Senior District Manager

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:
This role is responsible for our own retail stores in Southern Germany in is based in this region.
As a Senior District Manager Retail, you will oversee the operations and performance of multiple retail stores within a designated geographic area. Your primary objective is to drive sales, achieve financial targets, and ensure an exceptional customer experience in each store under your supervision. You will provide leadership, guidance, and support to store managers and their teams, fostering a culture of excellence and achieving operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities:
Team Engagement and Development
• Define appropriate staffing levels for each store to ensure excellence in service levels while meeting required standards in Sales Per Hour, Personal Expenses, and NPS
• Lead the recruitment process for Store Managers, ensuring high-quality staff
• Ensure adequate team training across all stores, building a team culture focused on improvement and personal development
• Support Store Managers' career development ensuring succession planning is in place
• Manage store team performance, be an inspirational role model, set expectations, provide appropriate recognition, handle conflict/crisis constructively, and ensure store staff well-being

Consumer Experience
• Ensure that stores maintain a high level of customer service, focusing on customer satisfaction and loyalty
• Address customer complaints and issues promptly and professionally
• Promote a welcoming and inviting in-store atmosphere

Merchandising
• Ensure appropriate product placement on the sales floor, focusing on best sellers
• Partner with Store Managers and Visual Merchandisers to ensure a consistent and appealing store look
• Provide input to the Senior Director of Retail Operations and Europe HQ regarding consumer trends, categories, seasonality, and store purpose

Operational Excellence
• Ensure adherence of every store to local labor and Health and Safety laws, as well as adidas policies
• Drive store operational excellence, ensuring compliance with House of Retail principles, proper setup of back-of-house, implementation of retail key operating procedures
• Accountable for store stock management, particularly regarding inventory controls, SOH, and shrinkage
• Ensure the DM checklist is executed regularly as part of the store visit procedure and reflects the real status of the store
• Support store openings and closure projects, working closely with Real Estate and Store Development teams

Premises Management
• Provide regular feedback on service levels for maintenance, security, and cleaning services to the Senior Director of Retail Operations and Europe HQ
• Provide regular feedback on store location, trading zone trends, presence of new retailers and competitors, and indicate potential opportunities for relocations/openings to the Senior Director of Retail Operations and Europe HQ
• Act as a single point of contact for retail park managers

Financial Management
• Ensure stores and district financial targets are met: establish a monthly P&L review and hold accountability for store Net Sales, conversion rate, omnichannel services, personal expenses, and shrinkage. Influence other operating overhead cost items such as cleaning and security services, and store consumables e.g. shopping bags
• Provide input for store performance planning as part of the Budget, Forecast, and Integrated Business Planning Processes

Other responsibilities
• Actively provide feedback to retail back-office functions and stakeholders within assigned projects, acting as a regular 'voice of the consumer' for creating and improving retail operations and channels
• Lead the implementation of omnichannel consumer journey experiences and relevant tools for high-quality retail experiences in stores, focusing on continuous improvements
• Ensure all stores in the district are visited at least three times per quarter

Key Relationships:
• Retail & Franchise Backoffice functions
• Finance & HR Retail
• Zone/cluster local teams
• Influencers, communities, local assets
• Landlords, mall/centers management
• Other Senior District Managers Retail Europe

 
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Consumer-first mindset
• Strong leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills
• Strong people management skills and role-modeling
• Multiplier who amplifies and empowers team members and colleagues, impacting them positively and helping to develop their skills
• Strong ability to collaborate and influence across different levels and departments, both internally and externally
• Strong ability to understand and use financial data to make decisions and influence outcomes
• Ability to make recommendations that effectively resolve challenging situations, considering consistency with standards, practices, policies, and procedures
• Comfortable working in a matrix organization and dynamic retail environment
• Performance/results-driven attitude, open to change, and an advocate for new, creative, and collaborative mindsets
• Well-organized, agile, and flexible in balancing work and travel duties
• Passion for the adidas brand and other company brands, as well as a passion for sport
• Proficient with MS applications (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and other computer software (Internet, POS Systems, etc.)

Requisite Experience and Education / Minimum Qualifications:
• Retail experience, with demonstrated business management skills and P&L ownership, or comparable business operations experience
• Minimum of 3 years of team leadership experience
• Minimum of 8 years of retail experience, including in-store related roles
• University Degree in Business (ideally in management, marketing, or sales)
• Experience working with digital tools and online systems remotely
• Fluent in English (speaking, reading, writing) and local language
• Fluency in other languages is desirable