Cabot Circus people

Thursday, 28 August

For the first time since arriving in Bristol I feel nervous, the kind of nervous and excited feeling you get before heading full pelt down the first drop on a roller coaster. 

However, at this point my feet are firmly on the ground. I am standing in Harvey Nichols, which has in the last few days made the change from a building site, emerging as a retail swan, one clad in gold and soft white lacquer. The realisation, that in less than five weeks time we will be open for business, has set in.

Next week, on the September 1, the shop fitters will hand over the keys and we will move into the new store. Everything at this point is on schedule and we all feel a sense of urgency knowing that this is the last chance to ensure that all the preparation we have been doing in the past few weeks is completed. 

We will also be joined by the staff who will manage the Bristol store. As part of their training they will visit some of our other stores which will give them an insight into our expectations of them and allow them to meet some key support teams who will help with the opening.  Whilst we are still recruiting for some parts of the store, particularly hospitality, most of the 130 strong team is now in place. 

This week we have confirmed a Hospitality Manager and a Bar and Wineshop Manager, both of whom have excellent reputations. I am really thrilled that they will be part of the team for opening.

Surprisingly we have found recruiting for hospitality one of our biggest challenges. As a company we are now increasingly known for our restaurants, due to the huge success of The Oxo Tower and Prism, our reputation is still primarily based on fashion.

In Bristol we have already found some excellent staff that are of a very high calibre but our focus this week will continue to be on recruiting additional waiting staff to compliment the team already in place.

At this point my biggest challenge is patience, which has never been a strong point of mine!  Though I am desperate to get on site and see every last detail fall into place I have decided to let the shopfitting team get on with their job under the supervision of our Properties and Facilities Controller without distractions, so I have banned store visits.  Next week will see us permanently installed in the store getting ready in earnest for our opening day!

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