Victorian Bournemouth (246) has speculated that, during the 1890s, the community position attainable by bank managers changed. Hitherto, perhaps seen as akin almost to the gentry, managers had enjoyed a special place within their communities. The increased and systematic development within banking, however, may have made it harder for managers to attain such a position. At Bournemouth, however, during the 1890s, the population of bank managers appears to have included managers of both types.
Victorian Bournemouth (245) has analysed the social and career profiles of bank managers who had retired to the resort by 1901. They emerge as social stalwarts. The study also reveals how, during this period, banks and staff hid their marketing activities within a cloak of social respectability. This apparent generosity seems in sharp contrast with the advertised pursuit of Mammon practised today.
Victorian Bournemouth (244) has suggested how Bournemouth Steam Laundry’s financial prudence, effective marketing, and worker safety contributed to a robust business model that could withstand the pressures of competition and economic fluctuations. Furthermore, the long-term management style of Robert and Catherine Catt made the company a showcase for how employee satisfaction and commercial profit could co-exist. As a proactive manager, Robert Catt combined attention to detail, commitment to safety, regular innovation, and positive media relations. The Catt family connected their family, friends, and employees into a unified network. This perhaps created a supportive and harmonious work-place environment, benefiting all network members, whatever their social position. The success of this approach perhaps appears in the family’s management of the firm extending over at least two generations and several decades.
Victorian Bournemouth (243) has explored events that concerned Bournemouth’s two Perfect Thrift Building Society funds. Newspaper reports suggest that the savings society perhaps achieved a measure of success. Several people won the lottery prizes, although the draws did not happen often. Malpractice lay not far from building societies at this time and may have reached Perfect Thrift, in Bournemouth and across the network. The founder disappeared after a large shortfall emerged at Leeds, while the secretary at Bournemouth took his family to Valparaiso in 1896. Nevertheless, some working people at Bournemouth, attracted by the dream of thrift, economy, and independence, found themselves assisted by their Perfect Thrift.