Great company and place to work, but new CEO could spell trouble on the horizon.
Pros
Carter's is a wonderful company to work for. Their products are amazing, they have major connections with there consumers, it is easy to be proud of the product you deliver. The environment is very family oriented and laid back, but you definitely work hard and are expected to deliver results. The Atlanta office is a wonderful, open work environment, no closed doors, open space, a community feel, in a great location. There is a young feel to this company as a result of the younger artists and designers, it gives off a great vibe.
Cons
There is very little personal or career development. Job descriptions are hard to find. Performance goals, objectives and reviews are very weak (although they are working on that). There is a lot of working in silos. You would be surprised that everyone is working towards the same company goal at times. Upward mobility or movement within the company is rarely seen. Communication top down and bottom up is not great, but they are working on it. There is only 1 female top executive in the company. From VP up it is mainly male, under that is probably 75% - 80% female dominate. The executive team's claim to fame is that they have been together for over 13 years. That is changing since the CEO retired in August. Since then you can feel there are problems and changes going on at the executive level. Top people have left or been fired and there have been words of additional key player departures. A recent restructure reduced the total company by over 25% was very drastic after a positive 2008 performance in this economy. Poor decisions are being made to keep Wall Street happy and clearly tells the employees that "family" is not a priority.