PARKERSBURG - Preparations for Christmas 2012 are in full swing at the Coldwater Creek East Coast distribution center.
Steven Orn, divisional vice president of operations, said the retailer has hired or will hire about the same number of people as last year. He said they began hiring seasonal workers at the beginning of October and will continue to hire people into mid-November
"We will hire somewhere between 50 to 75 people this year," he said. "A majority of the jobs will be material handler jobs, unloading trucks and loading trucks on the outbound side and processing items through the building."
Article Photos
Coldwater Creek employees Zachary Tumlin, left, and Eric Diddle, right, load boxes off a truck onto pallets for storage at the East Coast distribution center at the Parkersburg Business Park. (Photo by Jeffrey Saulton)
Orn said the company will hire a number of people for gift wrapping.
"We will also hire some gifters who will do some of the gift wrapping for Christmas gifts," he said.
The temporary hires will work with the 300 to 350 employees at the center. Many of those are people who have worked at the center during peak times in past years.
Most of the jobs will end in early January, Orn said.
The busiest time for the center is not Black Friday but the following Monday, known in the retail industry as Cyber Monday, he said.
"Cyber Monday and the day after it are the biggest days," he said. "We will be very busy here."
The local center also handles distribution to the Coldwater Creek stores. When the center on Coldwater Creek Drive opened in 1999, the company had two retail stores; today there are more than 350 premium and outlet stores.
