Employee Engagement in Retail: Lessons from Bestseller's Dramatic Attrition Drop
How a leading fashion retailer reduced early attrition by 40% through AI-powered continuous engagement and proactive HR interventions.
About Bestseller
BESTSELLER India is part of BESTSELLER, a family-owned fashion company founded in Denmark in 1975. With brands like Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, and Only, the company operates across 46 countries with over 2,800 chain stores.
In India, Bestseller has 3,500+ employees across 125+ cities, serving customers through 300+ brand outlets, 1,500+ Shop-in-Shops, and online marketplaces.
The Challenge
High early attrition during 0-180 days with limited visibility into employee experience
Difficulty reaching and listening to frontline retail employees across 125+ cities
Unable to identify at-risk employees before they resigned
Lack of predictive capabilities preventing proactive retention actions
The Solution
Bestseller implemented Nikki, an AI-powered engagement platform that automatically connected with employees at key journey milestones—7, 21, 45, and 90 days—plus bi-annual check-ins for all staff.
- ✓Real-time sentiment analysis and engagement tracking across all locations
- ✓Automated alerts to HR partners when employees showed signs of disengagement
- ✓Live dashboards providing visibility into engagement drivers by location and team
- ✓Proactive action framework enabling managers to intervene before resignations
Key Results
Reduction in early attrition
Engaged employees
Response rate
ROI in first year
Implementation Timeline
Integration with HRIS and initial configuration
50 employees across 3 locations
All 3,500+ employees across 125+ cities
Refined interventions and action protocols
"Life without Nikki will be shades of grey, with Nikki it's black & white…"
Vineet Gautam
Country Head & CEO - India, Bestseller