The shops of the home world and the next generation. A relationship waiting to be written

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The shops of the home world and the next generation. A relationship waiting to be written

The in-depth analysis continues with the Milano Home surveys

A recent survey by Hacking Talents and Factanza Media found that the new generations main need is to establish authentic and empathetic relationships within the working environment, which foster listening and their freedom to express themselves.

As digital natives, they are fascinated by everything that is innovation and are the absolute protagonists of the technological acceleration. Uncertainty, we can read in the findings of Hacking Talent and Factanza Media, is their habitat; psychological vulnerability is their Achilles' heel; their sensitivity towards the issues of inclusiveness and sustainability is an essential asset.

Often, they are unwilling to compromise: they seek work environments aligned with their values and contexts that allow these to be brought into play and they allow a healthy balance between work and private life.

But does the world of independent distribution and, in particular the household and decoration items sector, have the ability to express values and perspectives that can truly attract new talents and new ideas?

We went straight to the Milano Home community to find out.

Survey respondents

● Shops: 50%

● Artisan producers: 21%

● Architects and designers: 16%

● Distributors and wholesalers: 13%

The shops’ point of view on the engagement of the new generations.

Let's focus on the stores' responses and immediately present a few spoilers. There are equal amounts of Positives and Negatives. To the question: “Would you advise a young person to enter your business?”, 37% of the shops that responded to the survey answered yes. The ‘neutral’ or, rather, the ‘possibly with some "ifs" and "buts"’ percentage was 25%.

Here are the reasons given by the yes faction, that is, the promoters, the shops that look to the future with optimism and think that there is room in commerce for young people and for all the imagination, independence, resourcefulness and innovation they bring with them.

● It is the kind of job that makes room for creativity. Every day is different from the one before and the customers are always a broad cross section of society.

● It is a dynamic job: you must always be up to date with the new trends of the products for sale and the best sales technologies available.

● It is stimulating, thanks to the contact with the public; you must always be up to date with what’s new in the industry, and evolve in terms of experience and professionalism.

● It is creative, varied and rewarding work.

● It's an active job: you never stop learning. We need to continuously refresh our knowledge and create emotions.

The shops ‘in the neutral area’, however, can see opportunities for the new generations, even in a challenging context, where skills are above all the things that make the difference.

● New ideas are needed to make this work innovative. Young people are welcome!

● You need to "be talented", have a lot of passion, a desire to work hard and an entrepreneurial spirit.

● It is a job that requires commitment and skills.

● It is an evolving sector, to keep up with the times it also takes a hefty dose of courage.

Here’s an interesting fact. The most optimistic, those who would advise young people to take up shopkeeping, are the Millennials, that is, people between 28 and 43 years old.

The Designers: optimists by vocation

It's almost a referendum. The architects and designers who responded to the survey would definitely recommend that young people take up their business.

The motivations:

● It is a creative and dynamic environment.

● It is a creative job, always different, which stimulates the curiosity to learn new things.

● It is a profession where you can decide your own hours and working times.

● There is a lot of dynamism and there are always new impulses.

Artisans and a role to be reevaluated

On the other hand, the opinions of artisans are split in half, between those who say "it is a difficult job with too much competition and few customers" and those who underline the creative value and independence that this activity offers. With food for thought also on the role and value that artisans bring to the table within the sector.

“The future ahead will not be satisfactory for young people – is one of the answers we received – as long as profit is the only objective by which we are considered and measured”. The story here is yet to be written.