Pros
Staff discounts, working with like-minded young people, seeing the range of clothing across the brands within the company, flexibility of working days and hours due largely to a lovely manager.
Cons
Managers and those in head office had a generally terrible reputation, as they brought a strong sense of self-importance and arrogance to the company. Treating those who worked in the stores as money makers without any positive company ethos, APG's treatment of employees can be summed up well by the fact that this year head office had a Christmas party to themselves, and no stores were given any allowances for a Christmas party or were invited to a company wide Christmas party. This sense of entitlement is what defines the company to many of those who work in the stores. It was a well known fact that the company implicitly suggests to employees that promotions will be available and attainable to them, and on all occasions known to me have never provided these opportunities for career advancement, and have only used these promises to force managers to do work they would otherwise not have done. In terms of the clothing itself, the company must assume customers are idiots, with a substitution of quality of materials (a movement from silks and cottons to modal and polyester) without a decrease in price. Over my time at the company I have seen a decrease in the quality of the fabrics and also the designs of the garments. A lack of originality, and overall blandness of the clothes being produced means it's no wonder the company isn't selling a spectacular amount of products.