Despite uncertainty regarding volume during the next few months, most of the mailers contacted by CATALOG AGE say they’re not planning to scale back staffing just yet.
One exception is women’s apparel cataloger Originals Casualwear. In response to the overall decline in sales and in anticipation of missing sales projections by up to 10%, president Cheryl Gjevre will be cutting the hours of part-time workers.
Freeport, ME-based L.L. Bean, which normally doubles its workforce for the holidays with part-time workers from October through December, hasn’t told any of those employees not to report to work. “The only thing we did was suspend all future employment offers until we get a better idea of the holiday impact,” says spokesperson Rich Donaldson.
Bean typically recruits for holiday help throughout fall. This year, “we’ve eased up on that process,” Donaldson says. “We’re interviewing but not offering start dates. Instead it’s ‘we will call you as things open up.’”