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Voisins Department Store Ltd
Voisin & Company was founded by Francis Voisin on 5 April
1837 as a haberdashery shop at 26 King Street. The company
expanded throughout the nineteenth century opening a men’s
outfitters in 1838 and a furniture department in New Street in
1868.
Showing his entrepreneurial skills, Francis Voisin formed a bank
to facilitate his trading in different currencies. This also enabled
him to offer credit facilities to his customers.
In those early years, the demand for jobs
at Voisin & Co was so great that there
was a waiting list. Successful candidates
then underwent a 3 year
apprenticeship, learning firstly how to
wrap a parcel and then studying the
stock of each department before being
allowed to serve any customers.
c 1938
c 1966
During the Second World War, the
occupying forces stored their uniforms in
a warehouse in New Street which now
houses Voisins’ car park. Towards the end
of the Occupation, Voisins was only open
on Saturdays selling secondhand goods.
By 1972, Voisins had 36 departments and
270 staff. In the same year, Voisins opened a branch in St Malo.
In 1992, current owner Francis
Gerald Voisin purchased the
business from his father.
Since then, the shop has been
modernised and a number of
c 1921
brands have moved in, including
The White Company, River Island, MAC, Jo Malone London and
Superdry.
Did you know...Voisins is home to the only River Island concession in the world
FASCINATING FACTS AND HISTORY
VOISINS’ 5 VALUES
Demonstrating our commitment to engaging our staff and
delivering the highest standards of customer service, in 2011 we
introduced our Sales and Service Culture Programme.
All our staff were involved in choosing the 5 values which best
describe Voisins and training sessions have now been
developed based on the following values.
Exceptional
Service
Consistency
Fashion
Expertise
Passion
Throughout your time on the graduate programme, there will
be a strong focus on these values, and you will also have the
opportunity to contribute to the future development of Voisins’
Values.
VOISINS RETAIL ACADEMY: AN OVERVIEW
This is key to differentiating Voisins from other highstreet and
online retailers.
To achieve this, the Programme will:
• Deliver a clear induction programme, setting out the
requirements for each level of the course;
• Consistently assess your understanding and skills learnt so
that you can move on to the next level of the Programme;
• Ensure that consistent standards are achieved and upheld;
• Ensure that you are prepared for promotion before you are
promoted;
• Provide training in visual, verbal and non-visual
communication in line with Voisins’ strategy;
• Empower you with self-confidence and self-belief;
• Motivate and inspire you;
• Show you the variety of roles and responsibilities within
retail;
• Excite you by a career in retail;
• Give you the opportunity to attend external courses
including the acclaimed Oxford Summer School run by the
British Independent Retailers’ Association
Did you know...Voisins is home to over 100 exclusive brands
The Academy has been designed to ensure that you become an
ambassador for the Voisins brand.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS FROM EACH YEAR OF THE ACADEMY
Year 1: Professional/Expert Sales Advisor
SKILL DEVELOPMENT AREAS
Voisins: our values, culture, strategy, business and work standards
The Basics: till operation, company rules, understanding why
Selling: approaching customers, open-ended questions, add-on sales,
closing the sale
Customer Service: body language, additional advice, the extra mile
Communication: written and verbal
Merchandising
Product knowledge
IT: Word and Excel
By the end of the year, you will be a brand ambassador, portraying
Voisins’ standards and providing exceptional customer service and
selling skills
Year 2: Supervisor/Team Leader
SKILL DEVELOPMENT AREAS
People: team-building, supervision, delegation, performance analysis,
motivation, development, manpower planning, appraisals
Leadership
Trainer: presentation skills, getting the message across
Trading analysis: sales, margin, space use, stockturn, range sell through,
staff costs ratio
Retail merchandise layout
Advanced communication
Event organisation
Marketing overview
IT: Word, Excel and Powerpoint
Your potential role within Voisins during year 2 is a supervisor/
deputy manager
Year 3: Counter/Concession Manager
SKILL DEVELOPMENT AREAS
Business development
Finance
Trading budgets: sales, stock, margin, open to buy, staff
Range planning: merchandise, size, space, stock investment
HR: employment law, conduct appraisals, disciplinary procedures
Marketing and event organisation
Entrepreneurial: commercial awareness, performance improvement
Advanced IT: Word, Excel, Swan (Voisins internal management system)
Your potential role within Voisins at the end of year 3 is a counter/
concession manager
Year 4: Buyer
SKILL DEVELOPMENT AREAS
Leadership: inspire and motivate
Profit and loss accounts
Commercial awareness
Buying: space planning, OTB allocation and management, negotiating
skills, order preparation, pricing, identifying new brands, monitoring
trends, promotional activity, supplier activity
Stock management: aged stock analysis, seasonal variances
Strategic range development
Advanced marketing
Law
Your potential role within Voisins at the end of year 4 is a buyer
*Please note that each year will give you the skills with which to perform
the potential roles stated. Actual vacancies at the end of each year cannot
be guaranteed.
Did you know...Voisins won the CIPD Jersey Employee Engagement Award in 2012 and 2013
KEY HIGHLIGHTS FROM EACH YEAR OF THE ACADEMY
MEET THE MANAGEMENT TEAM
Alison Le Vesconte
Buyer
Buyer
Buyer
Louise Perkes
Buyer
Sonia Copeman
Chris Byrne
Administration
Paul Nolan
Training/Operations
Carole Baguet
Personnel
Sue Ednie
David Elliott
Business Development
Gerald Voisin
Chairman
Emily Moore
Marketing
John Ellis
Store Manager
WHY DO OUR STAFF LOVE WORKING AT VOISINS?
Liz Murphy, Trainee Buyer
I am very excited to have grown
my role to manager of a flagship
Clarins counter. I receive regular
Voisins and off-island Clarins
training, enabling me to organise
and host regular VIP events.
Fay Jacques, Counter Manager,
Clarins
Managing a team of 18 staff,
working for one of the fastestgrowing fashion brands, brings
fresh challenges and
excitement every day.
Lorie Rault, Concession Manager,
River Island
Did you know...over 150 people work at Voisins
This position has given me firsthand experience of a buyer’s role.
As a trainee buyer, I have been on
several buying trips, helped with
stock decisions and launched a new
brand in Voisins.
HOW CAN I JOIN THE ACADEMY?
If you are a graduate or school leaver aged between 18 and 22
and would like to embark on a career in retail, this is the perfect
opportunity for you.
To win an exclusive place on the Voisins Retail Academy, you
must have a positive ‘can do’ attitude, strong motivation and a
passion for retail, management and success.
You must want to learn and develop new skills while always
maintaining the highest standards of etiquette.
You must be committed to a career in retail and be able to
work weekends, shift patterns and bank holidays.
To apply for a place on the Academy, please send your CV,
together with a letter outlining why Voisins should choose you,
to Alison Le Vesconte at Voisins Department Store Ltd, e-mail
[email protected]
A WARM WELCOME AWAITS YOU
www.voisins.com

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