Director of the store - a leading, responsible position. Regardless of the specialization of the store, whether itβs cosmetics, household appliances or baby food, the organization of the process and, therefore, the tasks that the director must solve, require leadership experience, organizational skills and leadership qualities of the person occupying this position.
Why do I need a store director
In retail, business owners or their relatives often run the store. When the assortment expands, sales volumes increase, the number of outlets increases, the owner may not cope with the amount of work.
The owners of retail chains and stores are first and foremost strategists who determine prospects and develop a development concept. And the practice of introducing the concept into life requires solving many smaller tasks that strategists have no time to deal with. And even the most remarkable concept can collapse if non-professionals are involved in its implementation.
In addition, by attracting a hired director, the owner gets time not only to create lines of activity and strategy, but also to control its development, which will prevent dangerous actions for business.
Store Management Approaches
The duties of the store director may include only the performance of administrative functions, as is customary in large retail chains. The director monitors sales volume, order in the store, movement and storage of goods, customer complaints, staff work. Under such a director are merchandisers who determine volumes and engage in procurement. But the suppliers, prices, assortment are managed by the central office, which also deals with all issues of the store.
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A director can really be a director who deals with all areas of the storeβs activities and development, including financial planning. The maximum independence of the director allows business owners to deal with global issues without interfering with the current activities of the store. Since such work as a director allows you to communicate with suppliers and customers, to understand well the problems of both, the opinion and advice of the leader can be taken into account by the owner in the development of existing and the development of new areas.
Store Director Requirements
The hired director of the store must have a specialized higher education in the field of trade. Economic or managerial education is allowed, but necessarily higher. Knowledge of the economy, management and organization of labor, the basics of psychology, ethics and aesthetics, marketing and advertising - all this helps to fulfill the duties of a store director.
The following requirement is for work experience. In the field of commerce, a candidate for this position must work for at least five years and have experience in managerial work, and at least twenty people must be subordinate.
True, employers in the resume of the store director often pay attention to the personal qualities of the applicant: organizational skills, energy, focus on results, creative thinking and high intelligence, considering that the rest can be taught. For employers, knowledge of the specifics of trade is important; persuasion, negotiation and meeting skills; selection, assessment, motivation and motivation of staff; ability to resolve conflicts.
Director Responsibilities
The work of the store director is to resolve administrative, economic and financial issues related to the activities of the trade institution.
The director must organize the work of the store, his tasks include reducing costs and improving the quality of service.
The duties of the store director include:
- ensuring reasonable prices for goods and the implementation of the sales plan;
- check the readiness of the store for work: product quality, laying it out on shelves, the presence of price tags, sanitary conditions, serviceability of trading and measuring equipment;
- checking the correctness of registration of documentation for the delivery of goods and related to its sale;
- monitoring inventory and turnover for all categories of products;
- development and monitoring of compliance with the mandatory list of products based on consumer research;
- Signing of contracts for the supply of goods and control over their implementation, negotiations;
- organization and management of the inventory, determination of the reasons for the shortage;
- leadership of the team, checking the quality of staff, their skills and relevance to their positions;
- monitoring compliance with safety standards and labor protection.
How to look for a candidate for a store director
The job description of the store director includes general requirements, and an interview with the store director is conducted by a specific employer with certain requirements. Usually interview questions:
- functional responsibilities at the previous workplace and work goals;
- organization of structural subordination and reporting: how the interaction was with the immediate supervisor, and how the applicant supervised his subordinates, their tasks;
- a description of the most memorable situation of managing subordinates - how it arose, what it led to, how it ended.
Trade legislation is an important issue for the head of a trade institution.
Important and knowledge of the technology of the store: how it opens and closes, the principles of product distribution, work with inspection bodies.
And the specifics of the store (description and features of the presentation of the goods, assortment, prices, category of customers) can be studied already starting to work. The main thing is to understand the importance of each component.
Choice of several candidates
The resumes of the store director were selected, the interview was conducted, the store owner has to make a choice, guided by his priorities. Most network owners prefer to promote their own employees. This is a good motivation for development and the desire for growth with the company. In addition, people are well aware of the product and its features, the team in which they work, the principles of the process organization, and the requirements of the owners. Yes, and everyone knows the workers themselves, which is also important.
There may be advantages in other cases. If you choose a director with experience in other stores, then a set of attitudes and principles of work can equally bring a fresh stream to the activity in a new place or be completely unacceptable there.
Former leaders in another area are valuable in management experience, but it will take a long time to master the specifics of retail.
A former store owner who had to close his business for some reason can bring the same problems to a new place.
Friends, relatives and close friends as store directors are most often a reliable rear, but ignorance of the specifics can lead to serious problems.
Continuing education of the store director
Any new employee, including the director, must be trained. Any candidate, because there are no ideal specialists, there are gaps in training. The lower-level own employee needs to be trained in the basics of management, and a senior employee from another area - the principles of retail.
The adaptation and preparation of the new director is important not only personally for him, but also for the business as a whole. And even when the period of formation ends, the director of the store will have to upgrade his skills constantly, because the market does not stand still. New tools to stimulate sales, pricing and assortment of goods, competitors, the legislative framework, management accounting, suppliers and interaction with them are changing and appearing.
A competent director, a competent and reliable person who owns the tools necessary for working, will manage the store so that profit grows, and competitors always fall behind.