Pros
The Good Bits (Yes, There Are Some) Staff discounts: Decent discounts on products. Breakout spaces: There’s a pool table, free tea/coffee, and fruit a few times a week. Social events: Occasional socials Birthday leave: You do get your birthday off, which is a small plus. There’s a decent camaraderie among staff, but be careful who you trust. Many managers are “yes” people who will throw you under the bus to save their own skin.
Cons
This is an honest review of my time at Castore, covering the company, senior management, and workplace culture. To put it bluntly, this has been the worst place i have ever worked at. Structure (or lack thereof) The company operates in a state of constant chaos. There’s no real structure—just knee-jerk reactions to the endless mistakes made at all levels. Decisions come from the top without any proper planning or guidance, leaving employees scrambling to make things work. If you question anything or don’t immediately fall in line, you’re quickly pushed out. Senior Management The senior management team is a farce. This is a classic boys’ club where friends of the founders hold key positions. Whether you thrive or fail often depends less on your ability and more on whether you’re in their inner circle. The CCO, directors, and their favourites dominate, with little to no business acumen visible in how departments are run and no formal training in business. For instance, the merchandising team is so disconnected they don’t even understand their own product lines. Partnerships overpromise wildly to clients, then leave the operational staff to clean up the mess without ever being included in the original discussions. Zero teamwork or calibration. They hire senior people, becoming top heavy with layers and layers of directors and chiefs then the chiefs hire their own mates for their team, discarding the existing staff for who they favour. It's run like I'd imagine a 70's teacher/parent business model and not modern-day business. HR and Workplace Culture DO NOT trust HR for your own sake. They exist solely to protect the company, not the employees. HR will lie to your face, agree with you when it suits them, and then betray your trust. The culture is deeply toxic. Backstabbing and blame-shifting are the norm, with little to no accountability at any level of management. Retail staff's pay is continually wrong, incompetent payroll processes. Can't even get the basics right. Culture When Castore claims to be “fast-paced and agile,” what they really mean is chaotic and poorly structured. There’s no support, and when things inevitably go wrong, the pressure is passed down the chain with no appreciation for the effort staff put in. Retail staff are completely unsupported. The occasional pizza slice is treated as an adequate reward for long hours and impossible demands which are frequent and expected. Treatment of Women It is not uncommon to see the younger women in the workplace brought to tears due to the pressure and a lack of respect, and condescending behaviour from some of the management. Benefits and Pay Benefits: Bare minimum low pension contributions from them, 5 days of sick leave, standard holiday allowance. Pay: They’ll offer you as little as possible when offering you the role to undercut you and you'll be dazzled to take a role due the popularity of the brand and how awesome they are with “Better Never Stops” and how well they are doing. While there’s talk of performance bonuses (10–20%), you’ll likely never see the full amount due to the “company not hitting their targets”. What is in a contract will never be paid. When it comes to annual pay reviews, expect small increases. Even then the goal posts are moved each year to a different month to expect the increase. Again, no conversations, no transparency about increases. Final Thoughts Castore looks good on a CV for now. However, with their poor decision-making and the rate at which they waste money, I don’t know how much longer they’ll stay successful. If you value your mental health, a stable work environment, supportive management and a company that truly supports its employees, I’d advise you to look elsewhere. Take this as your heads up, you’ll thank me later.
