For many years, the United States saw a general decline in its teen workforce. But, in 2023, the number of teens seeking jobs was the highest since 2009, according to the Labor Department. For teenagers, retail remains an excellent initial job, offering opportunities to develop essential skills like time management and teamwork.  

But teens don’t develop those skills on their own. Store owners and managers must empower young workers, challenge and encourage them, and steer them toward success. With proper guidance, teen employees will be more engaged in the business, view it as a career opportunity, stay on staff longer, and become more adept at the job.  

At Outdoor Supply Company in Hickory, NC, store owner Charlie Mogray is helping two teen employees grow by putting them in charge of a special project. Andie Smith, 18, and Olivia Stephenson, 17, are leading the effort to create a new space for paddlesports gear.

“I put them in charge because they’re pretty mature and know how to get things done,” says Mogray.  

According to Mogray, paddlesports gear generates about 40 percent of the store’s sales. For years, Outdoor Supply Co. displayed its wide assortment of boats, paddleboards, and accessories in a 7,500-square-foot room a few doors down from the main shop. However, Mogray’s landlord raised the rent for that space, so Outdoor Supply Co. is moving its boats, paddleboards, and accessories into a 3,000-square-foot room that adjoins the main store.  

For Smith and Stephenson, a primary concern was representing the store’s vast paddlesports offering in a much smaller space than before. Plus, the new room was empty, so they needed to build a retail space, choosing the most effective fixtures and determining where to place products and brands.  

Despite the obstacles, Smith and Stephenson say the project has proven to be a valuable experience, especially for young people early in their working years.  

“I think it just makes me feel valuable to the workplace,” says Stephenson. “I really feel like I’m contributing something.” 

Designing & Merchandising 

While the teens brought a can-do attitude to the job, they also brought a sense of aesthetics and style. “We were pretty much the ones who came up with the idea of painting the room,” says Stephenson, noting that they chose a calm blue paint color to tone down previously bright red walls. 

Once the walls were painted, they proceeded methodically. Before Smith and Stephenson moved a single paddle or PFD into the new room, they sketched out a plan. You might have expected the two Gen Zers to design their space with the help of computers or phones, but they kept it simple. “We did it old school on notebook paper,” says Stephenson.  

That’s fitting, considering this was a thrifty endeavor with a small budget, as is often the case in outdoor specialty stores. The plan was to use existing fixtures, and the only planned expense was paint. Due to budget constraints, they would have to rely on their creativity rather than throwing money at problems that might arise. Fortunately, Mogray gave Smith and Stephenson the freedom to tackle the project as they wished and offered only a few guidelines. “We have a main rule to keep everything off the floor, so products look nicer, and we have more room,” says Smith. With that merchandising rule in mind, they created a plan.

“We drew the layout of the store and looked at the products that we typically sell the most,” says Stephenson, explaining that they first organized products by brand and popularity. Then, they placed best-sellers and impulse items near the front of the room, including kayak fishing accessories from YakAttack. 

“A lot of people come in here needing replacements for things, and they can just quickly come and grab it,” says Stephenson. “We also put the life jackets in front just so that people can see we have them.” 

Next, they outfitted the front of the store with smaller gear, like sponges for whitewater kayaks, small anchors, and padding for paddles. They also dedicated a wall to tackle and other small items for fishing.  

Moving from the middle of the room toward the back, Smith and Stephenson dedicated wall space to whitewater gear, such as helmets, skirts, more PFDs, dry bags, and paddles for flat water and whitewater.   

They placed expensive items purchased less frequently, such as Yakima racks, in the very back of the store. “If people need those types of things, they’ll look for them, or they’ll ask about them, and we’ll show them where they are,” says Stephenson.  

Bringing in the Boats 

When we spoke to Smith and Stephenson in late November, they were beginning to determine how they would display boats and stand-up paddleboards in the new space. Outdoor Supply Company carries a wide range of boats, from entry-level $800 FeelFree kayaks to the Esquif Adirondack touring canoe that retails for more than $1,400. Outdoor Supply is also a destination store for paddling enthusiasts seeking Stellar boats, which retail for $3,000 and more. “People will drive long ways for these Stellar boats,” says Mogray.  

Outdoor Supply’s challenge is to display a good representation of its available boats and paddleboards in the new, smaller showroom. “We’ll try to fit about 12 boats,” says Stephenson, noting that the especially attractive Stellar and Esquif boats will sit near the front of the store to capture attention.  

Farther into the room, Nucanoe kayaks rest on sawhorses, and Mogray plans to place a trailer in the room to display six boats. “We’re also thinking of bringing in racks we can put on the wall for paddleboards and smaller boats,” says Smith.  

Still, displaying all the boat styles and colors in the smaller room is impossible, so the store’s offsite warehouse will hold most of the watercraft. According to Smith and Stephenson, Outdoor Supply will create a catalog allowing visiting customers to browse the store’s complete offering of paddlesports products.  

Aside from boats, other bulky items will have a pared-back representation in the new room. “A good example is spray skirts,” says Stephenson, noting that they’ll display a few while the majority will sit in the 600-square-foot backroom of the new space.   

Discovering New Skills  

For Smith and Stephenson, merchandising the room has been like putting together a puzzle. However, the teens have realized they possess specific skills that benefit the project. “I really like to organize things,” says Stephenson. “So, the main thing I bring to the project is being able to make a plan and a to-do list and executing it.” 

While working on the room, Smith also realized a knack for building a plan and making it happen promptly. “That’s something I didn’t know I had, but this has helped me grow that skill,” she says. Having worked at the store for four years, Smith also brought extensive product knowledge to the project. “I think we’ve worked pretty well together with my knowledge of gear and the fact Olivia’s good at timelines and getting things done,” says Smith.  

The boat room project is a good example of how young employees thrive and discover things about themselves when they’re encouraged to lead a project. As they collaborate with team members, enjoy success, and navigate failures, they discover their strengths and weaknesses. Plus, experts say that empowered employees also become more loyal to the business.

“When your employees feel happy and respected at work, they’re more likely to become loyal to your brand,” says Lydia Vargo, senior vice president for ChickExecs, a public relations and marketing firm. In a piece for Forbes magazine, she says, “If an employee feels like they aren’t playing to their strengths, then they will likely look to go elsewhere. It is your duty to develop their strengths in a way that serves their best interests, as well as those of your business.”

One great benefit of the project is that it allowed Smith and Stephenson to hone their time-management skills. Typically, they work together just two days a week, so they’ve had to schedule tasks strategically, allowing time to perform regular store duties while also allotting 10 to 15 hours per week to create the new paddlesports room. “Teamwork has been a big part of this,” says Smith, noting that she and Olivia had to work together to muscle heavy boats into the new room.  

While the project is sometimes a heavy lift, they’re progressing well and hope to finish in January. With the holiday season in full swing, they face hectic days working the sales floor while completing the paddlesports room. But they’ve embraced the challenge and appreciate the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution, especially as young staff members.  

“It’s a lot of responsibility,” says Smith. “But it’s nice that Charlie trusts us to do this.”