Difficult times as huge outlet struggles to fill vacancies
Just weeks out from the opening of its new store in Macau, luxury retailer DFS Galleria is still recruiting staff.
DFS's director of talent management Wilfred Wong described the situation as 'not ideal' and said it had been a difficult process. He said planning for the new store started two years ago and human resources had been by far the biggest problem.
'We have secured a number of positions already but we are not at our target of 350 employees,' Mr Wong said. 'At the moment we have about 300 people.'
The DFS Group started in Hong Kong in 1960 and now has 150 stores in 14 countries, the majority in resort locations throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Situated in The Shoppes at the Four Seasons Hotel Macao, on the Cotai Strip, the new store will span 110,000 sqft and stock 110 luxury retail brands.
Mr Wong said DFS placed strong emphasis on 'exceptional service' and all new employees would undergo at least 60 hours training in areas ranging from service to language and presentation. He said a specialist luxury retail training company from Europe had been employed to design a programme for staff. 'It will improve our service skills, brand knowledge and ability to deal with luxury customers.'