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Photo by Tracie Morris Schaefer
Chanh Phan packages ties at the warehouse of Randa Accessories.
Randa Accessories
At Randa Accessories’ St. Rose facility, it’s
not tough to find employees who have
been with the company for decades.
“I have three employees at this facility with
over 40 years of experience,” Senior Vice
President Randy Kennedy said. “I have over a
half-dozen with over 30 years. We’ve got a very
stable long-term work force.”
The company is a world leader in manufacturing,
distributing and marketing men’s
accessories such as neckties, wallets and luggage
for partners that include Ecko Unlimited,
Liz Claiborne and Perry Ellis Portfolio.
Randa operates in eight countries. It
employs 250 people locally and more than
1,000 worldwide.
Employees say there is plenty of room to
grow within Randa, which has a large menu of
career opportunities, including accounting,
computer programming, engineering and
serving customers.
During his 25 years with the company,
Kennedy worked his way up from sweeping
floors to become a top executive.
Charlie Fos, who rose from staff industrial
engineering to vice president of distribution in
his 35 years, said he has stuck around because
he values the fairness in which Randa treats its
employees and enjoys the company of his colleagues.
“For the most part, the entire group gets
along pretty well,” Fos said. “There’s some
fairly decent camaraderie. There’s a lot of
personal pride in getting the jobs done correctly
and properly and a little bit of competition
between some the departments, a
friendly competition.”
Randa has a predominantly female work
force and is sympathetic to the family obligations
of its working mothers, Fos said.
Cindy Dufresne, an executive assistant and
single mother, said she is grateful that the
company was willing to work around her
schedule when she had to tend to some personal
issues several years ago.
“I was still able to work with the company
and handle the situation without it interfering
with my employment,” said Dufresne, who has
been with Randa for more than five years.
“That was a big help. I had only been here a
year. A lot of companies might have said,
‘Over. Done.’ But not here.”
Nature of business: men’s accessories manufacturer
Where based: St. Rose
Employees: 1,000 worldwide with 240 locally
Average starting salary: $18,720 for warehouse staff ($9
an hour, calculated on a 40-hour week), $40,000 for office staff
Median salary: $22,880 for warehouse staff ($11 an hour,
calculated on a 40-hour week), $55,000 a year for office staff
Average employment time: nine years
Benefits: health care with 90 percent coverage, 401(k) with
up to 4 percent match, dental and prescription plans, unmarried
partner benefits, paid maternity leave, relocation assistance,
employee recognition program
Wait time for benefits: 45 days
Paid days off: 19.5
Web site: www.randa.net
Employees said Randa goes out of its way to
build a family atmosphere. The company holds
an annual family day at New Orleans City Park,
gives workers turkeys just before Thanksgiving
and hams before Christmas, and sponsors onsite
wellness screenings once a year.
And employees don’t take for granted that
Randa’s six-year-old warehouse is climatecontrolled.
“Our entire warehouse is air conditioned,
which is not required for our product,”
Kennedy said. “We do it truly for our employees’
comfort, and if you go around Louisiana,
it’s extremely rare that you’ll find any air-conditioned
warehouse unless it happens to be a
medical supplier.”•
— Ryan Chatelain
December 14, 2009 37