Pros
Laura Ashley product and brand has such potential, brilliant and original designs and passionate people. Should be proud to live by its brand and slogan.
Cons
Head Office is a former bus depot in Fulham, it is in a poor state of repair with damp, water coming down the walls, hail through the roof, fire exits are a dumping ground for rubbish. Wages are below what should be considered acceptable with entry level jobs earning £16.5K below what would be normal at other retailers. Dispassionate staff, some staff are passionate and become frustrated by stagnation and the decision making process, others have been in their jobs for many years and are devoid of passion with declining sales year on year there is little innovation in those teams, over reliance on single suppliers. Retail is barley understood at Laura Ashley with buyers accepting flat margins, failing to negotiate, not caring about quality - in face down grading quality on a regular basis. Sourcing using trade suppliers found on Google. The company is disjointed between three offices with parties traveling to meetings rather than efficient use of conference of video conferencing. A bad attitude exits between sites with openly hostile attitudes and a refusal to take advice especially from head office staff. Turn Over at Head Office was above 70% in some teams in 2015, nothing is done to address this. Support functions such as HR are extremely lackadaisical, P45 and benefits stopping arrive on time - sadly there was no exit interview or other contact with HR before leaving. Complaints about a manager were passed on verbatim to the manager. The company is owned by a Malaysian conglomerate who run the company from a distance through a Malay CEO in London. The London based CEO barley acknowledges staff in the corridor. The Malaysian owner who calls himself a Dr reportedly does not have the entitlement to call himself that.