Joseph Denofrio
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Senior Vice President for Fashion, Macy’s
Joseph Denofrio, a New Jersey native, completed 16 years of
education in the Catholic school system. Graduating from
Seton Hall University with a BA in government, he immediately
began a retail career with Macy’s through its college
recruitment program.
Although home has never exceeded a 10 mile radius, business
travel for product development has provided exposure
to various cultures, life styles, and standards of living around
the world.
Looking back on his school years, Joe credits the Boy
Scouts National Honor Society and serving as business manager
of his high school’s yearbook as key experiences that
prepared him for the business world. Eventually, he became
Senior Vice President of Fashion for Macy’s and spent much
time developing his expertise in women’s and men’s fashion,
to complement his retail experience in home furnishings.
Joseph Denofrio
Aim High
I guess aiming high works as well in the candy business as it does
in the courtroom.
Time goes by quickly when we’re having fun and doing
something we like. That is the one thing that we all have
in common, and that’s how I feel about the years that I have
spent working in the retail business. It’s been a lot of hard
work, mind you, but always fun. No matter what else I’ve
Source: Printed with permission from Joseph Denofrio.
tried, no matter where others attempted to lead me, the one
consistent source of fun for me was, and still is, the search
for that perfect item on my shopping list.
These items have changed over the years. The earliest
search that I can remember was for a box of 64 Crayola
Crayons with the built-in pencil sharpener. I found it and have
been shopping ever since. My most recent search has been
for a log cabin built on a lake. I am happy to say that as of this
writing, I am sitting in the kitchen of my dream home, overlooking
that lake.
In between the crayons and the lake is more than 35 years
in the retail business that has brought me from my first job
in the world’s smallest candy store to Macy’s—“the world’s
largest department store.” When I was 12, the owner of my
local candy store asked me if I wanted to work for him during
my summer vacation. I started working four hours a day
for a dollar an hour and still remember receiving my first
$20 bill in a bank envelope. Looking at pictures of myself during
this time in my life, I think I must have spent my entire
pay right there in the candy store!
Carl, the owner of the store, was the first of several role
models who over the years taught me about personal proprietorship.
Carl’s name was on that store, and he worked hard
to ensure that it was the best that it could possibly be. I remember,
even at 12, feeling very proud that he had entrusted
me with certain duties that he said no one did better than I.
Today, I delegated a task to someone at work and told him it
was because he could perform it better than I could. He did.
Thanks Carl.
This job continued through my high school years. I did
great at school. I scored very high on the standardized tests
and received a lot of advice to aim for a conventional profession.
The guidance counselors kept repeating “law school,”
but my mind was on planning the best candy and ice cream
presentations anywhere. I guess aiming high works as well in
the candy business as it does in the courtroom.
College was very important. I attended a university that
had its own law school and I did well during my four years
there. I was accepted to continue on, and join the law program.
The two most important realizations that I had during
my college years were:
1. That there were a lot of talented and capable people
sitting next to me in class and working hard would be
the only way that I could measure up.
2. I couldn’t wait until 4:00 PM every weekday. That was
the time that I went to my job at the local department
store.
Putting realizations 1 and 2 together, I accepted a job in
Macy’s Executive Training Program, after a college recruiter
came to visit my campus.
Twenty-five years later, I was still working hard at what I
loved. I felt as energized before retirement as I did the day I
started. I have now covered every level of management from
executive trainee through senior vice president. Some jobs
during the years were harder than others. I stuck with it because
the retail operation never stopped exciting me. As I
climbed through management, I never forgot how proud my
first boss Carl was to have his name on the front of his store.
I guess you can call me “Joe Macy.” I’ll always appreciate that
someone recognized dedication and talent in me. I’d like to
return that favor to all of you talented future retailers.
Always remember:
Put your name on it,
Find your role models,
Discover what it is that no one else can do better
than you,
Keep your eyes open for the talents in others,
And most important,
Have fun and you’ll have a happy and successful
career.