performing and looking great so that he could lay everyone off and license the brand outside to an independent company or sell it off altogether once his own team elevated it to have greater value, and ta da-you are out of a job.

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I worked at Perry Ellis in NYC eight years ago. At first it seemed like a great opportunity, very organized and corporate, professional, lots of meetings, everyone lived by the calendar. The culture was very cold, unfriendly and antagonistic, though there were a few lovely people who helped keep me going.
I worked long hours and came in on many weekends-unfortunately, I was naive and didn’t realize I was doing a high level senior designer job with an associate’s title/low salary. Employees weren’t allowed to eat at their desks (the company had just moved to a fancy new office), but there was rarely time to go outside to eat-I would try to sneak a few bites of a protein bar to keep going, but lost a bunch of weight. Layoffs were frequent and the culture of fear/blame took a toll on my psyche. Luckily, I left for another job offer within the year, after which my health (mental and physical) improved dramatically.
Hopefully things have improved now, but unfortunately with family-owned companies, no matter how many layoffs or restructures might occur, the ultimate decision-makers who choose staff and set the tone for the company will always be in place, so fundamental change is unlikely.

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This has been really insightful, thank you everyone!

Just met with people from there and these hiring people are out of touch. I could tell the culture is just garbage no flexibility or respect

They asked are you wfh now? I said yes I go in as needed and they said “oh we never shutdown, we’ve been coming in all this time”

My thoughts….yep not working here

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