Store managers are responsible for the day-to-day running of a store and its departments, leading a team to drive sales and ultimately ensure profitability
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Supply chain and logistics management involves the connection of suppliers, customers and other partners. It also includes the handling of goods, such as transporting and storing
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A visual merchandiser develops and executes visual strategies to promote products, ranges or services either online or in-store
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Merchandisers ensure that their products appear in the right place at the right time. They also manage performance and organise promotions and sales
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A retail buyer is responsible for planning and selecting the products that retailers sell, staying up to date with market trends and ensuring that the product they're offering is competitive
read moreStore management
Store managers are people leaders, responsible for the day-to-day running of a store and its departments. Their aim is to build a high performing team to deliver exceptional customer experiences and a profitable operation. They ensure their staff are trained and working towards daily, weekly and monthly targets, whilst working with head office teams, such as marketing and merchandising, to bring sales campaigns to life. If you love working with people, are excellent at multitasking and like the idea of not being chained to a desk all day, this could be the role for you.
As a grad
As a graduate, you will usually start out as a supervisor or assistant manager and will be responsible for overseeing a section rather than managing the entire store. Gradually you will be given more and more responsibility, such as ordering stock, devising layout and managing your own team.salary bands and hours
- £20k – £30k
- The average is around 40 hours per week. However, during peak periods such as Christmas and sales, you will need to work long and irregular hours, including weekends and bank holidays
training
Many of the larger retail companies will have graduate schemes with dedicated training stores and programmes, with the length of training varying between nine months and three years. Training is usually in-house and combines practical on-the-job learning or shadowing experience with courses and workshops.progression
The first step will involve moving to a larger or more complex store as an assistant store manager. With some organisations, graduates will run their own departments within weeks and are able to manage smaller stores within 18 months. Within three to five years, you could move into a senior management role, managing much larger stores or departments, or even regional areas. With this role, you also have the opportunity to explore new sectors within retail, or take your valuable experience into different head office careers.necessary skills and requirements
Skills:- Someone who seeks responsibility
- Strong leadership skills and the ability to motivate others
- Good business sense and commercial awareness
- Enjoy working as part of a team in order to achieve goals
- The ability to work well under pressure and multi-task
- Excellent communication skills
- The ability to make decision decisively
- Ideally a HND or degree, although entry is possible without.
top tips
It is important to gain some experience in retail or a customer service based role. It’s also beneficial to have experience working as part of a team, such as a sports team or society at uni.testimonials
Katrina
Store Manager at Uniqlo
At Uniqlo, there is the opportunity to progress quickly in the company and take on new challenges every day, which grows your ability as a manager. It's a diverse workplace which is great, and really team-orientated.
Sherin
Assistant Store Manager on the Store Manager Scheme at Uniqlo
Everyone in the company is very approachable, friendly and supportive, from the customer advisor to the CEO. Transparency, efficiency, simplicity, hospitality, diversity and attention to details are what make Uniqlo stand out from other companies, and this is reflected in the culture of every store. A great advantage of working at Uniqlo is that there is always an opportunity to learn and grow for those who are ambitious, dedicated and passionate about the business.
