Small Talk on the Cotton On Kids Blog

FASHION BABY I DID IT! YUM! FRIENDS TEEN MORE TALK

 

Getting to know US (and how you can be part of the team!)  

FUN, rewarding and AWESOME! These are just three words used by some of our Cotton On Kids retail team. Working at Cotton On Kids is described to be an experience like no other, where the team really does become family. Read more on our superstar team and how YOU can be part of the team! 

Getting to know us!

Emily Perigo

What is your name, position and how long have you been with Cotton On Kids?

My Name is Emily Perigo, I am the manager of Chatswood Kids and have been for six months now. Ive been with the Kids family for 6 years, started in 2011 at Cotton On Kids, Sylvia park in New Zealand as a casual and have moved through and up in the kids family to where I am today. I've just celebrated my 1 year anniversary being in Australia this month too!

What is the most valuable thing you have learnt whilst working here?

I have learnt a lot of valuable things throughout the years with the Kids family but the most valuable thing I have learnt would be Team work, I wouldn't be where I am without the help and support of my Team and Kids family.

Describe Cotton On Kids in three words!

Fun, Trendy and Rewarding.

Angelica Lee

What is your name, position and how long have you been with Cotton On Kids?

My name is Angie Lee (my full name is Angelica, but I only ever get called this when I'm in trouble from my mum.. At 25 this still happens quite a bit haha!). I started as a 2IC and am now an Area Manager in NSW leading my amazing team #WestIsBest. I am coming up to my 4th year anniversary in 2 months (5th Christmas this year) - all years with kids and wouldn't have it any other way!

Cotton On Kids is known for being super fun! Tell us a little bit about the culture at Cotton On.

I've enjoyed every single day of my (almost) 4 years at Cotton On because of the culture and values, I have gained friends who have turned into family. We achieve and grow together and that's probably the best part about Cotton On. We are a bunch of passionate, driven and funny people - how can you not love what you do everyday when you work alongside people who challenge you daily to be better than yesterday, people who inspire you to achieve things you never thought you could and are your number one supporters. I talk about Cotton On all the time, at family functions, friend dinners.. I am obsessed with everything we do from the experience we give our customers, the growth and development that's available from all types of resources at COG, I wake up everyday knowing I am truly making a positive difference in people's lives, how can you not be excited to jump out of bed everyday??

What is your favourite part about being a foundation ambassador? What does the foundation do?

A big part of what I do day in and out that is very close to my heart is The Cotton On Foundation and educating our customers and team on who the COF are, what they do and why. I have been so lucky in my 4 years at Kids to be presented with many Foundation opportunities to help expand my knowledge in order to contribute to the COF's mission of developing 20,000 educational places by 2020 (we are currently at 5,300 and hope to be at 12,000 by 2018. 1 year into my role, I was chosen to be a Charity Crusader and was invited to Geelong to spend time with some of the foundation team who showed us local projects in Hospitals where we have been able to support families in our very own backyard! I have also been lucky enough to be invited to the School For Life Charity Ball twice in Sydney who are a non for profit organisation who we are in partnership with, and who work to empower communities in Rural Uganda. The most life changing experience happened just this year, just 4 weeks ago where I was chosen to take a trip of a life time to Uganda - thinking about this moment of when I received the call makes me very emotional to this day.

All the stores have a postcard of what Mannya Village looked like in 2007 and what it looks like 8 years after from everything the store teams and COF team have achieved. Every day I would see this postcard, I would use this to educate the team and most importantly our customers but never in my wildest dreams, would I have thought that I would be standing (let alone WALK UP twice!) the very Mountain this picture was taken on. It was such a humbling experience and has made me more determined and driven to not only make a positive difference within my region, but to reach out nationally to every single store in Australia. I am totes fan-girling here, but I have also been very lucky (I know I have used to word lucky so many times but I truly am!) to meet Tim Diamond (COF General Manager) on 3 of the above Foundation events that I have experienced in my time with Kids. To be able to spend time with someone who has been my inspiration from day 1 and continues to be my inspiration everyday is pretty amazing! I have definitely achieved a lot of milestones and achievements but I can only do this because I am continuously driven by everyone around me from head office to my very own team. I love what I do and I love that we are truly making a positive difference in someone's life. 

Andrea Mason

What is your name, position and how long have you been with Cotton On Kids?

Hi, my name is Andrea Mason and I am the Kids Field VM Manager. I've been with Cotton On for 7 years and with Kids for about 6 years. I've pretty much been with COG since it started in the US, minus a couple of months! :) But I've definitely been with Kids USA since the start and have opened all 20 doors! Woo!

Cotton On Kids is known for being super fun! Tell us a little bit about the culture at Cotton On.

The Kids team is truly the best team! We are so passionate about putting our customers and people first that it makes everything else so simple. We can't go wrong with those things leading the way!

I feel like having a bit of fun everyday is a must in Kids! If were not being super silly doing a boomerang, were making fairy bread in the office or coloring with our littles in-store. I love it here at Kids. There are so many things to be celebrated in our daily and with Kids you can :) We really make the little things count.

What is your favorite part about being a foundation ambassador? What does the foundation do?

I love that I can inspire anyone at anytime with personal testimony. Nothing reaches our team like a personal story. I get to remind them that in their everyday at work, they are making a difference in someone's life. I love EMPOWERING them to be the change that they wish to see.

Pauline Napole

What is your name, position and how long have you been with Cotton On Kids?

Pauline Napole - Kids Area Manager in NZ. I've been with Cotton On for 8 years - starting as a Kids Store Manager. I spent 2 years as an AM in the Mega's otherwise it's always been all about Kids!

Tell us about some of the AWESOME things about your job!

I love working with an amazing team. Helping others learn, grow and realize their potential is extremely rewarding. There is always a fresh new challenge to tackle & I've always felt extremely supported along the way. I love that progressive ideas are encouraged, always growing and finding new solutions. What an exciting process to be a part of. The fact our store experience & product continue to blow my mind each year is a definite highlight too as I'm a really visual person & proud mum of 2 girls.

What is your favourite part about being a foundation ambassador? What does the foundation do?

I love sharing the Foundation purpose & it's many amazing stories of triumph and positive outcomes with anyone that has a set of ears! It's incredibly empowering to be a part of such an incredible organization! The Foundation is a huge reason why I enjoy my job & feel like I'm doing something meaningful every day.

The Foundation as I see it open doors - they see a need & don't just swoop in and fix the issue, walk away and pat themselves on the back. I see an honest look at what the causes are for such issues and find ways to empower communities to be a part of the solution & find  ways to make that a new way of life. That's what I appreciate most - because when you help others realise they can do it themselves, that creates improvements for generations to come!

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