having a trained workforce that stays with a company long term is smart if you have ever worked in retail you will know what a pain in the behind it is to have to hire, train and hope that they will turn out to be a good employee.
heres a article on similar strategies used
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/...retail/274322/
I forgot to add their is a clear divide starting to take shape in NZ retail now in regards to wages ,on one side is the retail who will pay good like whs , rbd , etc and on the other side is places like food stuffs , mc donalds etc one can clearly see the talk going around schools about who the good ones are to work for and the shift in culture that could take place if ya get the drift.