National jewellers Beaverbrooks won’t be opening its 71 doors to shoppers this Boxing Day. But far from a reaction to the mounting pressure on retailers, the family owned jewellers revealed it has never opened on the day, for its entire trading history.
The company, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2019, has always closed on Boxing Day, as it firmly believes that after the busy period running up to Christmas, all of its 940 employees deserve to be at home with their families.
The jewellers, which has ranked highly in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For, for 14 consecutive years, claims that closing on Boxing Day is just one of the many ways to recognise employees and show appreciation for the hard work they do.
Beaverbrooks’ Chairman, Mark Adlestone OBE DL, said: “Our business is run on strong family values and closing on Boxing Day is an important part of our ethos, as it allows us to give back to our colleagues who work hard all year round and deserve to spend quality time with their loved ones.
“For this reason alone, we’ve always remained closed on the day, and we intend to continue doing so as we feel it is the right thing to do for our colleagues. We believe that our people-centric approach and focus on treating people right, is key to delivering a highly successful and profitable business.
“Up until now, we’ve never really talked about our stance, but given that Boxing Day shop closures is such a hot topic at the moment, we hope that our unusual and (we believe) welcome approach, will inspire other businesses to follow.”
Lynne Wilkinson, retail sales consultant at Beaverbrooks Liverpool, who has worked at the jewellers for 44 years, said: “When we get new-starters they can never believe it when we say that we’re closed on one of the biggest trading days in the retail calendar, they are overjoyed.
“I’ve had some wonderful Christmases with my family and this wouldn’t have been possible if I had to work on Boxing Day. This heartfelt gesture really does go a long way and is just one of the reasons why I love being a part of the Beaverbrooks family.”
Beaverbrooks donates 20 per cent of post-tax and post distribution profits to its charitable trust and since the year 2000, the Lancashire-based company has donated in excess of £11 million to over 500 different charities.
Beaverbrooks is an award winning family-owned jewellers established in 1919 with 71 stores across the UK, providing exceptional quality diamonds, jewellery and watches. For further information please visitwww.beaverbrooks.co.uk.
