Your direct purchase apparel opportunities are growing rapidly at Huebsch. In fact, our corporate apparel sales grew by 16% in 2018. Part of that success can be attributed to Karina Moen, who joined a small department in a small company but is making a big impact.
Moen’s journey started while she was attending UW-Eau Claire and worked as a sales and marketing intern in the Huebsch Wisconsin office. She is now a successful corporate apparel account executive and works primarily out of our Minnesota office. Her story is a great example of the opportunities available in a smaller company within an industry that many still know little about.
Moen enjoyed her college experience at UW-Eau Claire. She was active in their chapter of the American Marketing Association, studied abroad, and was introduced to a successful internship at Huebsch. As Moen was wrapping up her college career, she thought she knew what the next step would be.
“I interviewed other places, too,” said Moen. “I was an international business major and thought I wanted to work for a large international company. But everything felt impersonal when I interviewed with them.”
Instead, Huebsch listened to Moen’s internship feedback and offered her an opportunity to make an impact within the company immediately. Huebsch found a role for Moen that allowed her to continue doing what she enjoyed, while allowing her some ownership and freedom.
Moen tells the story of Dan Gregor, Minnesota Sales and Service Manager at Huebsch, giving her the keys to a sales vehicle and telling her to “go introduce yourself.” So, she did.
“I was able to travel and attend trade shows within a few months of being in my new position,” said Moen.
Moen is now a sales executive. She supports the direct sales apparel program. “We offer special high-value services that other competitors can’t,” Moen said. “Our custom program is comprehensive and includes a lot of bells and whistles.”
She elaborates on what she describes as a better customer experience with features like apparel packaged for each individual employee and online stores with specific employee budgets.
“Our customers’ office personnel can focus on their primary roles,” said Moen. “Rather than sorting through garments and gathering payments.”
When looking to the future, Moen is excited to see continued company growth at Huebsch and she’s grateful for the breadth of personal development opportunities she receives. “Huebsch realizes the importance of continuing education,” said Moen. “It supports both the employee and the company.”
“I am attending trade shows and visiting other industrial laundries,” added Moen. “We are always learning about what we can do to make our customers’ lives better.”
Moen was presented with other opportunities when she was finishing up her internship and college education. Yet she feels good about her decision to take a permanent position with Huebsch. “I’m so glad I chose Huebsch,” said Moen.
After growing up in a small town in Southern Wisconsin, she also now enjoys living in a large metropolitan area like Minneapolis. “I always wanted to live somewhere bigger,” said Moen. “And the transition has been great.”
She elaborates on the helpfulness of the Minnesota team by adding, “I ride along on the service routes to learn more about my sales territory. But the service reps also give me great ideas of places to eat and fun things to do.”
Expanding on her newly found contentment in Minnesota, Moen says, “I like to go to yoga in the park, bike around the lakes, and check out new restaurants. I didn’t realize the importance of work-life balance until I started comparing my great experience with other people my age who are also in their first jobs.”
She adds, “and to think this is all within an industry I didn’t even know existed four years ago!”