Blacks Leisure Group, owners of Millets outdoor stores, has announced that it is closing down 89 loss-making outlets nationwide.
These include Millets stores in Inverness, one of the company’s freespirit stores in Glasgow – and Millets in Oban.
Staff at the Oban Branch are forbidden to give any information on anything to anyone – but the shop is carrying closure notices in its windows.
When we contacted the Oban branch we were directed politely – on account of the gagging clause – to Kevin Smith or Simon Rigby of PR company, Citygate Plc – 0207 86389591 – who are permitted to speak for the company, provided of course, that they were taking phone calls.
Unfortunately, regardless of the sudden shock to employees and to recession-hit towns, no one was available at Citygate to answer the phone and a recorded message directed emergency press enquiries to Nicola Smith on 07721 421117. That number too produced nothing other than a recorded message.
In situations like this, where normal human values of care for employees and some sense of social responsibility have so flagrantly been set aside, direct action of whatever kind is all that is open to those shocked by such behaviour.
We are publishing these names and phone numbers in the hope that someone else may coincide with a live response to legitimate enquiries. The message we have left asks two practical questions, neither of which may be answered by Oban staff:
- How many staff are employed at the Oban branch of Millets?
- What are the timescales for closure?
The timescales, however, seem likely to be swift.
There had been no advance warning of the closures. Today’s Press & Journal (3rd October) reports that staff at the Inverness branch knew of the closure – and the loss of their jobs – only when they opened packages that had arrived in the store – to find that they contained large window posters announcing: Closing Down, Everything Must Go’.
There is simply no defence for such corporate behaviour.
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It is a terrible thing both for staff and for Oban that this store is to be closed. As a regular customer i am aware of five staff members who will be left unemployed after this closure, however as a sales assistant in Oban i am also aware of the lack of custom store recieve from the local community, who more ofter than not prefer shopping trips to larger towns or cities ie Glasgow. When commenting on “the major blow to Oban” perhaps folks should think when did i last purchase from this store? When i have passed this store in favour of city/ internet shopping?
Blacks is a major name in Outdoor Shopping and im sure as such they have not made this decision lightly. With 89 stores throughout the company closing, with each averaging 5 – 10 staff members, could it not be assumed that the affore mentioned people are dealing with calls and queries from those employees and not with persistant critisism from press!
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For Janine Finlayson: The recorded messages at both Citygate’s reception and at Nicola Smith’s mobile were not reporting engaged lines (or we would have said so) but simply that there was no one there to take the call. The distressed employees you rightly see as probably making calls themselves, will have fared no better than we did, Janine. That is what we see as unacceptable and we are sure you would agree. And the questions we left on the message service could hardly be described as ‘critical’. Read them again.
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Sorry it would seem you misunderstand me. I mean when given say 30 messages left on an answer machine, 29 from employees looking for answers and 1 from you to ask how many work in the Oban branch why is it unreasonable for the staff member to take priorty? If noone from the branches affected is able to speak openly then how can you be so sure that there has been a situation where normal human values of care for employees and some sense of social responsibility have so flagrantly been set aside? There was a press release last week i belbive saying that Blacks head office would also be cutting numbers so perhaps those you have called are also out of jobs now. I understand this is a dreadful time for every one involved but maybe you should hold off on the antiestablishment story until you do have more facts instead of over dramatising a sad situation.
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For Janine Finlayson: Sorry, Janine – just straightening out the facts as we reported them. Those not answering the phones were not Black’s staff but staff of a PR company employed by Blacks to handle the public relations side of the consequences of the closures. And the treatment of the Milletts Inverness staff – who were not informed of the closure as we reported, is fact. We cannot – and therefore do not – say whether or not the staff at the Oban branch received the same treatment.
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I would like to point out, that not even the staff have been informed of anything. Only the senior staff of closing stores have been given a date, or the options for redeployment, anything gained from remaining stores is nothing but rumours. I will say that although it has been said that the outdoor group have ignored the feelings of staff, they did make an effort to tell each store in question in person, as opposed to over the phone
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