Success Based on Strong Values and Outstanding Leadership Skills

The DOUGLAS Group stands for customer enthusiasm and service orientation. It attaches great importance not only to the professional expertise of its more than 24,000 employees but also to employee satisfaction. Its Department of Human Resources develops well-rounded training and personnel development programs that were a vital focal point in the 2010/11 fiscal year. A crucial part of the strategy of the DOUGLAS Group is to prepare itself for the challenges of the future in order to continue to flourish.

The DOUGLAS Group has long been one of Germany’s retailers with the highest vocational training rate. And there are two good reasons why. On one hand, the company takes its societal responsibility very seriously, and, on the other, it has always been a key element of its HR strategy to create a new generation of executives from its own ranks. Therefore, the DOUGLAS Group again increased the number of trainees in the fall of 2011. At the start of the new training year, 720 young men and women started their professional training in a total of eleven skilled vocational careers. The previous year’s record was thus surpassed by 50 trainees. 

Vocational training rate at a record level

All of the subsidiaries ramped up their training efforts. With more than 350 new trainees, Douglas perfumeries again enrolled the largest number. Christ jewelry stores had a substantial increase with 170 new trainees (previous year: 125), and the Hussel confectionery shops recruited 46 trainees (previous year: 25). However, the AppelrathCüpper fashion stores and the bookselling group Thalia also increased their trainee numbers. As of September 30, 2011, the DOUGLAS Group had a total of 1,783 trainees, most of whom were on the retail sales associate track. The Group’s vocational training rate of 14 percent continues to be significantly higher than the average of eight percent in the German retail sector.

Along with the mandated training content, additional activities are frequently initiated in the subsidiaries and in the holding company. For example, trainees may autonomously manage a branch store for one or two weeks, organize events, dedicate themselves to community service for a week, or accept the challenge of proving their marketing talent in a store abroad.

Our trainees perform outstandingly in exams on a regular basis and are often honored by the relevant Chambers of Industry and Commerce. For example, a trainee from Douglas in Frankfurt was commended for her extraordinary performance in 2010 and 2011, and a trainee from Hussel in Karlsruhe was also honored for her performance. They completed their training as retail sales associates with the maximum number of 100 points and are thus among the best trainees in Germany. The DOUGLAS Group generally hires about 70 percent of its former trainees as permanent employees who are then integrated into educational programs that support them on their career path.