Well, well, well! The Danish chain Normal, the one with low fixed prices, is expanding into our country and has already started recruiting. The first stores are opening in Bucharest and Timișoara, and me, sitting on the terrace with the boys, I said: "Let's see what they're offering!" And, bro, I was stunned.
For real, the company has already hired a regional manager and an HR director, and now they're looking for store managers and assistants. For Bucharest, a store manager gets 5,500 lei net, and for Timișoara, 5,000 lei net. Assistants earn 4,000 lei net in the capital and 3,500 lei net in Timișoara. Now, let's be serious: for a city like Bucharest, where rent for a studio leaves you with half your salary, 5,500 lei isn't exactly a fortune, but it's decent. My wife Mioara, who works at Lidl, just said: "Well, they pay more than we do!" And just like that, we remember the price hikes and how hard it is to make money these days.
But it's not just the salary! Benefits include meal tickets, sales bonuses, health insurance, and an extra day of vacation for each year spent with the company, up to 25 days. So, stay one year, you get 21 days off; stay five, you reach 25. Not bad, right? But, attention! Candidates for store manager must have English communication skills, because they'll participate in international training of up to 10 consecutive days in the first two months. English, bro, that's the key! If you don't know English, stay home. Responsibilities include recruiting and training the team, hitting sales targets, and maintaining standards. In other words, you gotta be a real smooth operator to lead the team.
Founded in 2013, Normal operates over 950 stores in 11 countries. Its concept consists of consumer goods at reduced, fixed prices, including well-known brands like Colgate, Max Factor, Ajax, or L'Oréal. Owner Anders Holch Povlsen, with a fortune of 13.4 billion euros, also owns the brands Jack & Jones, Only, and Vero Moda. 13.4 billion! Bro, I can barely wait for Ioana's allowance like it's Christmas, and he has billions. That's how it is, some are born with a silver spoon, others with a 2008 BMW.
The bottom line? Normal brings to Romania a business model that worked in Denmark and dozens of other countries. Let's see how it goes here, because Romanians are crafty and can find bargains. But, as I said, if you want to be a store manager, get ready for English and 10 days of training abroad. So, come on, who's signing up? Me, for one, I'm thinking of sending Brian to an English course, maybe he'll land a job too. In the meantime, I'm off to tell Mioara that the Danes are taking our money with cheap products, but maybe they'll also hire us.
