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Fashion site Na-kd is a fast growing player in e-commerce. Much of its strategy is based on collaborations with influencers on social media, and the company has become known as a successful concept that in just a few years has become a giant in the fashion industry.
Now it turns out that the success story seems to have a downside. In recent days, trainees and former Na-kd employees have shared stories on social media about how they were treated poorly during their time at the company. The testimonies are more and more numerous and now the critical eye is directed to the management of the company. Many are calling for a boycott and various influencers write that they will not cooperate with Na-kd.
The testimonials started after the influencer Rodja Pazooki urged his around 25,000 followers to share their experiences with Na-kd. Now people are testifying about a workplace with unsustainable stress, unreasonable demands from management, and a different culture of bullying. Several describe that you end up on the manager’s blacklist if you don’t work unpaid overtime, and that you don’t dare say no to managers because they think you should be grateful that you can work at the company. Others testify about sexism, racism, insults from bosses, bullying and minimum wage.
DN has talked to people who experienced being treated poorly during their time at the company.
Elif Abay from Gothenburg was one of the first people to share her story about the company on Instagram. This fall, she landed an internship in the company’s marketing department for influencers and was looking forward to getting started in one of the most sought-after fashion workplaces in the country.
– I was so happy to have this opportunity, I have always loved fashion and really wanted to learn as much as possible, says Elif Abay.
But with just a few days of practice, he began to feel that something was wrong. According to the managers, when she did not accomplish her tasks quickly enough, they called her into an emergency meeting. She installed work email on her private phone and started working weekends to keep up with her tasks. He was always afraid of what would happen if he did something wrong.
Elif Abay feels that Na-kd places too high demands and places too much responsibility on the students.
Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
When his goal was to achieve 160 collaborations with influencers in a month and withdraw a million crowns from the company, the knot of stress in his stomach grew.
– When I made 96 collaborations, they called me for a meeting because they thought I had not done enough. They said they lost money keeping me there, I felt totally useless and diminished. Now in hindsight I understand that it is unreasonable to make these demands of an intern who has been there for a few weeks, who has never worked with this before. I was there to learn, but they only saw apprentices as free labor, says Elif Abay.
After she shared her experiences on Instagram, her inbox was full of messages from people who had similar experiences.
– Several hundred have heard of him, several have been exposed to racism and bullying and have been so stressed they have been burned. Many are afraid to tell, but want you to share their stories anonymously. My experience is small compared to many others, but it seems only Na-kd has silenced it, says Elif Abay.
She continues:
– I never want to work there and I don’t want anyone else to.
DN has spoken with a person who worked in the marketing department of the company, who wishes to remain anonymous. The person testifies to a work culture in which you were expected to stay for hours after the shift ended without pay; otherwise, you ended up blacklisted by managers.
– I could never plan anything with my friends, because I never knew when I could go. When I remember that it was a very dark period, I got gastritis because I was very stressed. They thought you’d be grateful to be there, but no one should feel bad at their workplace, the person says.
Na-kd: s vd Jarno Vanhatapio He believes that most of the stories now being shared are from people who worked in companies two or four years ago. In 2018, the company implemented measures to improve the approach to internships, which now includes a clear introduction, additional training and regular follow-up, according to him.
However, as a company, we have always been consistent in saying that we believe in the free choice of the individual and do not close the office door at 5:00 PM. Na-kd should be a company for those who want to work 8 hours a day as well as for those who want to dedicate a little more time to work.
– Today, 80 percent of our apprentices and 95 percent of our employees are satisfied or very satisfied with their internship and employment with us, based on the independent employee surveys that we regularly do, through November of this year. These are higher grades than the industry average. But of course, there may still be things to improve, and the stories on social media are a sign of that. Of course, it is very sad if someone has felt bad during their time with us, Jarno Vanhatapio writes in an email to DN.
He believes that overtime is not expected and that management regularly remembers it.
– As a company, however, we have always been consistent in saying that we believe in the free choice of the individual and do not close the office door at 17:00. Na-kd should be a company for those who want to work 8 hours a day as well as for those who want to dedicate a little more time to work. Jarno Vanhatapio says.
He continues:
– We take it very seriously, which is why we have launched an internal investigation. We will bring in an external party to review our internship. Until the investigation is complete, we have stopped hiring new interns.
People have described racism in the office. How do you react to that?
– We do not accept any form of racism. As an employer, we promote and live so that everyone has the same opportunities regardless of ethnicity, skin color, gender or sexual orientation. This applies to both our employees and our apprentices. We are proud to have more than 30 nationalities represented in our organization. We recruit fully meritocratically based on knowledge, experience, motivation, and results. We do so based on our obvious belief in the equal worth of human beings.
People have described that their bosses scold them. What do you think?
– Of course it is very sad if someone has felt bad about how their bosses have treated them. Sometimes managers need to be very clear to employees and apprentices, this is the case in all workplaces, but a sensible dialogue is more effective in most situations.
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