Nigel's Blog
Hi, I'm Nigel the Chief Executive of Retail Trust.
The coming year will be a time of growth and change for Retail Trust. The charity will be working more closely than ever with organisations in the retail sector as we cement ourselves as the charity committed to the well-being of employees in the retail industry.
Part of working more closely with the industry is communication. Technology allows me to communicate with you through this blog – spelling mistakes and all! So please feel free to email me on the Contact page with feedback, ideas, or just to swap stories about our blogs. Enjoy!
You can read my biography on our Trustees and Chief Executive page.
Nigel J L Rothband
Chief Executive
Read Nigel's Blog
13 April 2010 : Sun shines on the righteous
After yesterday's announcement by Andy Bond that he was "moving upstairs" and was vacating his post as CEO of Asda, two more retail CEOs announced they were stepping down from their roles. Richard Bradbury C.B.E. from River Island and Margaret McDonald from L. K. Bennett.
As I said on Twitter yesterday, retail CEO resignations are a bit like buses, you don't get any for ages then a few come along together.
The BRC announced encouraging numbers for March this morning. I don't think we are out of the woods yet; we have to remember that last year was awful and Easter trading numbers are included in March numbers for this year and April last year.
An early morning conference call with my Chairman this morning revealed that he was sheltering from the wind and rain in France while we bask in glorious sunshine - shame!
12 April 2010 : My name's Bond...............
I am surprised that Andy Bond has decided to stand down as Asda's CEO today - didn't see that one coming. They have had a couple of poor months trading. However, he insists he was not pushed and it was his own decision.
Very interesting situation now with new CEOs at M & S, Morrisons and now Asda.
A friend rang me this morning to tell me that Zoe Ball had declared that today should be "National Nigel Day" on BBC Radio 2 this morning.
Not sure why! She went on to say that all the Nigels she knew were very well informed!
Well, she hasn't met too many Nigels then.
08 April 2010 : Retail Politics
A few days off and I come back to a General Election! No suprise there though!
As a charity, Retail Trust has no political bias, however, I am going to comment, over the next few weeks, on what is going on and the potential impact on our industry and the staff within it.
It was very interesting...at the start of the campaign, the story was all about Labour's plans to increase National Insurance contributions by one percent. The Conservatives say that will slow the recovery and mean more jobs will be lost. Their big idea is to cut waste by £6bn. Labour's answer to that - It will slow the recovery and mean more jobs will be lost. Pretty clear then.
One thing is for sure. Sir Stuart sounded statesman like this morning announcing M & S's better than expected results. In one interview I counted one question about the M & S numbers and 13 about politics. Once he leaves M & S later this year Lord Rose has a clear career path ahead!
26 March 2010 : The Customer Is Not Always Right - They Are Sometimes Very Very Wrong
I was asked today to comment on my thoughts around retail employee wellbeing and the close ties to customer service.
How does this sound?
One of the best measures of how the retail industry is reacting, suffering, or being impacted by the pressures of any current climate is our Retail Trust Helpline 0808 801 0808, the free and confidential service that is there for any of the three million employees working in retail to call if they need someone to talk to about a problem. Especially if they are unsure of where else to turn for help with improving their wellbeing. As part of the calls we take - the numbers of which have risen by 92% in the last couple of years - we are seeing an increase in calls related to what amounts to customer bullying ranging from rudeness to intimidation to violence in store. The stress that can result from such customer behaviour can have a longer term impact in the individual, or on colleagues, and ultimately on the quality of positive friendly customer service. Extreme cases are luckily still rare, but the increase is linked to wider world pressures we are all facing, and could therefore become more prevalent. It would be good to see retailers ensuring that staff training and development takes into account different levels of often unreasonable customer reactions to shopfloor staff. Employee wellbeing still relates to the traditional benefits package of course, but without preparation and ongoing support, this growing issue could have wide reaching business impact: staff retention, sick days and overall employee job satisfaction, through to everyday customer service for the employer if staff feel less personally comfortable with their ability to cope with complex customers.
If we recognise the value of people as critical to our industry we have to take a different broader stance around wellbeing. Protective and preemptive and maybe even challenging "the customer is always right" mantra. There are times when they are very, very wrong and these need to be challenged in a staff protective way.
Have a great weekend.
25 March 2010 : Theo the Lion
I am delighted that "retailinsider" have recommended my Blog as a half decent retail Blog to read. Thanks guys.
I am at the bssa Masters Forum at Oxford University today to take part in the "Lions Den" where the delegates present to us three "lions" their unique and distinctive idea.
After that I am facilitating a discussion for the delegates with Theo Paphitis.
23 March 2010 : Murderers, nipple rings and Mr. Men.
A conference call with our General Managers from our five retirement estates was followed by a meeting with a major donor in central London. Watch this space!
This evening was the final dinner of the season for the Twenty Club. My old mate James Timpson was the guest speaker. What a great business and James is a fabulous speaker.
As I said in my vote of thanks to James and the gathered throng, there can't be many Twenty Club speakers in the past who managed to get; murderers, Mr. Men and nipple rings into one speech - James did!
22 March 2010 : Retail Job More Dangerous Than Prison Officer
I was listening to a phone in programme on the radio this morning discussing - what is the most dangerous job?
Prison officers was a popular choice!
Whilst I appreciate they are dealing with dangerous criminals every day of their lives, they can lock them up and have other colleagues, policies and procedures to keep them safe.
Shop workers are far more vunerable. Every day they are open to abuse and attack with little to protect them.
Today Jamie Simpson's murderer, Kobina Essel was sent to prison for life.
Mr Simpson was stabbed in the neck with a 10-inch knife during the hold-up at his Matalan store in Hackney, east London in March 2008.
Only a few weeks ago Gurmail Singh was attacked and murdered in his own shop.
Two people doing an honest job, serving their community.
Retail staff across our country tolerate verbal and physical abuse every day. Thankfully murders are rare.
In any case the Retail Trust confidential Helpline 0808 801 0808 is there for anyone to get in touch if they have been affected by any sort of abuse or attack.
19 March 2010 : Make Your CV Work For You.
As part of Retail Trust’s ReWork programme, the charity is running half-day Resolving Redundancy Workshops in London.
Losing your job can be an isolating experience. At the workshops, you will spend the morning with other job-hunters getting practical help from industry experts, professional coaches and expert trainers. Whether it’s learning about the range of jobs in retail, working through your future plans, improving your CV or preparing for an upcoming interview, we are here to help.
The workshops are free to anyone who has worked in retail for two years or more and whose job has recently been made redundant or is under threat of redundancy.
The next workshop is on 25th March with Sue Graham - Making your CV work for you. See details here.
Bring your CV along to the Making Your CV Work For You workshop and sharpen up your skills, learning how to write CVs and application forms that will be more effective for you. Sue Graham, retail HR expert and executive coach will show you how to create a better CV that opens doors to the jobs you want.
The back page of today's Retail Week says "Nigel Rothband would make a lovely clothes horse"! Not sure about that!
17 March 2010 : Mayor Opens Derby Development
What a great day in Derby today.
Phase one of our redevelopment was officially opened by the Mayor of Derby, Cllr. Sean Marshall.
Also in attendance was the Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire, William Tucker together with his wife Jill.
Over 150 residents, supporters and members of the local council attended the opening ceremony followed by lunch and tours of the new estate that includes a coffe shop, restaurant, Bar, Shop, Bowling Green, Activities Room, Library, Computer Room and Hairdresser.
The 38 new extra care flats that have been created enable our residents to live independently with 24 hour care comissioned by the local council.
Part of the refurbishment includes Eborn House. The Eborn familly have been involved with Retail Trust for decades. When H.M. The Queen first opened the estate in 1957, our President, William Eborn escorted Her Majesty that day. Twenty years later when she visited as part of her Silver Jubilee celebrations she was escorted by William's son, Bill. Today, Bill's son John was there to see the next phase of our development. What a thrill to have John there to see the magnificent Eborn House restored to its former glory.
Photos of the event can be seen by clicking here.
11 March 2010 : Retailers Seen As Easy Prey By Criminals
What a great letter in this weeks Retail Express, written by Parminder Singh, NFRN National Vice President.
His letter goes as follows:
Reading about murdered retailer Gurmail Singh sent a chill down my spine.
There was an honest hardworking family man who was killed for no reason by a bunch of cowards. Also last week, we saw four thugs convicted of murdering Matalan manager Jamie Simpson.
Shop owners and retail staff should not have to go to work and fear for their lives, but cases like this remind me how dangerous our jobs can be.
Working in retail is now more dangerous than being a police officeror fire fighter. It's high time the Government started taking business crime more seriously, as right now I think we are seen as rich pickings by criminals.
If somone robbed a bank, the police response would be immediate, but retailers struggle to get the police to take crimes againdt us seriously, let alone coming to our assistance when most need it.
My heartfelt condolences go out to both Mr. Singh and Mr. Simpson's family.
Good on you Parminder, I could not agree more. I have put accross the point, that Retail crime is not a victimless crime, for many years.
For all retail staff who are in the front line every day there is the Retail Trust Helpline 0808 801 0808.
We are there for anyone in retail, totally free, independent, and confidential.
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