Retailers don’t want to pass up the opportunity and are hiring for Christmas, but in a climate of uncertainty.
The usual processes of hiring workers to respond to the high turnover that large stores await for Christmas have already begun, although uncertainty over the pandemic has given rise to ambition. And there are many expectations, not least because the two months before Christmas and New Years account for about 30% of the annual turnover of these companies.
Retailers “are hiring, but not at a pre-pandemic level, as a result of people’s changing habits and some uncertainty” about the pandemic, says Gonçalo Lobo Xavier, CEO of the Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies (APED).
As he stresses, this era is “essential for specialty retailing” and, above all, is essential for the fashion, toys and cosmetics sectors, which “need to reactivate.” According to him, retailers are encouraged by the frequency of visitors and are recording “interesting revenue, and in some segments, such as electronics and furniture, higher than in 2019.”
Christina Santos, a member of the Sonae Sierra executive committee, says “traffic is recovering quite well,” although sales are down 3% in the first ten months of this year compared to the same period in 2019.
Hundreds employed
El Corte Inglés has recruited over 500 people nationwide for a period of two to four months, with the possibility of recruiting after that period. The chain requires employees for the supermarket, warehouse, replacement and for all retail space, especially those in high demand at the present time, such as toys, Christmas decorations and packaging.
As in previous years, Fnac is strengthening its logistics, e-commerce and store operations. The retailer, which points to an increase in sales compared to 2019 despite issues related to health and the economic situation in the country, estimates the increase in the number of employees at about 15%, an increase of 255 people. people.
To ensure the right number of people for the peak sales associated with the Black Friday and Christmas campaigns, Worten moved in with “hundreds of new employees, mainly to serve as salesperson and logistics operator,” an official source for the brand said.
Ikea, which is very focused on e-commerce, has not relied on significant recruiting this time of year, as it has already identified some employees in the summer who are guaranteed to respond to needs.
Continent
Over the past few months, Continente has made adjustments to the composition and size of its stores and logistics operations.
Jeronimo Martins
The Jerónimo Martins Group says it will only add more employees to the teams of 21 Hussel chocolate stores.
