Business Forum • 11 March, 2024 at 1:50 PM
In 2023, Pepco has employed more than 30,000 women in its European retail chains, with women accounting for up to 93% of the retailer's workforce in Europe. Currently, Pepco Romania alone hires more than 3,200 women. In most departments, women represent two thirds of the workforce. Also, in our country, more than 1,380 women hold the position of store manager and lead teams that are mostly women.
Women occupy various positions within the Pepco Group, both on the board of directors and in management positions and as designers, customer advisors, purchasing agents.
The company's internal analysis shows that women represent 87% of customers in Pepco stores. On average, they are around 39 years old and have one or two children. 55% of them have children up to the age of 14. Up to 90-96% of women in most markets where Pepco is present are familiar with the brand. In a survey conducted in 2023, customers highlighted shopping in-store as a great form of escape from the everyday.
Pepco's stores comprise a total of around 530 product categories: 23% of these are adult clothing and accessories, 30% children's clothing and 27% are home accessories. The company regularly updates and changes its range, introducing around 250 new products per week and 130 new collections each season.
Agnieszka Jaworska, Commercial Director within the Pepco Group, believes that the company's openness and support for the development of women working in the company translates into greater effectiveness of the activities undertaken. "In the past, there was a clear distinction between sectors and positions typically considered masculine and feminine. Now, such divisions seem to have lost their relevance. The change has taken place in us, women. We are strong and aware of our strengths. We want to develop, which is why we look for places and people who will support us in it. In the department I manage, girls account for as much as 80% of the staff. Diversity is the key value at Pepco, which is why we support all our female and male workers in their growth," stresses Agnieszka Jaworska.
Programmes for employees
As of 2015, Rodica Onișoru has held the position of Store Manager and coordinated the first Pepco store opened in Iași. Two years later, in the summer of 2017, she was promoted to the position of Area Manager, a position that gave her many professional satisfactions. She coordinated teams in different cities such as Iași, Suceava, Botoșani, Piatra Neamț and Vaslui. At the beginning of 2023 she was promoted to the position of Regional Manager, coordinating the work of five Area Managers in the counties of Moldova and beyond: Suceava, Botoșani, Iași, Neamț, Vaslui, Bacău, Vrancea, Galați, Brăila, Tulcea, Buzău and Ploiești.
"My retail experience was a perfect fit with everything Pepco represented from the beginning. Since the opening of the first Pepco stores in Romania in 2015, I had the opportunity to lead the first team as Store Manager in Iași. I worked alongside talented people, and my vision carried over into every aspect of our business. With dedication and commitment, I was able to develop and inspire each team member to become the best version of themselves, reflecting efficiency and productivity. I consider myself a leader who wants to create leaders, and I can say my journey has been an exciting one. The words that have always guided me in this and that I want to share are: «You did it, keep going! You didn't make it, keep going!»", says Rodica Onișoru, Regional Manager Pepco.
The retail chain offers special shopping discounts for its employees. Pepco has also implemented initiatives designed to help them with legal and financial issues, such as a 24/7 helpline or the Employee Support Program, which provides free, anonymous expert advice not only to Pepco employees but also to their family members.