Setting The Standard

Scottish jeweller Laings earns workplace accreditation as expectations around luxury retail shift

As social media opens up the realities behind the counter, Laings’ latest certification positions a homegrown brand at the forefront of a more considered approach.
For years, luxury retail has sold a version of perfection. Impeccable service, polished spaces, an experience that feels effortless. Recently, that illusion has started to crack. Online, particularly across social media, current and former retail staff have begun sharing what sits behind the scenes, long hours, pressure to perform, environments that don’t always match the brand image.

It has changed the conversation. Quietly, but significantly.

Because once you see it, you start to question it. Not just what you’re buying, but who is standing in front of you, and what it takes to deliver that experience.

Against that backdrop, Laings, a Scottish-founded business with showrooms in Edinburgh and Glasgow, has been officially recognised as a Great Place to Work, a certification awarded by Great Place to Work following independent, anonymous employee feedback.

The accreditation requires a minimum of 65% of employees to report a consistently positive experience, covering leadership, culture and day-to-day working life. It is a data-led benchmark, and one that places Laings among a smaller group of retailers meeting that standard.

For a business built on craftsmanship, knowledge and trust, the emphasis on people is not incidental. Teams are supported through specialist training, professional qualifications and long-term career development, helping to retain expertise within the business.

For a Scottish brand, that carries weight. As expectations evolve, there is a growing sense that businesses closer to home should not only meet the standard, but set it.

For customers, that translates to something tangible. Continuity, confidence and a level of service that feels informed rather than transactional.

It is a subtle shift, but an important one. Increasingly, how a brand operates internally is becoming part of its wider appeal, not separate from it.