Jysk has invited more than 1,000 employees to an annual party in the capital this coming Saturday, and all of its 105 stores across the country are closing, Jysk reports in a press release.
This is not the first time that Saturday’s trade for Jysk clients has been drained. The Danish founder of Jysk, Lars Larsen, has had a well-established tradition of inviting all of his employees around the world to an annual party, and then it’s the customers who have to bear the brunt of closed stores.
Employees from all over the country are flown to the capital and housed in hotels when the international retail chain has to show itself. In addition, the company also treats employee partners.
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The company’s sales reached NOK 39 billion in the 2020/2021 financial year. According to Fatima Al-Qadi, Director of Communications at Jysk, the bill for the celebrations is several million kroner.
– This is from founder Lars Larsen’s time as he pays tribute to the employees who work at Jysk every day, Judge says.
– We spend huge amounts of money on the event in addition to the costs of closing our stores. The reason is simply that we want to invest in our employees and thank them for their efforts, Jysk Norway CEO Martina Bohjanen wrote in the press release.
At the party, Seller of the Year and Store of the Year will be chosen. Prize winners win money.
The Norwegian president says a record number of people have registered this year.
This year we broke the record for records, so this is clearly an event many of our employees won’t want to miss. Pohjanen says: We are glad that so many will travel to Oslo to celebrate, and allow us to honor their achievements.
– What do you think about the reaction of customers to the fact that all Jysk stores across the country will be closed tomorrow?
– We expect customers to know this, but that doesn’t mean we ignore customers. We have information on our websites, and physically in all of our stores. Most of our stores will be closed, but some have reduced opening hours. Communications Manager Elkadi at Jysk says that it will always be possible to shop on our website because our online store is open around the clock.
When Nettavisen checked Jysk’s websites on Friday afternoon, we found no information about the chain’s closing of all of its stores on Saturday. Only when we click on one store the information appears.
The store clerk mentions over the phone that he will be closing early tomorrow when we tell them we intend to visit the store. We learned that some are open for a few hours on a Saturday, others are completely closed as a result of the party.
– They must have informed customers
Vibeki Norby is the Director of Communications at the Chamber of Commerce in Oslo. It praises their pride in the employees, but it’s not entirely positive.
– It’s great that they invest in their employees who work all year round. This is a nice gesture from the owners to the staff, Norby says, but at the same time it indicates:
– It’s boring for customers who come to the closed door. So, I hope they are good at informing customers that they will be closed tomorrow, she says.
She says people expect to open their doors on Saturdays.
– How common is closing in this way?
– I don’t know how common it is, but it is clearly common in Jysk.
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