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23
9th January 2015
Knowledge is
power, but
enthusiasm pulls
the switch.
The Beales Resolution.
Start of a New Year…….normally
means resolutions, plans and
promises.
It is highly recommended to have
as few resolutions as possible;
too many and they get ignored,
forgotten, or are missed! My
single resolution for the business
in 2015 is for it to continue with
the progress that has been
established and started during the
last two years. What does this
mean?
My second anniversary of being
CEO takes place at the beginning
of February; I set a personal
target of two years to get Beales
back to where it belonged. Where
it’s heart is and where it is most
respected. “A local high street
department store in the heart of
the community”.
Year 1 was about changing the
culture of the business, almost
taking it backwards to move
forwards. Year 2 has been about
the Beales team working
collaboratively and in alignment. I
dare to suggest we have
succeeded on both counts. Year
3, 2015, is about continuing to
work in this same manner and
building on the solid foundation
we have all laid during the last
two years. Securing the
resources, financial, human or
intangible to achieve this, is my
immediate job in hand.
“There are many ways
of going forward, but
only one way of
standing still ”*, remember that?
We cannot stand still, Beales
cannot rest and take a breather; it
will get passed by all the other
retailers looking on, copying our
lead or changing themselves. We
have played catch up for the last
two years and now we need to
pull ahead of the rest. It is there
for the taking.
Whatever personal resolutions
you set for yourselves, I wish you
well with them; could you also add
Beales resolution to your short list
and continue to work alongside
me to take the business forward.
Michael
* US President Franklin D.
Roosevelt
“A local high street
department store in the
heart of the
community.”
Happy New Year to
you & lets make it a
good one !!
As I am writing this we have just
completed the analysis on the
last and most crucial 2 weeks of
trading. Most stores achieved
some great results and those that
didn’t have written regarding their
reasons. Any business leader at
any level has to ensure they take
appropriate action to deliver on
their Job Description-In stores
that is to maximise sales &
profits! As a Store Director and
Store Team you need to ensure
that you are fully engaged with
driving further sales and
delivering great customer service
during the following crucial sale
weeks.
Some stores have got it just right
with great stock holding and
fantastic sale execution-Take a
look at your Store again and
make sure your store is fully
engaged in all aspects of the
sale.
The Trading Team here at
Bournemouth are now engaged
in Buying for AW15; and, at the
same time reviewing what did not
work over AW14 to get it right
next time. There have been
some great results and it just
goes to show at times we have to
hold our nerve and not constantly
chase after discounts.
We are becoming really excited
now for the launch of SS15.We
have some fantastic new product
supported by some really new
and exciting ideas for POS.-I
think you will like the results.
Remember too we launch
Juniper in 3 stores for
Womenswear and Becky is also
working on the re-launch of
Beales collection. These are key
initiatives if we wish to grow our
Ladies OBT Fashions.
Menswear will also see a new
launch of an improved B&B
Range which will look great and
also the new launch of Howarth
which will replace James Aubrey.
So for now let’s keep driving
those sales and get into a plus
on Budget
Good Luck
Tony
Let’s make 2015 a good one
“Ensure you are fully
engaged with driving
further sales and
delivering great
customer service.”
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE NEW!
It’s a New Year, a new start and we have lots of “new
things” going on! We are currently preparing for 3 new
brands to join the business this month (selected stores
only) – Juniper (Womenswear), Haworth (Menswear) &
Farah 1920.
We’re also nearly ready to show you the Spring/Summer
2015 campaigns for the upcoming months, but as a
taster, (pre-guidelines!) we’ve included this little sneak
peek to the right…
We hope you like it. Guidelines will be out in the next
few weeks.
Shopping for Juniper shop kit!
Spring Summer 15
So, what a Xmas trading periods its been . . It started with: UK enjoys last warm weekend during unseasonably hot
Autumn.
The much awaited John Lewis £1m Xmas TV advert.
Then Black Friday!
The result of Black Friday.
Sales online increased in 2014, which caused
Christmas delivery issues! (Good news for the High
Street!!)
OUR RESULT:
•We held our nerve
•We pulled together
•12% ahead of LY & 6% ahead of budget!
•BOOM!
So, here’s to 2015, welcoming in new season
stock, launch of new OBT brands and much more!
Tash’s Top Tips for 2015. 1. When you are offering the scheme,
believe in the scheme and sell the
scheme! What advantages will our
customers gain if they sign up today?
2 Points for every £1, cash-value
vouchers twice a year, invitations
to the most exclusive events,
money-off events.
2. Interact with our customers, make
them part of our customer experience,
they won’t bite!
3. Unfortunately not every customer will
be eligible for a voucher – please
don’t make them this promise.
4. Remember cards can take up to 5-6
weeks to arrive, not less!
5. When speaking to our customer
service team at LaSer, always get the
name of the person you’re speaking
to.
6. Always get as much information as
you can when dealing with a Love
Rewards complaint/Query. THINK:
Name, Card Number, Address, Old
Address (If Applicable)
7. If a member of staff would like a staff
discount card, all application forms
need to be sent to Natasha Russell in
Marketing.
8. Any member of staff wanting a partner
card will have to fill out a separate
application form , these will also
need to be sent to Natasha Russell in
Marketing!
9. Green, Green, Green is what the Love
Rewards team love to see! Keep an
eye on your targets and try to achieve!
Here’s to a New Year!
Christmas Market in Saffron Walden.
Well done to Linda from Rochdale for
winning a Precis voucher.
Festive cake decorating demo in
Rochdale.
Well done to Maddi from B’mouth for
winning the Alfie Bear Hunt Competition.
ELF and Safety in Poole; love the
jumper Ashlee (HSCP)
The Brunts Academy join Mansfield.
Insight into Click & Collect Over the next couple of months we’ll be using the web page in DIFFERENT to give a bit more of an insight into
some of the web processes and terminologies. Last month, we looked at the ‘dispatched’ status. This month
we’re going to look at Click & Collects.
A Click and Collect order is an order where the customer has chosen a store as the delivery address for their
purchase, as opposed to their own address.
How do we get the stock to the right store ?
This means that whenever a customers order cannot be fulfilled by the C&C store, stock needs to be transferred
into the C&C store. This can be very time-consuming but letting the CSS Web Team know as soon as it is
dispatched, and as soon as it arrives helps us manage the customers expectation.
You should also try to pick your Click and Collect orders FIRST. This is because if the order is being collected
from your store, and you have the stock, the customer will be able to pick up their stock within a day of order –
and if you are providing the stock for another store they’ll appreciate you getting it out the door to them asap.
Does Click & Collect store have the stock?
YES
NO Fulfilment
Store
CSS Web
C&C store emails CSS web stock avail
CSS Web email customer stock avail C&C Store
Internal Transfer
1.1st Avenue – is still our main brand to
focus on – this month’s trend is called
Purple Haze. This is your introduction to
the summer season with transitional
pieces in stripes, spots, geometric and
floral prints. Please look at layering new
collections on mannequins during this
cold period to help entice customers to
buy. Please also use any NEW SEASON
signage so the customer is aware of new
product’s coming in.
2.Everyone will be getting EDC this
season – great price point basics – inc
jeans for £29, leggings & vests for £10.
Perfect basics to help with outfit building
& up-selling.
3.VM standards need to be improved so I
shall be working on guidelines with the
VM team to send out to the business.
4.Weekly best sellers will also be sent out
so you will be aware of what is a key
focus each week.
Happy New Year everybody –
we hope you had a great
Christmas! Here’s to a very
exciting 2015 on Womenswear,
1.Well done to Bournemouth,
who have taken a whopping
£3.2k up for wk 9! Well done
team!
2.The robin jumper was one of
our best selling line’s for the
season!
1. A new year a new colour in
Amourette 300 – this season’s colour is
flashy pink. This is an all store line with
top stores receiving sizes up to 38J!!!
This is a trial to see if we can sell
fashion in the bigger cup sizes.
2. Also coming in this season is Lepel
Fiore in Electric Blue so we have some
real colour pops on departments this
season!
3.Swimwear will be going to ALL stores
for SS15 – first drop will be in feb but to
make you aware now so you can plan
space, further details to follow.
4.Feb promo buys in Lingerie are the
Bestform styles Tessalia & Calvi –
these will be 30% off.
5.We have some great Nightwear
promo buys for feb. Perfect pieces to
keep you warm and cosy. We will be
taking 30% off these too!
Happy Selling!
1.Peterborough had a great week
on Lingerie in wk 9 +22%! Well
done team!
2.Lepel Bridgette was our best
selling bra & briefs so if you still
have stock give it one last push!
The last 2 weeks sales have been
great! Well done to you all!
Keep up the momentum - Please
see the below. MENSWEAR WEEKS 8&9 THIS YEAR - £541,109 LAST YEAR - £441,233 VARIANCE - £99,876 VS. LY YEAR- +23% BUDGET – £456,421 VARIANCE - £84,688 VS. BUDGET - +19%
Replenishment will be delivered to stores
from this week onwards.
SS2015:- January New Deliveries to
stores:
Brand Order No:
January Deliveries:-
Ben Sherman 129572 & 129576
Crew Clothing 124022
Duck & Cover 121436
D555 124043A
D555 124050A
Esprit 129582 & 129583
Jack & Jones 124011 & 127258
Joules 121422 & 121427
Levis 127249
Timberland 121406
Tommy Hilfiger 121408 & 124015
Barbour 124001
Farah 121417
Haworth 121441,121447 & 121480
Calvin Klein 124017
Note:- Exiting James Aubrey for SS2015
D555 – Check short sleeve shirt & T-shirt combo
D555 – Core line plain assorted colour jersey t-shirts
D555 – New season jersey, shirts & light jackets
Well our Accessories Ladies definitely love a
bargain – Winter Sale has seen the figures
soar!!!
Fashion Accessories and Hosiery finished
Week 9 +34%: an excellent achievement, well
done to all the teams out in stores driving
sales.
Cumulatively vs. LY the following stores are
positive:
Hexham, Poole, Southport, Bolton, Yeovil,
Kendal, Tonbridge, Worthing, Horsham,
Rochdale, Beccles, Bishop, Keighley, Kings
Lynn, Lowestoft, Mansfield, Peterborough,
Redcar, Skegness, Spalding, St Neots and
Wisbech. Congratulations and keep up the
good work
And the shining stars, up vs. budget and last
year are as follows:
Hexham +3%, Kendal +7, Tonbridge +6%,
Beccles +2%, Bishop 1%, Keighley +24%,
Kings Lynn +13%, Lowestoft 3%, Mansfield
4%, Redcar +2, St Neots 10%
Amazing and some of our stores not on the
list are so, so close!
Replen and Sale Top Ups - These
will be arriving thick and fast over
the next few weeks as we try to
replenish and recover from such a
strong sales performance. If you
need any additional stock, please
contact a member of the Buying
Team to request.
Feb Promos due in for Price
Establishment:
KS Brands Fleece Animal
matching glove and scarf set
Sirco Handbags
Radford Scarves (Selected
Stores)
Wellies (Selected Stores) .
Thank you all for your help and
support over such a crucial trading
period, long may it continue!
SALES 1st December - 24th December : 144 Small Leathers 0% 145 Handbags +17% 147 Soft Accs +19% 124 Hosiery +13%
SALES 1st December - 24th December :
144 Small Leathers 0%
145 Handbags +17%
147 Soft Accs +19%
124 Hosiery +13%
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
At the Store Director conference I said that I would award a
hamper of goodies to the store who put the biggest increase on
between the conference and year end. I am pleased to announce
that the winner is: Hexham who finished +22%! Congratulations
to the Fashion Accessories and Hosiery Team in Hexham –
prizes will be with you ASAP.
•December numbers were flat in the
end so well done we picked up the
loses from previous weeks at the very
end.
•Mac – A special mention as they
exceeded all expectations with a
massive double digit growth for the
month of +17% taking 40k per week in
each of the last 2 weeks.
•Bobbi Brown also had a strong
December taking £42k.
•Other Highlights included Best Sellers
Benefit Mascara – 841 Units, Lauder
Blockbuster 521 Units , Clarins Hand
Cream 457 Units – Well done to all.
•Clinique Incentives – Beales excelled
last year with the prizes our teams won
in Bournemouth, Worthing, Hexham
and St Neots – lets beat it in 2015.
It`s all about Spring and What`s New
– we want to focus on Valentines and
Mothers Day earlier, bigger + better
this year.
The Buying Team are working to
rush new product and basics to you
asap – look out for Emma
Bridgewater Toiletries and New Lily
Of the Valley from Heathcote.
A New Collection called Julie
Dodsworth will be trialing in 6 stores
and then rolling out soon after.
In January it`s all about the Clinique
GWP starting on the 22nd – see
attached visual. A very colourful print
should look great on counter – Good
Luck.
Regards, Linda, Clare + Shobha.
Happy New Year to All from the Cosmetics Team – thank
you for all your hard work and here we go Again !!
Christmas!!! Make sure it is all out and we
are pushing as much as possible. More
markdowns to come to add into that 70%
OFF offer. Please WAS and NOW as soon
as those markdowns come through. Ensure
the WAS price is the top/first price so the
customer can clearly see the full saving.
Gift food – sell by dates. We don’t want to
end up in the same position we had this time
last year so keep your beady eyes on the
dates, particularly on bulk stock from Mrs
Bridges and Muircroft. Our margin is now
better on gift food so well done to everyone
for getting this back to where it needs to be.
Replen Ranges – we have just re-ranged
LC Design clocks and Sixtrees frames, ready
for SP15 and the figures are improving week
on week. Both ranges were up last week.
Please ensure you refer to the guidelines
from VM and have one sample out and the
rest in boxes behind. If you are struggling to
get all the options out, let us know and we
can look at cutting out some options for you.
The 2 x main Christmas weeks were
strong for us (week 8 and 9) on the
Christmas departments. However we
haven’t managed to pull back to deficient
for the total season. We do have more
stock than this time last year so a
stronger offer for our Winter Sale. Some
areas had a big increase on last year
(crackers +8%, wreaths +62%, candles
+89%, Baylis and Harding +101%) but
some areas pulled us back (Beales Bear
-35%, Tree Decs -41%, Cards -13%). In
the majority of ranges our GP was better
than last year so this is a real positive.
WOW! The Wax Lyrical Candles and
Reed Diffusers have been AMAZING this
season!!! Thank you to everyone who
pushed this range. The sales were +59%
VS LY, with an increase of 40K. We have
now gone to 60% OFF to clear so please
ensure it all out in bulk and still looking
strong, you will be surprised how many
we will still sell.
Happy New Year! From the Gifts and Stationery Team!
Top 3 Performing Stores
Saffron + 28%
Winchester +8%
Wisbech +7%
Top Performing Categories
Garden furniture +835%**
Boards & WTS +62%
Table Linen +42%
Storage +30%
**no, your eyes are not deceiving you,
some stores are managing to sell Bistro
Sets in the depths of Winter! Let’s all
make the most of this rather unusual
selling opportunity by ensuring these sets
are represented in bulk in your Winter Sale
area.
Bestsellers
Personalise Your Own Laptray £7.7k
Juno Entertaining Set £5.1k
Salisbury 24 Piece Cutlery Set £5k
Christmas Stock – thanks to everyone
for the amazing sell through achieved on
Housewares Christmas lines. Just a tiny
little push needed by all to get the last bits
and bobs sold please!
Replenishment – we have just completed
running the entire Housewares
replenishment schedule and sent the
orders to Suppliers. So, when this stock
starts arriving in the next one to two weeks
please make a special effort to quickly get
your shelves nice and full, clean, tidy and
neat, especially your Glassware
departments which may be looking a little
low on stock.
Peggy Wilkins Core Table Linen – this
range consists of the Prelude and Torino
designs in red, white and champagne and
is now being replenished (see previous
point), so please ensure it is separated
from the Peggy Wilkins Christmas Table
Linen residue and displayed appropriately,
preferably hanging.
These sets of three Renberg
Frying Pans from AIS are made
from superior quality aluminium
finished with a black, speckled
effect, durable non-stick ceramic
coating and have vibrantly
coloured, soft touch handles. They
will be promoted at 50% off.
We’ll be getting these RHS Mugs,
as well as new Alex Clark Mugs
from Churchill and come promotion
time, they’ll all have over 30% off.
To boost and refresh our mug
offering even further we’ve bought
a selection of The Leonardo
Collection William Morris and
Autumn Fruits Mugs which will also
be promoted at over 30% off.
We’ve re-bought this Kitchen Craft
Pancake Pan with recipe in time
for Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)
on 17 February. They are going to
be Was £18, Now £12.
Finally, we have a two ranges of glassware from Tradestock. One is
called Alternato which has a striking bubble in the base giving it a
contemporary look. The other range is called Helsinki which has a
hammered effect look.
FEBRUARY OFFERS . . .
Top Performing Stores:
Yeovil +45%
Horsham +39%
Tonbridge +29%
Best Sellers in December:
TVs
Digihome 40” LED TV 40272SMFHDLED
£15.5k
Digihome 32” Smart TV 32272SMHDLED
£4.5k
Samsung 32” LED TV UE32H5000 £3.5k
SDA
Morphy Richards 48822 Stainless Steel
Soup Maker £7.7k
Dyson DC25 Animal £4.9k
Morphy Richards 732000 Supervac £4.6k
MDA
Bosch WAE24063GB Washing Machine
£5.9k
Hotpoint HULT943P Washing Machine
£5.8k
Hotpoint RFAA52P Fridge Freezer £5.5k
Winter Sale - Winter Sale for Electrical has been live since 24th December. Please keep a copy of the Winter Sale Promotional Pack in the Electrical department for reference and promote those Hero Lines. Clearance - Now is the time to focus on clearing those old electrical stocks including lines from the Christmas promotion and selling through those TVs! Please make sure the TVs are prominently displayed within the department with clear pricing. Floorcare Driveline for January Morphy Richards 732000 2in1 Vacuum Cleaner Key Features: Can be used as a cordless upright vacuum cleaner or a handheld (simply un-clip the handheld from the front of the machine); Bagless and easy to empty; Lightweight at 4.9kg; The handle folds back on itself for easy storage (see photo); Sits on a small charging stand with indicator light to show when fully charged; run time of approx. 20 minutes. This product has been successful in the last few weeks; if we all get behind it we can achieve huge sales! Please have a play with the machine and get to know its facilities so you are well equipped with the knowledge required to sell it!!
HIGHLIGHTS OF MONTH
KEY FOCUSES
Grampian Stag: This has been our best
selling sale buy since I started at Beales!!!
In the first week we took over £4.5k in
sales with some stores selling all their
stocks within 2 weeks, AMAZING!!!!
Face Cloths Packs: A new offer for
Beales and has proved a success taking
an average of £1k a week which at £5 a
pack is a fab result.
Bathroom Accessories: Sales +15% in
December with shower curtains sales
+34% vs Ly
Bedcare: Sales +13% in December with
sales on our Slumberfleece ranges up
+21% vs Ly
Clearing out of stock rooms – please ensure
you have all linens stocks out of your stock
rooms and that stock is out in bulk on the shop
floor in your designated sale areas. We have
some great offers on our residue lines so let’s
use this opportunity to clear out as much as
possible.
Whitakers Towels – Stores are now fully
stocked of the new Whitakers towels colours but
we are still struggling with sales. Ensure you
have all stocks out and that your back walls are
looking strong.
Bathroom Scales– The new ranges of bathroom
scales are in and selling well. Diets are a
massive focus in January so let’s try and entice
customers into buying scales whilst we are all on
our fitness spree!
Duvets & Pillows – As we start the New Year
customers will want a fresh start with their
bedding so January is the perfect month to push
your Fogarty/Fine Bedding core ranges of duvets
and pillows.
SS15 Range – 2 new bedding designs are due in
from Dreams and Drapes in January called
Kayleigh and Country Journal. As soon as these
designs arrive in stores make sure you get them
onto your display beds.
KAYLEIGH STONE COUNTRY JOURNAL
Well done to you all, 11% up on last year
in Dec, Christmas week 16% up on
budget, great performance all round
Congratulations to the Top 5 stores on
own bought in Dec
- Worthing - Bournemouth
- Mansfield - Yeovil
-Tonbridge
The success of Christmas was built on
Frozen, Live Pets, Radio Control and
Lego with advent calendars being the
best sellers. Construction was the top
category taking 20% of our total with Pre
School at 15% followed by Dolls at 9%
due mainly to Frozen. Fun facts – Chill
factor was number 12 best seller, not
just a summer line, we sold over 2000
Minecraft £2.99 figures in the last two
weeks, live pets bird cage has been our
best seller for the last 11 weeks and we
sold £3000 of penguins in two weeks –
thanks John Lewis!
Replen - Priorities are Galt, Schleich, Top
Model, Big Jigs etc our core ranges, they’ve
taken a battering over Christmas so expect
orders very soon
New Lego, we have a challenging time ahead
of us with the Lego movie being such a massive
success last year, however there’s some great
new products and ranges to come in, none more
so than the Elsa’s Frozen Ice Castle @ £34.99.
New City, Friends and Disney will be delivered
in January – New Classic, Ninjago and Star
Wars in February
Big Hero 6- Release date 30th January 2015,
Top 10 stores -Robotics prodigy Hiro lives in the
city of San Fransokyo, his closest companion is
Baymax a robot whose sole purpose is to take
care of people. When a devastating turn of
events throws Hiro into the middle of a
dangerous plot, he transforms Baymax and his
other friends into a band of high-tech heroes.
Seven skus with Action Figures @ £8.99 the
volume line
Sledges - Are you ready for snow? Are your
sledges and snowboards out where they can be
seen
BIG HERO 6
Our top 3 turnover concessions this
month were:
Craghoppers,
Jones Bootmaker
Yankee Candle.
Craghoppers was up £97,580
overall on last year. Apricot was up
£73,681 and Yankee Candle was
also up £54,978!
Performances of the month
Congratulations to Yankee Candle
in Mansfield, who took £19,430
more than last year. Yankee Candle
was also significantly up in Yeovil
and Abingdon.
Well done to Buckingham
Jewellery who were up £8,270 on
last year. Equilibrium also did well
this month, with total sales of
£38,034!
For 2015 we see a lot of New
Openings:
We have had an agreement from
Miss Selfridge to join us in our
Horsham store in 2015.
Dash is replacing Minuet in Bedford.
Urban Beach, Peter Gribby and
Craghoppers - Hexham
Lock, Stock and Barbershop – Yeovil
Peterborough College Hairdressers –
Peterborough
Viz-a-Viz – Skegness
We are also working on the following
for February:
Jones Bootmakers – Southport
Crisca – Southport and
Bournemouth
Viz-a-Viz – Southport
Precis – Bolton and Tonbridge
Carl Scarpa - Worthing
NEW OPENINGS . . .
Pheew! What an amazing run up to
Christmas and then on into the New
Year.
The Catering teams can all give
themselves a massive pat on the
back with Obt Catering finishing the
first 9 weeks at +7%. Now we just
have to keep the momentum going!
We out-Turkeyed last year by 63%, in
other words we sold over 12,000
Christmas lunches – wow, incredible!!
Winning lines were the Cranberry
Twist and Viennese mince pies, with
some great additional sales coming
from our gingerbread Snowman, the
Stollen slice and the new Rich fruit
and Nut cake.
Breakfast with Santa served 1300
children this year with Mansfield
topping the charts with 206! What an
achievement to create the magic for
so many kids, well done to all
concerned for generating such an
unforgettable series of events – even
bigger and better next year!
We now have the new Menu in place
and Katherine will be sending out
guidelines as to how to position and
use the new Menu cabinets. We will
also be introducing new POS which
will allow us flexibility on putting on
‘special offers’ to drive footfall when
trade is slow.
The new promos for January will start
Saturday 10th, with a great link deal –
a regular hot drink and a Danish for
just £3 – and don’t forget you get your
discount too! Or try our Jacket Potato
offer, 2 for only £8.
Here’s wishing that 2015 is fruitful
and bountiful for us all!
To a fruitful and bountiful 2015
Despite December usually being a month Services keeps a low profile, to let the stores focus on taking the money, this year it has been full on! We moved H.R. to the 4th floor in Granville and in anticipation of leasing out the 1ST floor we completed a thorough repair and maintenance programme throughout, including ensuring all data and phone connections were active and in place. The Payroll department was also moved from the Bournemouth store to Granville to join HR. High level lighting repairs have been completed in Winchester, new data and telephone cabling installed in ‘In Time’ in Poole, and lighting repairs concluded in Horsham and Bournemouth.
We held an H&S Committee meeting during December which highlighted the need to review the use of Maintenance books – we are on the case! But the main focus of our attention has been Accidents and the prevention of them. The new forms for both reporting and investigating accidents are now on the Connect system with full guidelines explaining why we need to do what we need to do and how to do it! Please take the time to have a look as it’s important we all know what is required of us when an accident happens. But more importantly – how to stop one happening in the first place! Please ensure you use the new documentation as there have been recent changes to them.
Although the milder unseasonal weather in December hampered trade, it was good to us from a buildings perspective; however, latterly we have experienced some problems with snow and roofs! The good news is that work started on Mansfield this week so we should be able to say goodbye to the buckets in that store! We wish everyone in the business a healthy, safe and happy New Year.
This months update . . .
The next 3 months . . . For the next 3 months, our primary focus will be on
the till replacement project for stores 21-39. As I’m
sure you can appreciate, this is a major task that is
taking up the majority of our time, and giving me
plenty of headaches!
We have an incredibly tight rollout schedule
planned, which at this moment in time, is still
looking ok. During the months of February and
March, the majority of the IT team will be out on the
road completing the installation of new systems in
stores, which leaves limited resources in CSS to
cover the support desk. I would ask that you all
please bear this in mind when calling for support on
any non-urgent issues.
PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance has also
reared it’s ugly head again, and has thrown the odd
spanner in the works….but hopefully nothing we
can’t handle.
Alongside the till project, the BI (Business
Intelligence) server has recently been upgraded
with new storage devices, and the data partitioned
to improve performance and hopefully eliminate
some of the problems colleagues were
experiencing when analysing data. BI is constantly
evolving, frequently presenting new challenges for
us to overcome. Luckily, Sean (our BI Analyst) is
well up for a challenge!
As ever, there are plenty of minor tweaks and
additions to various aspects of the systems
underway, some still in planning stages, some in
the testing phase and others ready to go
live. Combined with the day to day support of all
stores and CSS, it’s just about enough to keep us
all out of trouble!
Have a great 2015, and I’ll see some of you in the
not too distant future with some shiny new tills to
play with!
In addition to processing
£2.5 million of invoices in
the month the whole
department has been kept
busy by the visit from the
external auditors who have
been in carrying out their
fieldwork for the 2013-14
year end.
The statutory accounts are
in the process of being
drafted and will be sent to
the printers in due course
prior to the Annual General
Meeting.
As stores know, Wells
Fargo, our funders, carry
out store visits each
quarter to check the
accuracy of the stock
records – they also visit
CSS each quarter and
carry out a detailed audit,
paying particular attention
to stock and creditors.
Payroll.
This months update . . .
The payroll team have
recently moved back into
Granville Chambers,
having been based within
the Bournemouth store for
the last two years.
Finally, a very big
CONGRATULATIONS to
Sue Murray who just got
engaged!
HR NOTICEBOARD ABCD ACHIEVEMENTS
Anthony Perrin Connie Bristow Sue Kempton Kate Rothman Julie Knight Maxine Chapman
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!
Back to The Floor - A big THANK YOU to all CSS
Colleagues who spent time working in Bournemouth,
Poole, Yeovil, Winchester & Abingdon stores in
December, your help was greatly appreciated in the
stores and their feedback was very positive .
AR’s - The Annual Review process (AR’s) starts in
January & will all be completed by the end of March.
For those of you due to carry out AR’s for your team -
now is the time to start planning when you will do
them. For those of you due to receive an AR – ask
your line manager when yours will be! .
Holiday -The 2013-2014 Holiday year ends in
approximately 12 weeks, make sure you use your
entitlement in time. Holiday cards for the 2014-2015
year will be issued at the end of February/beginning of
March. .
Contact details - Please ensure that your emergency
contact details are correct.
Expression of wish -You should also ensure that
your expressions of wish forms are up to date if you
are currently in the pension scheme. Its very important
that this information is current
Congratulations to Emma Hardman-Drake who has achieved her ABCD badge
Amy Carter Dorta Szymanska
VACANCIES
Buying Administration Assistant (Part-time) Head Office .
Are you interested in starting a career in Buying? We are looking for an enthusiastic
Administration Assistant to join our busy Buying team at our head office in Bournemouth.
With the support of the Buyer you will process replenishment and raise orders; ensure all orders
are delivered by checking deliveries and chasing suppliers; take a proactive approach to stock and
sales and advise the Buyer accordingly. Working with Accounts you will create and maintain
stock/supplier records accurately on the central database i.e. changes to terms, addresses,
contacts, telephone number etc.
You must be able to demonstrate excellent IT and communication skills, be highly organised, and
show initiative when dealing with a variety of situations, to effectively prioritise your work.
The ideal candidate with have an interest in the retail sector and will be looking to gain experience
within Buying. Previous experience working in retail is desirable.
If you are interested in applying for this role please forward your covering letter and CV to Beckie
Andrews [email protected], please ensure you state the role and store in your subject
field.
DORTA SZYMANSKA
DURATION: 2 years, 2 months.
FAVOURITE COLOUR: Pink
FAVOURITE FOOD: Enjoy eating food a lot (especially
homemade food) as long as it’s healthy and of course in
moderation.
JOB SUMMARY: First, I started working in the
Bournemouth store in TOYS department and then I was
offered a permanent position in GIFTS which I enjoyed,
but it was hard work. Now I am working as a HR
Administrator which I really enjoy. My new job
role involves dealing with store’s paperwork.
BONUS FACT: My motto is: Keep the faith and do your
best in life.
HR ADMINISTRATOR
EMILY HALE
DURATION: 3 Months
FAVOURITE COLOUR: Purple
FAVOURITE FOOD: Cake, preferably
chocolate.
JOB SUMMARY: Looking after stocks and spends
within the linens department.
BONUS FACT: I’m a self-confessed crazy cat lady!
Assistant Merchandiser - Linens
EMILY QIONG SUN
DURATION: Since 25 November 2014.
FAVOURITE COLOUR: Blue.
FAVOURITE FOOD: Homemade Italian Pasta.
JOB SUMMARY: I’m responsible for the ongoing
updating and maintaining of beales.co.uk. Mainly
taking photos of all sorts of products from the store and
make them look attractive for the website. BONUS FACT: I love to paint and draw, especially painting
watercolours! It has to be my method of relaxation
Web Product Coordinator