How Companies Celebrated Retail Employees’ Day 2016

Each year, the entire team at Shoppers Stop gears up for the celebrations across all their stores pan India. They decided to take the celebration one step further by doing some façade branding in five of their stores, with a message meant specially for the associates and world at large. Across some of the stores in Muma, they arranged for a group of 20 people, who would walk into the store at a designated time and would clap and appreciate Customer care associates. The idea was to get the attention and ensure that the other customers also knew about the importance of December 12, the Retail employees’ Day. The response to this was something the associates would happily remember. The responses were:

• Getting senior staff members to take over the billing counter / FCC desk for an hour
  giving the cashiers a break. They also volunteered to give people a random 15 minutes
  break on the floor throughout the day.
• Experimental Video – An experimental video was carried out which asked the customers to shop in the store on their own. The shoppers roamed freely without the aid of any associate, security, housekeeping or any other staffs and the camera captured their shopping experience without any hassle
• Selfie Star – A message was sent to the ‘First Citizen’ customer to click a selfie with any associate and post the image on social media, either on Facebook or Twitter..

Apart from this, some stores also did a ‘Red carpet welcome’ for associates and various
programs like free yoga sessions, makeovers, spa services etc were offered.

Vodafone celebrated RED with a lot of enthusiasm and fun. Kavita Nair, EVP Retail & Digital along with Suvamoy Roy Choudhury, Director HR addressed, acknowledged and thanked more than 10000 retail employees across the country through a webcast.
At the store level, multiple employee engagement activities like musical welcome, the conversation starter cards ‘I collect Customer Smiles’, personalised mugs, pens and hand written ‘Thank You’ notes were given to the associates.
Vodafone also invited families of the employees to their respective stores and offices. Interaction sessions were conducted to make the family members aware about the Vodafone health-safety and well being programs.

Relaxo celebrated Retail Employees’ Day on December 12, 2016 at their respective outlets and offices. They circulated “Thank You’ messages and also cut a cake. Rewards and recognition were also given to the best employees of the second quarter.

The team at @home celebrated Retail Employees Day, December 12, by thanking their employees for their contribution and efforts in giving their customers the best shopping experience.
Every store employee was asked to invite one family member (spouse / mother / father) for the celebration. Stores were closed by 07.00pm. Dinner was arranged along with the games for the employees and their family to participate. Employees were asked to come forward and share a story on “My Happiest Memory as a Retail Employee with @home”. A special backdrop was put up at every store to celebrate the occasion.

As a token of appreciation, Lulu Mall celebrated and wished their retail employees on the RetailEmployees Day with a cake cutting ceremony where they invited all their employees andcelebrated the moment.

Orion Mall celebrated Retail Employees’ Day by acknowledging and thanking their retail staffsby giving them a small token of appreciation along with a ‘Thank You’ card personally.

Inorbit malls across India celebrate Retail Employees’ Day in a lively way. They kickstarted the morning session with a red-carpet welcome for all retail staff at the main entrance followed by:

• Thank you note to your favourite employees, thank you note by customers.
• Zumba and yoga workshop for the retailers.
• Flash mob to say Thank You to all retailers present in the mall.
• Certificate distribution to the best employee.
• Cake cutting.

Further they also tied-up with their retail staffs to get special offerings for all retail employees within their mall premises in Cyberabad
Special discounts were given to the retail staffs on food and services

• Special meal offers at the McDonalds.
• 25 percent discount on food at Swaadh.
• Special prices offerings at the Baskin Robbins outlets.
• 30 percent discounts on selected services at Envi salon.
• Bounce offering 25 percent on all services.

The Trent family like every year came together as one to celebrate Retail Employees Day (RED) on December 12 with a bash to make it special. 4000+ employees across India joined hands to mark the occasion. The objective was to thank each individual for their commitment and dedication towards the organisation. Various activities were conducted at all the 102 stores across India, Corporate- Head Office (BKC), backend Fiora office and Distribution centers.
Stores:

• A surprise ‘Thank You’ SMS was sent to every employee.
• Staff meeting was conducted before the opening hours of the store in presence of thestore managers, external staff including Brand Staff, housekeeping and security).
• Gratitude video from Philip Auld, the Managing Director, was broadcasted on the
  staff-room TV screens during this gathering.

Key message in the video:

• ‘Thank you’ on behalf of the Board and Head Office
• The reason we are excited about our future is because of what you do everyday
• You make this business what it is – you are Westside, you are Zudio, you are Landmark –you make our brand what it is
• Take this moment to appreciate your colleagues who help you everyday
• A ‘Thank You’ card along with a chocolate was given by the store manager to each of thestore staff
• Cake cutting ceremony was held at each store to mark the occasion
• Games and other fun oriented activities were held at the stores.
• Personal ‘Thank you’ emails were sent by Philip Auld to the all the stores employees.
• Personal “Thank you” mails dedicating the day to each staff at store were sent by BryanDa’Silva, Operation Head.
• Staff who contributed to the ‘Tata Volunteering Week’ were given appreciation
  certificates
• A printed ‘Feedback Card’ was shared with all Department Managers at each store. Themanager approached customers and explained them the concept of ‘Retail EmployeesDay’ and requested them to write few words of appreciation for the staff.
• The feedback were put up on the notice board for the employees to read the customersfeedback next day.

Corporate

• A surprise ‘Thank You’ sms was sent to every employee
• Link of a gratitude video from Philip Auld,  was shared with all corporate staff via email
• A surprise ‘Thank You’ card along with a chocolate was kept on the desk of each
  employee before the day began
• Personal ‘Thank You’ by emails were sent by Philip Auld to the all the employees
• Email sent by HR inviting everyone at Head Office for a cake cutting celebration at the
  cafeteria
• Store employees (newly promoted Department Managers) from all across India were present at the Head Office and were included in the celebrations at the Head office

Fiora Office and Distribution Centers

• A surprise ‘Thank You’ SMS was sent to every employee
• Link of a gratitude video from Philip Auld was shared with all the Backend staff
• A surprise ‘Thank You’ card along with a chocolate was kept at the desk of each
  employee before the day began
• Personal ‘Thank You’ emails from Philip Auld was sent to all employees

Retail Employees’ Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm and fervour at all the 14 stores at EVOK. The celebrations included store managers appreciating the team and talking to them about the history and significance of Retail Employees Day Celebration.
Each employee was given a rose and words of appreciation for his/her contribution to the team was mentioned. Employees also shared their experience with the organisation one by one. Games like musical chairs, ball throw in the box, and other entertaining activities were conducted. A cake cutting ceremony was conducted at the end of the day.
A small bowl of chocolates was kept at the cash counter and customers were asked to give chocolates to the store managers as a token of appreciation for their dedication and contribution to the retail industry.

Vivana mall in Thane celebrated Retail Employees’ Day with retailers as well as their employees. For retailers, Viviana hosted a cultural event where employees of retail brands gave performed cultural dance. Teams from Lifestyle, Pantaloons and Splash took part in the cultural dance program.
A professional emcee entertained the audience through spot quizzes and interesting narrative. Winners of spot quizzes got attractive shopping vouchers. This was followed by cake cutting with teams of all retailers.
The management team at Viviana Malls believed that the event gave employees a chance to participate in the games, sing songs and demonstrate their hidden talents over an informal lunch. The event also proved to be a part of employee engagement platform, which helps in bonding, rejuvenating and interacting amongst the retail community.

TBZ, the jewellery store, celebrations included a grand welcome for their employees as they walked into the store followed by a round of appreciation from the senior staff. Personalised letters, a rose and a chocolate was distributed to every single employee followed by a cake cutting ceremony.

Celebrations at Madura included

• Cake Cutting
• Games and other activities
• Distributing ‘Thank You’ keychains
• Fashion Show and Ramp walk

The new initiative which was launched last year was the ‘Style Icon of Madura’ contest. The employees were asked to wear their merchandise and click a selfie in a striking pose and send the pictures to the management. The lucky winner was given a special gift hamper.

Adlabs Entertainment ensured that December 12, the Retail Employees’ Day would turn out to be a special day for their employees to cherish. A special RED badge was given to every employee to mark the occasion. Senior manager addressed the employees and thanked them for their contribution. Later games and other activities were organised to keep the employees engaged. The day ended with a cake cutting ceremony.

• Red carpet welcome was given to the employees at the entry by the Store Manager & store HR.
• Tilak and sweet distribution
• Store manager addressed the employees with a ‘Thank You’ note and also explained
  them the significance of Retail Employees’ Day.
• Games and fun oriented entertaining activities
• Cake cutting and snacks party
• Thank You cards were distributed

Croma celebrated Retail Employees’ Day on December12, 2016 across all its stores and distribution centers. The CEO addressed the employess and their families for the support and hard work to make Croma the brand it is today. A one on one experience sharing session followed the speech in which the employees spoke about the journey and experience at Croma.
The store manager also distributed Thank You card along with a chocolate as a gesture of appreciation. Lists of individual activities such as cake cutting, pot lunch, games were conducted at the individual stores.

Retail Employees’ Day is celebrated every year on December 12. Raymonds celebrated its fourth consecutive year celebration by organising a gala event. To celebrate the awesomeness of their frontline heroes, Raymond took many initiatives to engage and celebrate with their retailers and employees.
Raymond Retail Premier League (2016):
Raymond conducted the 4 th edition of Raymond Retail Premier League (RRPL). The exclusive cricket tournament for Raymond store employees was played all across the country. 42 teams from all regions participated in the tournament. The league matches were played in the regions and the finals were conducted at the Raymond office in Thane.
ColorPlus, Mumbai emerged as the RRPL 2016 Champions. The winning team was rewarded with prize money of Rs 25000/- along with a trophy and a certificate of participation. Adhir Mane, the CHRO, applauded the energy and enthusiasm of the players and their stores who made RRPL a grand success.
AV Message:
An engaging AV message was created and broadcasted across all regional offices and stores PAN India on December 12. The video had messages from the CEO & Senior Management, who thanked the untiring efforts of the retailers and also shared their vision with them. The video was uploaded on social media and was widely viewed and appreciated.
Engagement at Stores:
The engagement of their Rockstars was the key and they wanted to weave wider smiles on their faces on the special day. Fun boxes to all the stores were sent which had Thank You Card with Message from The CEO, Selfie Props, Badge for each employee, A message tree, Thank You messages from the leaders for the message tree and many more interesting stuff.  The staff from their Corporate & Regional offices Management staff visited the stores and made the celebrations even more enjoyable. Cake & Snacks were arranged for the staff on the occasion. This entire celebration was loved by all employees.
SMS Blast to Internal Employees:
SMS with a ‘bit’ link to all was sent to all the Raymond employees, encouraging them to write amessage for the retail employees. These messages were later collated and shared within thestores.
Celebrations at Corporate Office:
Message trees were kept at the entrances of the office. Employees wrote their messages on the cards and left them on the tree. These messages were later collated and shared with allemployees.
Launch of ACE Awards:
An exclusive Reward & Recognition program – ACE Awards, was introduced for the retail employees. The program would be a powerful tool to motivate & reward their employees for their significant efforts in making Raymond a great place to work. The ACE Awards were rolled out effectively on January 1, 2017.

TCNS Clothing – W & Aurelia celebrate the day in the following manner: Special message from the CEO, as well as ‘Thank You’ messages from the HOD was sent to all the stores managers and employees.
Awards & certificates to

• Long Service Rewards
• Highest Like to Like growth
• Highest Average Transaction Ticket
• Highest Mystery Shopping Score

Groupfie (Selfie Contest)
Master Mind – A knowledge based activity competition that was launched almost a month priorin November.

• Round 1: City level – Competition between store teams in same city.
• Quarter Final Round: Winners of various rounds in same city compete and city winner
  was announced
• Semi Final Round: Winners from various cities in same region competed and Regional
  Winner was announced.
• Grand Finale: Winners from 4 regions competed against each other and the National
  Level Winner was declared on Retail Employees’ Day.

ShopX, India’s leading B2B commerce platform which powers retailers across the country, announced a one-year Educational Scholarship program in association with Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India (TRRAIN). The scholarship program has been designed for ShopX Retail Partners to support their children who are pursuing their education from the 5th to 12th standard. Each selected student under the program would be awarded up to Rs 25,000 per annum.
On the occasion of Retail Employees’ Day, ShopX kicked off this initiative by selecting 9 students from different states of India including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Mumbai. The scholarships were awarded by B S Nagesh, founder of TRRAIN, former MD Shoppers Stop, who graced the event as the Chief Guest.

Omnichannel engagement and commerce platform solution provider Capillary Technologies launched Capillary Scholar on Retail Employees’ Day. The program is aimed to provide a springboard for the retail store staffs to graduate and succeed in their career and also empower them to realize their dreams and aspirations.
The scholarship program aimed to fund undergraduate program BBA – Retail for 50 retail
associates.