Retail Commercial Manager

**Purpose of the Role**:
To provide strategic oversight and coordination of retail operations and commercial planning across all stores. This role ensures that regional managers are executing effectively on the ground while driving commercial performance through actionable insights, planning, and alignment with national objectives. The incumbent owns the reporting function, product planning, KPI governance, and operational performance across the national store network.

**Key Responsibilities**:
**1. Commercial Strategy & Sales Planning**:

- Lead national retail sales planning in collaboration with Exco, aligning targets with historical performance, store potential, and growth forecasts.
- Review and approve regional sales strategies, category mix plans, and store-specific performance targets.
- Analyze sell-through, product velocity, stock turns, and store contributions to inform commercial decisions.
- Recommend actions to drive growth in UPT, ATV, and conversion rates.

**2. Operational Oversight & Store Standards**:

- Set the operational execution standards for all stores, working through regional managers to ensure compliance with SOPs.
- Monitor execution of promotions, visual directives, and trading activity across the network.
- Lead quarterly operational reviews and national store audits.
- Guide and hold regional managers accountable for operational excellence.

**3. Product Placement & Stock Allocation Planning**:

- Use store-level and historical performance data to plan product allocations by region/store.
- Identify slow and fast movers and recommend stock shifts across regions to optimize sell-through.
- Inform buying and planning teams on regional category preferences and demand profiles.
- Manage aged stock action plans in collaboration with warehouse and regional leads.

**4. Analytics, Reporting & KPI Governance**:

- Own the retail reporting framework and ensure weekly, monthly, and quarterly dashboards are accurate and actionable.
- Present trade performance insights, risks, and opportunities to Exco.
- Evaluate store, category, and team performance using consistent KPI frameworks (e.g., UPT, ATV, shrinkage, staff productivity).
- Track performance of regional managers and stores against commercial and operational targets.

**5. People & Performance Oversight**:

- Provide leadership to regional managers, ensuring role clarity, accountability, and consistent execution across regions.
- Monitor time and attendance compliance, leave trends, and staffing levels via consolidated reports.
- Support ER/IR escalation by guiding regional managers and reviewing outcomes.
- Lead annual performance reviews and succession planning in the retail department.

**Requirements**:

- Minimum 7-10 years of multi-store retail leadership experience, with a strong commercial and operational track record.
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Retail Management, or equivalent is a requirement
- Deep understanding of retail analytics, stock management, sales forecasting, and team performance.
- Highly proficient in Excel, BI tools, POS reporting, and planning systems.
- Strong leadership, coaching, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
- Experience working with regional or national teams.

**Key Competencies**:
**Competency**

**Description**

**Strategic Commercial Insight**
- Drives growth through deep understanding of sales data, stock flow, and customer behavior.

**Operational Oversight**
- Ensures store teams consistently meet operational and brand standards through regional accountability.

**Analytical Thinking**
- Uses data to inform stock planning, staff performance, and business decisions.

**Team Leadership**
- Leads, motivates, and holds regional managers accountable for results.

**Reporting & Performance Monitoring**
- Delivers accurate reporting to guide decision-making at all levels.