Best retail companies to work for in Europe
The retail industry in Europe is evolving quickly, influenced by changing consumer preferences, digitization, and the impact of global trends – which influence which are the best retail companies to work for in Europe.
Choosing the right company to work for is a decision that significantly influences an individual’s job satisfaction and career growth. When employees find themselves in a positive work environment that aligns with their values and offers ample opportunities for growth, they tend to be more engaged, productive, and fulfilled in their roles. On the other hand, working in a company with a negative work culture or limited career prospects often leads to job dissatisfaction and hinder professional development.
Criteria for selection of the best European retail companies to work for:
This selection process for the best retail companies to work for in Europe included various factors that contribute to a fulfilling work experience and an environment for personal and professional growth.
These were the criteria we took into account:
- Employee Satisfaction: We assessed employee satisfaction through surveys, reviews, and feedback from current and past employees. Companies with high employee satisfaction scores demonstrate their ability to create a positive and supportive workplace.
- Work-life balance: A healthy work-life balance is essential for employee well-being. We considered companies that offer flexible work arrangements, paid time off, and supportive policies to help employees maintain a healthy balance between their personal and professional lives.
- Career growth opportunities: Companies that invest in their employees’ career development and provide opportunities for advancement were considered. We looked for career progression and professional training programs.
- Company culture: A positive company culture contributes to employee engagement and productivity. We included companies that foster inclusive, diverse, and collaborative cultures where employees feel valued and appreciated.
- Employee benefits: Competitive employee benefits, such as health insurance, pension plans, events, discounts, and additional perks.
- Recognition programs: Recognition and appreciation are key for employee satisfaction. We considered companies that have structured recognition programs to acknowledge outstanding employee contributions.
We’ve identified a list of top European retailers that excel in providing their employees with an exceptional work experience. The following sections will explore each company’s profile and the specific features that make them outstanding employers in the retail industry.
Morrisons
History:
Morrisons is a major UK supermarket chain, tracing its roots back to the early 20th century.
Values:
Morrisons is committed to providing fresh, high-quality products and exceptional customer service.
Mission:
The company’s mission is to make good food affordable and accessible to their customers.
Company culture, employee Initiatives and unique perks:
Management is always looking to develop their staff and provide relevant courses and qualifications. Morrisons invests in employee training and development, ensuring their team is equipped to deliver excellent service. Employees enjoy discounts on groceries and other store products, making shopping at Morrisons more rewarding.
Spar
History:
Spar is an international retail chain, the world’s largest voluntary food retail company with over 13,500 stores in 48 countries worldwide with global sales of €41.2 billion.
Read more about Loyal Guru’s success case with Spar.
Values:
Spar prioritizes convenience, offering a wide range of products to cater to the needs of their diverse customer base.
Mission:
The company’s mission is to be the preferred grocery retailer in each market they serve.
Company culture, employee initiatives and unique perks:
Spar offers an international and dynamic environment, a competitive salary and a full maximum non-contributory pension plan.
Sharing knowledge and supporting each other is part of the culture at Spar. Things move forward with a real sense of doing things right.
The company is willing to invest in its people through training, future leader programs, and congresses and international events.
Dixons
History:
Dixons is a leading consumer electronics retailer with a long history in the European market.
Values:
Dixons is committed to providing cutting-edge technology and top-notch customer service to their shoppers.
Mission:
The company’s mission is to help customers make the most of their technology, offering expert advice and product solutions.
Company culture, employee Initiatives and unique perks:
Dixons offers interesting and challenging work with a great working environment. The company respects work-life balance, invests in employee training and development, and empowers their staff to become technology experts.
Employees enjoy access to the latest tech gadgets at discounted prices.
Holland & Barrett
History:
Holland & Barrett, established in 1870, is a health and wellness retailer with a significant presence across Europe and beyond, known for offering quality health food, vitamins, and supplements all sold by highly trained and qualified advisors.
Values:
Holland & Barrett prioritizes the well-being of their customers, providing natural health products and a holistic approach to wellness.
Mission:
The company aims to make health and wellness a way of life for everyone.
Company culture, employee initiatives and special perks:
Flexible working, good career progression, very good benefits, and pension package.
Holland & Barrett invests in employee training and development, offering opportunities for career growth and personal improvement.
Employees benefit from 25% discounts on health products, fostering a healthy lifestyle within the organization. The company offers a Performance Incentive Scheme, and a Colleague Recognition Scheme, so hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.
Holland & Barrett forecasts significant growth and expansion plans in the coming years, with considerable investment going into all areas of the business. They embrace change and drive speed in everything they do, with passion to succeed and surpass every expectation.
HEMA
History:
HEMA is a Dutch retail chain established in 1926, known for its diverse range of affordable and high-quality products. With more than 700 stores in the Netherlands, HEMA makes all their products themselves, and ensure that they remain affordable, so that everyone can continue to shop at HEMA.
Values:
HEMA’s core values include simplicity, originality, and a focus on everyday products that make life easier and more enjoyable.
Mission:
The company aims to create products that are accessible to all and add value to their customers’ lives.
Company culture, employee Initiatives and unique perks:
HEMA has a dynamic culture and values diversity and talent. They have about 19.000 employees.
HEMA invests in employee development and offers opportunities for career growth within the organization.
Employees enjoy discounts on HEMA products, making shopping at the store more attractive.
Benetton
History:
Benetton is an Italian fashion group established in 1965, known for its colourful and inclusive clothing collections, their expertise in knitwear and their social commitment. They have 2 brands: United Colors of Bentton and Sisley.
Present in the main markets with a sales network of about 3.800 stores, Benetton Group has always paid special attention to combining an Italian style and global trends, which is why their collections present quality contemporary fashion.
Leveraging its history built on innovation, Benetton Group pursues a strategy of constant investment in products, stores, logistics, digital, communication and sustainability. The result is a competent and flexible organization that resolutely faces contemporary challenges while embracing the future with an optimistic vision.
Values:
Benetton values diversity, sustainability, and creativity in its fashion designs.
Mission:
The company’s mission is to offer innovative fashion that reflects the cultural richness of their customers, creating colourful clothes that give everyone the opportunity to express themselves through colours.
Company culture, employee Initiatives and unique perks:
Benetton was awarded Italy’s most attractive Employers 2017.
In that same year, more than half of the Company’s team in our headquarters was involved in training and development initiatives. This includes a portfolio of courses that range from leadership to language courses and from the development of soft skills to technical-specialist training, with the objective of aligning performance to corporate targets and accompanying employees in their career development.
Employees also enjoy discounts on the latest fashion collections, staying connected to the brand they represent.
Camper
History:
Camper is a Spanish footwear brand founded in 1975, known for its distinctive and comfortable shoe designs, fusing traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design.
Values:
Camper values craftsmanship, innovation, and a commitment to creating shoes that combine style and functionality.
Mission:
The company aims to inspire people to express their individuality through their choice of footwear.
Company culture, employee Initiatives and unique perks:
Camper offers a dynamic and multicultural working environment that fosters teamwork, learning, and professional growth. Team members become part of a leading company in the fashion sector, dynamic, innovative, highly aware and committed to sustainability, with a close and inspiring working environment.
Camper offers training programs to enhance employees’ knowledge of shoe design and customer service, team outings and events, and flexible remuneration with tax benefits: medical insurance, training, childcare, etc.
Employees receive discounts on Camper shoes, ensuring they are walking in comfortable and stylish footwear.
Tous
History:
Tous is a Spanish jewelry and accessories brand established in 1920, renowned for its unique and versatile designs.
Values:
Tous values creativity, innovation, and the use of high-quality materials in their jewelry creations.
Mission:
The company’s mission is to create jewelry that conveys emotions and celebrates individuality.
Company culture, employee Initiatives and unique perks:
Good work-life balance, career development opportunities, friendly and social colleagues. Tous invests in employee training, ensuring their staff is knowledgeable about their jewelry collections and develops a 360º profile.
The camaraderie and human quality of the team come first, they offer flexibility and remote / hybrid work positions, and flexible hours.
Employees enjoy 30% discounts on Tous jewelry and special sales throughout the year.
Flying Tiger
History:
Flying Tiger, also known as Tiger, is a Danish retail chain that offers a wide range of affordable and quirky products. They’ve grown from one brick-and-mortar store in 1995 to a successful global brand with almost 1,000 stores in 30 different countries across 3 continents.
Values:
Flying Tiger values fun, creativity, and affordability in their product offerings. Add to that a pinch of quirkiness and you have the recipe for original, colourful, fun and own-designed products and the special Flying Tiger Copenhagen experience that gives customers the things they need, the things they dream of and the things they didn’t even know existed.
Mission:
The company’s mission is to inspire people to spend more time with the ones they love, making the things they care about happen. That’s because, to us, real value lies not in the things we own, but in the experiences, we share – and that our products help create.
Company culture, employee initiatives and unique perks:
The atmosphere at Tiger is fun and fast-paced, where teamwork and creativity is key, and where personal responsibility and strong-willed commitment are key. They offer flexibility, international exposure, and a social and informal work environment with plenty of opportunities to connect with colleagues, including parties, Friday bars, and our staff club. Employees will also be part of an international work environment founded in Scandinavian culture.
Flying Tiger provides employee training to create a dynamic and customer-oriented workforce, an attractive pension plan, private health insurance (also including children), and flexibility with the chance to work from home.
Employees enjoy discounts on Flying Tiger’s fun and innovative products, sparking creativity in their lives.
Bata
History:
The Bata Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and retailers of quality footwear, founded in 1894. A global concern with more than 32.000 employees, 21 production facilities, over 5.300 stores in more than 70 countries across the globe, Bata has been providing the best shoes at the best prices for over 125 years.
Today, Bata’s pioneering decentralized production system, featuring semi-autonomous regional facilities guided by three regional business units, allows the company to quickly adapt to changes in the marketplace and seize potential growth opportunities. It also continues Bata’s long tradition of being sensitive to cultural and national differences, and enables it to proudly function as a local company in every country it serves.
Values:
Bata values craftsmanship, comfort, and innovation in their diverse range of footwear.
Since its foundation in 1894 by Thomas Bata, the company has consistently demonstrated its commitment to responsible and innovative business models in the belief that capital is not just money, buildings or technology, but, more importantly, people, knowledge and core values.
This visionary approach has enabled the company to meet each new challenge with creativity and foresight, while earning the trust and confidence of customers, employees and the communities in which it does business.
Mission:
The company’s mission is to provide well-fitting and stylish footwear that enhances their customers’ lives.
Company culture, employee initiatives and unique perks:
Bata invests in employee training and development, creating a skilled and motivated workforce. Within the company, employees find plenty of career progression opportunities. They also enjoy discounts on Bata shoes, promoting a sense of pride in the brand they represent.
Conclusion
In a world where career choices are so significant, finding the right fit becomes essential for personal growth and job satisfaction.
The journey through the best retail companies to work for in Europe shows a number opportunities where employees are not just cogs in the machine but valued contributors to a shared vision.
From fostering innovative thinking to prioritizing work-life balance, these companies have demonstrated their commitment to their employees’ well-being and professional development.
Want to learn more about best paying jobs in retail? Whether your stepping into retail management or contributing to the digital evolution of the industry, these are the best paying and most trending retail jobs.
As we conclude this exploration, it’s clear that the retail landscape in Europe is attracting great talent. Whether you’re drawn to the dynamic world of fashion, the exhilaration of sports retail, the comforts of food and beverages, or the allure of specialized luxury goods, there’s a company out there ready to offer a meaningful, enriching, and fulfilling career path.
