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Although the retail chains promise to open more stores and hire more employees, only two of them, Maxima and Norfa, have mentioned plans to increase employee salaries.
Increase staff salaries
Ernesta Dapkienė, director of Maxima’s Image and Communication Department, said the retail chain started in 2021 by increasing basic employee salaries.
“We appreciate the daily efforts of employees, which became even more important and important during the difficult Covid-19 pandemic. We feel obligated to honestly reward each employee’s contribution to achieving common results. Almost 8 million have gone to the salary fund this year. euros. Most employees in the stores, production and logistics departments will experience positive pay changes.
Additionally, employees will continue to receive incentive bonuses. Incentive bonuses are not unique, they are an additional monthly payment for the extra effort and the results of daily work ”, commented the representative of the sales network.
Darius Ryliškis, a spokesman for another retail chain, Norfa, said that employee salaries increase every year.
“Its growth in 2021 will depend on both the performance of the company and the general economic situation of the country. If we calculate the salaries without the salaries of the executives and administrative personnel of the company, I can safely say that the salaries of the employees of our retail chain would be the highest for all retail chains.
Our administration is very small, the salaries of the managers of the company have little effect on the general salary indicators of the company staff, ”said a representative of the commercial network.
More stores and staff
D. Ryliškis, stated that the retail chain ended 2020 with the management of 150 shopping centers in Lithuania.
“Last year, the company opened 8 new shopping centers. Also 1 closed and 9 renovated supermarkets. Investments in the development of the store network in 2020 amounted to more than 20 million. euros.
The coronavirus crisis did not affect Norfa’s development plans. Proper planning of store chain development is an important factor for a successful operation in an environment where competition is constantly intensifying. Therefore, in 2021. he plans to open and renovate 15, in which he intends to invest a little less money than last year, about 15 million. “commented the sales representative.
Renata Keršienė, public relations manager of the other retail chain Rimi, stated that this year, by continuing the planned development of the retail network, opening new stores and developing e-commerce, the number of employees will increase.
“In 2021, we plan to hire more than 400 new employees. This year, we will open at least 12 new stores in various Lithuanian cities,” said a representative of the retail chain.
Lidl Lietuva, Lidl Lietuva’s public relations representative, said that this year the retail chain will continue to implement its development plans, so the number of employees will only increase.
At the time, Vaida Budrienė, communication manager for the Iki retail chain, assured that the expansion would take place, but the number of employees could remain similar.
According to her, this year about 10 million will be allocated to the construction of new stores. 20 million euros for its renewal. euros.
“We plan to rebuild 20 stores, open up to 10, and we do not plan to close any yet.
We will open more new stores, so we will be looking for more employees. On the other hand, optimization and efficient management processes will also be carried out, so the number of employees must remain the same as this year ”, said the representative of the commercial network.
Will install more self-service checkouts
V .. Budrienė assured that this year the focus will be on the implementation of digital technologies.
“We are learning to use artificial intelligence and machine learning. Next year, we hope to launch a Work Resource Planning (DIP) project that will allow us to have as many people in stores as we need and when we need them so that shoppers can shop in stores as quickly as possible.
We will continue to invest in customer service technology solutions. We will definitely expand the self-service checkout, ”said the sales network representative.
According to her, the protection measures against the coronavirus will really be maintained for a long time. Until now it will be difficult to predict the extent of this situation, as the end of the pandemic is yet to be seen.
“But we are thinking about the next steps in e-commerce, which will continue to be an important part of retail after the pandemic. The pandemic has shown that shoppers want to buy with as few contacts as possible and quickly.
We will try to live up to your expectations. We have high hopes for the second half of the year. We really hope the optimism and relaxation of the people, that finally everything is over and everyone can relax, “said the representative of the sales network.
A representative from the Maxima retail chain also noted that during the pandemic, both the use of self-service checkouts and other self-shopping solutions became even more popular.
“Therefore, we will continue to invest to enhance our customers’ independent shopping experience. We plan to expand the use of Scan & Go’s own purchase scanning technology.
The development of self-service cash registers will be less this year, because we currently have 944 self-service cash registers throughout Lithuania and they are installed in practically all of our stores, where there are vacancies. Additional functionalities of the self-service cash registers are already being tested, ”explained E. Dapkienė.
According to her, the contactless payment method and the most active use of the mobile application are becoming more popular during the quarantine. Therefore, it is planned to enhance the mobile application with additional functionalities and capabilities.
A spokeswoman for the retail chain Lidl said the introduction of the self-service checkouts began last year.
“The installation of such cash registers will be further expanded this year. Currently, self-service checkouts operate in three stores, and this month, checkouts of this type should appear in several more online stores. Self-service checkouts have a system Simple and easy to understand allowing shoppers to shop quickly and conveniently A clear search engine makes it easy to search for fruits, vegetables, cakes or nuts purchased from the system.
Payments also have features that make purchases more sustainable. For example, when buying different cakes, it is not necessary to put them in separate bags. All cakes can be placed in a bag, and in the self-service checkout you can simply select different cakes, enter their quantity and place them on the scale. The smart self-service scales automatically calculate the weight of baked goods, ”commented the sales network representative.
Innovations in self-service checkouts
A representative from the Rimi retail chain said the number of self-service checkouts will increase this year. They will be installed in the new stores planned to open this year, as well as their distribution in existing supermarkets will be optimized.
“In one of the Rimi supermarkets, machine learning technology is tested in the self-service checkout, with the help of the self-service checkout it learns to recognize products based on their shape and appearance. With this technology, customers will not have to search for the names of fruits, vegetables, cakes and other products in the self-service checkout system. These goods will be recognized by an intelligent system.
Last year another new solution was introduced: the function of printing lottery tickets at the self-service checkouts, the function of completing a Klaipėda card at the checkouts of Rimi stores operating in Klaipėda. This year, we plan to implement and offer this feature to customers in Kaunas Rimi shopping centers, ”R. Keršienė told Innovations.
According to her, a security standard was introduced in stores last year, which is valid in the retail chain regardless of the epidemiological situation and official security requirements.
“The disinfection stations with tools for both buyers and employees will remain in stores and as the epidemiological situation in the country improves and restrictions are relaxed. In addition, all new tents are equipped with protective walls on the checkouts. They will also be maintained as the situation in Lithuania improves.
With these measures we will continue to encourage buyers to take care of safety. This is a new need that buyers are demanding today and will expect from merchants in the future ”, explained the representative of the sales network.
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