Retail Area Manager

Retail area managers (also known as market leaders and sector managers) are responsible for increasing the turnover and market share of products and services within their sector, whilst ensuring compliance with the business development policies of their head office.

The life of a retail area manager...

Overseeing and leading a portfolio of clients

In order to maximise turnover from products and services in their sector, area managers look after a portfolio of clients in an attempt to:

• Ensure their products appear as much as possible on shelves in stores within their region

• Ensure any new products make it onto the shelves in retail outlets

• Ensure their products are visible on shelves and in food outlets by introducing promotions negotiated with buyers and managers/restaurant managers

• Manage relationships with the distributors responsible for getting products to points of sale

• Report back with information from local areas to sales managers and directors

Finding new clients and bringing them on board

Beyond taking care of their portfolio of existing customers and points of sale, retail area managers need to be able to expand their customer base by bringing in new prospects within their sector.

Two career branches: retail and catering

Points of sale are generally divided into two major categories nowadays:

• medium and large retail outlets (such as Auchan, Walmart, Tesco or Casino)

• food and drink outlets (for all kinds of dining outside the home, including hotels and restaurants)

As a result, retail area managers generally follow one of two main career paths nowadays, either specialising in retail or else food and drink outlets.

Required skills

Excellent listening and negotiating skills, plus a good understanding of what happens in the field, candidates need to be able to work well alone and have a fighting spirit.

Typical educational background

4 to 5 years of higher education in business studies, masters in retail

Advanced vocational business studies with a focus on sales