Junior Store Manager – Hermès Fort Mumbai

General Role

The position of Junior Store Manager – Mumbai Fort is part of the Hermès India retail network, which comprises three stores. The Fort Store is Hermès’ only standalone store in India. Located in a beautiful Art Deco building at Mumbai’s Point Zero, the store holds a distinctive place within the city.

The Junior Store Manager is responsible for overseeing the overall operations of the Hermès boutique in alignment with the commercial strategy defined by management and in accordance with Hermès’ global standards of image, service and client experience. The role supports and leads a team comprising Sales Associates, Store Administration and Back of House staff.

More specifically, the Junior Store Manager contributes to business development while strengthening the Hermès image through exceptional service, operational excellence and an elevated client experience.

In this position, the Junior Store Manager’s mission is to:

• Drive sales growth, profit and loss management and operational excellence for the store
• Design and action the store strategy with a vision on mid and long term
• Controls expenses and inventory shortage
• To be proactive in proposing business development strategies to Retail Management
• Assumes leadership role through effective communication and awareness of staff morale and career development

Major Responsibilities:

1. Define & Develop Store Strategy

• Identify & establish the store’s identity and singularity
• Establish store strategy to achieve the commercial target in different product segments (monthly and per quarter)
• Define a business development plan for the store for the coming years and anticipate organizational changes
• Implements a proper buying strategy, based on the store identity, commercial performances and client’s feedback
• Establish high standards (set by HQ) for store display and environment

2. Sales & Inventory Management

• Responsible for achieving the store's sales targets and ensuring that resources are aligned with objectives.
• Ensure the proper maintenance of the store's profit and loss statement, and you define and manage the various quantitative and qualitative KPI’s for the store (including market trends and inventory control).
• Improve quality of sales as per internal House standards
• Ensures that store team fully understands the selling goals & strategy (and applies it)
• Prepare weekly retail catch up meeting with sales KPI’s and team feedback
• Manage inventories in a proactive way: optimize sales, control stock accuracy, anticipate needs by reordering, minimize shrinkage, deploy cycle counts and stock take in partnership with store administrator. Applying our internal process called Smart Ops

3. Client Experience

• Welcome and engage with client, embodying the image of the Hermès brand. As an ambassador and promoter of a unique experience within the store, ensure that the values cherished by the House are brought to life: a warm welcome, genuine generosity, a story to share, a human connection, personalized attention, and a journey from surprise to inspiration
• Ensures that each member of the sales team provides an excellent service to all visitors entering the boutique, in line with Hermès’ standards of Client service (including ACE index linked to mystery shopping program)
• Actively work on client loyalty and development within the client portfolio (traffic management, activation strategy, client knowledge)
• Responsible for maintaining a strong local presence in the city. Coordinate retail events within the store, in collaboration with Communications Department. Possess excellent knowledge of the local environment and anticipate clients’ expectations
• Continuously be present & support sales team in case of difficult client situations

4. Team Management

• A retailer at heart, the Junior Store Manager is present on the shop floor with client, teams and you motivate the team to serve all store visitors in excellent standards
• Keep track of each team member’s performance, defining responsibilities and setting short and mid-term targets
• Ensure the fair allocation, motivation and development of employees, with the aim of helping each employee grow, creating a sense of team spirit around collective success
• Work hand in hand with retail management to ensure that the team receives training regularly (CX, product knowledge and selling skills)
• In partnership with local HR ensures all leaves taken are in line with company policies and procedures while all untaken annual leaves are properly managed

5. Sales Administration & Other

• Guarantees that procedures and systems are clearly understood, run smoothly and comply with the ever-changing needs of the sales activities
• Responsible for ensuring compliance with the procedures and requirements defined within the company making sure that all sales activities are properly processed according to the company’s defined procedures
• Ensure the quality of the boutique in coordination with the Retail Ops and HO: monitoring maintenance services, renovations, extensions, minor works, and reviewing the zoning
• Always keeps up the Hermès boutique in excellent states by work hand in hand with local maintenance in charge partners

Requirements & Capabilities:

• Tertiary educated with at least 4 years of relevant management experience in high-end fashion, luxury industry or in similar capacity
• Strong business sales sense with solid analytical skills
• Excellent presentation skills and interpersonal skills
• Exemplary conduct (application of procedures, on-site presence, attitude, presentation, etc.)
• Strong ethics and integrity
• Ability to lead, guide and drive performance and client experience
• Sense of service and hospitality, responsiveness, proactivity
• A taste for diverse interactions and collaborative work
• Excellent spoken and written English
• Hands-on computer knowledge of MS office