Harvey Nichols to cut scores of jobs from Edinburgh store
One of Scotland’ s highest profile luxury retailers is expected to cut scores of jobs in response to the C ovid -19 pandemic.
Harvey Nichols, the upmarket department store famous for its designer brands, is set to shed as many as 70 jobs at its Edinburgh outlet as part of a restructuring process, The Scotsman understands.
In a sign that high-end retailers are not immune from the economic storm which is reshaping the high street and leading to widespread job losses, the company confirmed that it may need to take the “difficult decision” to “potentially make a number of redundancies”.
Staff at the store have said it has already seen several luxury concessions, such as Elemis, Electric Hair, and Hacket, pulling out.
Sources said that the program me of cuts is expected to impact every area of the St Andrew Square outlet, from its retail departments to the dining and hospitality offerings. One staff member said that as well as employees, the restructuring process will result in the store’s senior management team being downsized.
The staff member explained: “Being made redundant is a difficult experience for all employees involved, especially at this time of year with Christmas on the horizon. It puts financial pressure on each individual, with some even having feelings of betrayal towards the company.
“You’d expect a business like Harvey Nichols to be strong and get through the pandemic but it just shows there is no business safe in these unprecedented times.
“We just feel let down by the company, some of the employees have given so many years of their lives to the company to then just be let go or forced to take voluntary redundancies.”
It was reported last month that the chain had drafted in restructuring exp er ts from P wc to examine the viability of the store estate in light of the pandemic, as well as its financing requirements.
The company posted sales of £91 million in the 12 months to the end of March 2019 with pre -tax profits of £2.7m. But chief executive Manju Malhotra warned in July that the pandemic had “changed the shape of the business.”