THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The famous Spencer Jn in the capital, named after Spencer’s - one of the first-ever premium hypermarkets located at the busy junction sandwiched between Statue and Palayam- will no longer have the hypermarket with the RPG Group that runs the supermarket chain winding up its operation in Kerala from Saturday. The news of the shutdown has come as a huge blow to employees and customers alike.
“It was totally unexpected, and the employees are all shocked. They are shutting down these outlets all of a sudden. A team from our regional office came here on Thursday to inform us about the shutdown. We stopped customer entry from 5 pm Friday. Many of the employees here have been working here for decades, and many of them are over 50 years of age. We are clueless on what to do next as this is a shocker,” said Chandra Vijin, store manager of the Spencer’s outlet at Spencer’s Jn.
“In the next 15 days, we have been directed to send back the existing stock. All the employees will get full salary and other benefits, including gratuity, for September,” he added.
There are around 90 employees working in all four outlets in the capital, and in addition to this, there are around 30 indirect employees.
53-year-old Sheela S J, who has been working at Spencer’s for the past seventeen years, is shattered by the news.
“I am the sole breadwinner for my family, and we live in a rented home. My husband is sick and unable to work or earn anything. I have to pay EMIs and bank loans. Both my children are yet to get jobs. My future looks bleak, and at this age, I don’t know how I will find a new job. The retirement age at Spencer’s was 58,” lamented Sheela.
With a legacy of over four or five generations of shoppers, Spencer’s was established in Kerala over a century ago. The RPG Group took over the supermarket chain in 1996.
“We had a repackaging centre in Ambalathara, and the management shut it down nearly one-and-a-half years ago. Since then, we have been receiving the stock from Hyderabad. Our customer base declined after that as the products mostly cater to North Indian customers,” said Chandra Vijin.
An employee of the regional office, who didn’t want to be named, said that Spencer’s has a legacy of 100 years and has a loyal customer base belonging to different generations.
“It’s the decision of the top management, and we can do nothing but comply. We just conveyed the decisions to the employees,” said the employee. Spencer’s has five outlets - four in Thiruvananthapuram and one in Pathanamthitta. The company is planning to shut them down one by one.