It seems that reorganization has become synonym with layoffs... Close to 100 employees were laid off from the company's Katy corporate headquarters. It is so far unknown if stores will be affected as well.
http://abc13.com/business/academy-sports-+-outdoors-cuts-100-jobs-at-katy-hq/2237262/
Gloeckler out? Good. She’s an empty suit. Worked with her at Walmart. Fit the stereotypical model of the nasty woman leader. Like to “stab and smile”. Insult you then smile in your face.
The above comments are spot on! Wake up from your sleep Academy board members and get rid of the incompetent JK and Michelle Gloeckler. She has zero command of the numbers how can she possibly run a financial business ? What a sad situation
I know people that put in 20 yrs with them. How dare Academy sell out on these men that have put millions of hours driving. They are the heart of the comapy. The 3rd party compant is Advertte. We heard they are a horrible company. Academy has a hurt coming to them. KRR has ran many companies in the ground. Toys R Us just filed Chapter 13.
Academy has hardly any employees in the store. The stores are horrible look. They are using yellow smiley balloon. They are starting to look like Wal-Mart.
They better watch out! They are on the downfall.
What does the transportation department change mean for those at store level?
It's now January 2018 and Academy is now dismantling it's transportation department and outsourcing shipping, to be completed in mid April 2018.
This company has been on the downhill slide since the founding family sold it. If you want the biggest reason this is happening, all you have to do is walk into an Academy store and look around. The prices have increased so dramatically that they've priced themselves right out of the market! What was a $20 pair of shorts are now $55+. (I guess they thought they could fix the upper management inexperience and mistakes and pay for the new huge administration building by skyrocketing consumer prices.)
The sad thing is how many employees, many who have been there 20 to 30 years, will no longer have jobs.
At the time of purchase Academy was a profitable company. It's amazing how fast they ran it in the ground.
It's bs that the press release said 100 when that's a lie. It was a lot more. The recommendation by Alix Partners was 400 to 600 by mid July.
I have worked in corporate retail for a long time and while layoffs are part of the business lifecycle, the way JK is leading the company it is hard not to believe this will be commonplace until they shutter the place or find a buyer.
The way these layoffs were handled was cruel. JK has teased this since he got here, basically keeping everyone in panic mode for months. Leadership is arrogant and seems to honestly not realize that they are the problem and their "solutions" have only made things worse.
In my 30 years in retail I have never worked with less competent executives. The only hope is that KKR will realize the mistake they made and find a new CEO.
Who is we?
Although I understand the point of a restructure (collapse areas and get rid of excess headcount), there is a right way to do it and a wrong. Academy did it wayyyyyyy wrong. It was leaked out early amongst the ASO community that these layoffs were happening. What makes me sick to my stomach is how the executive board members were walking around the building smiling from ear to ear. As if this was a fun thing to do. Have a heart- these are peoples' lives you're messing with. So many family's soul providers were let go. Please be more understanding...more compassionate. New school Academy is missing the biggest sensitivity chip I have ever witnessed.
Academy needs to stop hiring outside the company and start promoting within the organization. There is a world of difference between external candidates and internal when it comes to upper management. JK and Michelle are ruining this company. Now that Michael Arnett, Robert Frennae, and Gabe Thorton are gone, I worry about the fate of the company. You have these new guys running the show that don't understand the core of what Academy stands for. We need local support and I fear we have lost that home town company feel. RIP Academy.
The company is not what it used to be. Now that Academy has a new CEO (JK Symancik) and GMO (Michelle Gloekler), they have driven the place to the ground. The two of them alone are asking their merchant team to show unrealistic sales projections to look profitable. When the sales projections are "surprisingly" missed each month, the two of them blame it on the merchants and supporting teams. End result is major layoffs. Whatever workers are remaining are expected to double/triple their workload and it is simply not feasible. All the good employees are leaving because they are overworked. What's even worse is that Academy has gotten rid of all the old Academy workers that helped build the company up from the mom and pop company it once was (and they used to be very profitable!). What's remaining is a team of not as experienced workers (some are still very good) but they are overworked and pushed to their limits and the end result is just subpar work.
Jk and Michelle simply do not understand the amount of work that needs to be done in order to keep the company running. JK is one of the slimiest business politicians I have ever met. He jokes about the layoffs and airs out the company's "family secrets"of problems. In my experience, when upper management leaves a company- the CEO graciously thanks them for their contributions and wishes them well. JK is so immature that he blatantly lets the whole company know that they were essentially pushed out and no longer welcome at the company. And Michelle? She prides herself in being a "numbers girl", yet she can't keep any of the financials straight nor does she even look at the numbers run for important monthly reporting. She talks a big talk, that's for sure.
Don't even get me started on morale at this hell hole. No one enjoys going to work at this place. It's so bad that my recruiter friends don't even bother trying to fill positions at Academy now since ASO's turnover rate is so high. However, the company thinks feeding everyone a few free cookies and having a casual dress code more than make up for the crappy culture they have created for themselves. ASO needs to wake up and make a change for the better. They need to start taking care of their employees and listening to what their workers have to say. If you want to work here be prepared to sell your soul to the devils. You will not be able to have your own opinion if it's not the same opinion that JK and Michelle share.
Actually positions both existing and those listed on the career site were eliminated and yes people lost their jobs, but eliminating positions altogether with no back fill EVER is way different than a standard layoff due to profits being reduced.
After an analysis was done by an outside firm it was determined that there was a LOT of duplicate effort in my areas, especially in those with new systems that can be more efficient with the associates. Stores should not be affected AT ALL. This is just another rung on the ladder 2 years in with a new CEO and new higher management under him. Hiring willy nilly for years and years and not reaping the ROI on new systems just didn't add up anymore.
We are next, I am certain...