Retail Manager

Also known as:

Shop Manager

Introduction

Retail managers oversee the running of a shop, supermarket or store, in order to maximise profits. They organise staffing, check and maintain stock levels, ensure goods are displayed effectively and deal with customer complaints.

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Work Activities

Retail managers control the day-to-day running of a store, with the overall aim of improving its commercial performance. They must ensure that sales targets are achieved while keeping operating costs within a set budget. Group or area managers set the long-term budgets and sales targets.

A typical day may involve the retail manager being at the store some time before opening and checking that it is ready to trade legally, safely and effectively. As the leader of a store team, they may have to check staff rotas, hold staff meetings to discuss a new policy or promotion, monitor stock and answer any queries. They also have to walk the sales floor to monitor the performance of key product lines and deal with customer enquiries. They may also have to close the store at the end of trading.

In large stores, there may be a team of several managers, each one responsible for their own department, with a single store manager in overall charge. Retail managers in smaller, independent stores can expect to have a more 'hands on' approach. They usually have more flexibility in the way they organise and display their products. Managers who work for larger retailers usually have to stick to instructions passed on to them by their head office.

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Personal Qualities and Skills

As a potential retail manager, you should have strong leadership skills. You should be able to show that you can motivate others and communicate effectively with people from all walks of life. You should also be a good manager of your own time, and be confident and decisive in unpredictable situations. The ability to understand and use computers is important.

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Pay and Opportunities

Salary rates for retail managers vary widely depending on the employer and the size of the retail operation.

The pay rates given below are approximate.

Retail managers earn in the range of £15,000 - £18,500 a year, rising to £24,000 - £32,000. Higher earners can make around £45,000 a year.

Retail managers usually work a basic 35-39 hour week. However, long and unsocial hours, including late night and weekend work is common. In some cases managers may be expected to be 'on-call' in emergencies.

Large retail companies (often referred to as retail multiples) expect their managers to move to stores in other parts of the country when required.

The greatest number of employment opportunities are with major retail multiples. These may specialise in a particular retail sector such as food or fashion. Other opportunities exist with department stores and with large independent retailers.

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Adult Opportunities

It is now illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

If you don't have the qualifications needed to enter your chosen degree or HND course, a college or university Access course (eg, Access to Business) could be the way in. These courses are designed for people who have not followed the usual routes into higher education. No formal qualifications are usually needed, but you should check this with individual colleges.

Part-time postgraduate courses are available in retail/retail management.

Modern Apprenticeships may be available in some areas.

• 6% of people in occupations such as retail management work part-time.
• 5% have flexible hours.

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