A retail area manager looks after a group of stores and is judged on how the whole patch performs. The good ones keep their stores on standard. The great ones make their store managers better, so the stores keep improving when the area manager isn't there.
That second part is what brands are really hiring for, and it's what makes the step up from store manager harder than it looks.
What the job involves
Most of the week is on the road. An area manager visits stores, reviews performance with each store manager, checks standards and agrees what happens next. The rest is calls, reports, recruitment and working with head office on what the area needs.
The biggest change from running a store is that you no longer do the work yourself. You can't fix a window or serve a customer to lift a store's numbers. Everything you achieve, you achieve through other managers.
Good versus great
These are the differences we hear about from the brands we recruit for, and see in the area managers who get promoted.
They coach rather than inspect
A good area manager walks the store and lists what's wrong. A great one asks the store manager what they'd change first, then comes back to check it happened. Store managers who are coached grow. Store managers who are only inspected start counting the days until the next visit.
They know every store's numbers and every manager's strengths
Great area managers can tell you, without looking, which store is behind and why, and which of their managers is ready for a bigger store. They plan their week around it, spending time where it changes something rather than visiting every store for the same length of time.
They build the bench
The test of an area manager is what happens when a store manager leaves. The great ones already have a deputy or supervisor ready to step up, because they've been developing them for months. Brands notice which areas produce managers for the rest of the business.
They're honest upwards
Head office needs to hear when a target is unrealistic or a launch isn't working in the stores. Great area managers say so clearly, with the numbers, and bring a suggestion with the problem.
Making the step up from store manager
If you're a store manager thinking about area management, these help:
- Run a strong store for long enough to prove it isn't a one-off.
- Take on extra responsibility in your area now, such as covering another store or supporting a new opening.
- Develop your own replacement. Nothing shows you can manage managers like a deputy who goes on to run their own store.
- Ask your area manager to let you join some of their visits, so you see the job from the inside before you apply for it.
Be honest with yourself about whether you'll enjoy it. Plenty of excellent store managers prefer the shop floor and the team they've built, and that's a perfectly good career.
What it pays
Area manager salaries step up from store manager pay, and most packages add a car or car allowance plus a bonus tied to the area's results. The national statistics group area managers with store managers under retail and wholesale managers, so there's no reliable official figure for area managers on their own. The best guide is the live roles in your sector and region, and a conversation with a recruiter who sees the offers.
Talk to us
We recruit area and regional managers for fashion and luxury retail brands in the UK and abroad. See our live vacancies, read how we recruit for retail stores and operations, or register with us and one of the directors will call you.