From stuffy Captain Peacock in Are You Being Served to the wonderfully flamboyant Mr Selfridge, store managers certainly make for great television.
In the real world, however, their lives are no less riveting.
Whether it’s dealing with a two-tonne order of tomatoes that’s arrived in the shape of watermelons, or breaking up an OAP scrap over the last cheesecake in the frozen food aisle, there’s never a dull moment.
But how do you move from being a fresh-start retail assistant to store manager?
Well, as with most promotions in retail, it takes dedication and perseverance.
You’re also going to have to gain experience in many different areas of the shop.
This is because store managers need to be hands-on leaders, able to deal with every link in the retail chain – even if it means rolling up your sleeves and getting stuck in.
Ultimately, you will be responsible for your store’s performance and this means controlling costs, analysing margins and coming up with ways to improve sales.
It also means working closely with your marketing people to make sure you’re hitting goals.
Your day could also include stock control and liaising with suppliers and delivery companies.
“Would the manager please come to the customer service desk!?”
Oh, yes, and that’s before you get started on dealing with customer queries and complaints.
Then there’s the HR bit that sees you recruiting and managing employees, while saving some energy to share enthusiasm for your brand and motivate the staff.
Such incredible multi-tasking cannot be mastered instantly. It takes experience.
So look for ways to gain this in different departments, building up your knowledge and learning from the experts – your co-workers.
It may be you enjoy a spell first as a manager in two or three different departments before finally going for the top job.
Remember, too, that with many stores being part of huge chains, there will be opportunities to land a top job in another outlet in another part of the country – be prepared to move, as this will help you move on up!
Finally, a word of advice from Mr Selfridge himself, which will be invaluable at your manager’s job interview: “People will sit up and take notice of you if you will sit up and take notice of what makes them sit up and take notice.”
For managerial positions in Retail visit s1jobs.com