About Store Managers

A store manager is a professional who is totally responsible for the store and its running, and the employees under him. They are responsible to make the store a profit making entity. They are directly accountable to the region or area head or work under the direct authority of the owner of the store.

The stores which generally employ them are general merchandise stores or departmental store; by specialty stores or supermarkets or sporting goods stores. There are various structures and method of operation that each store functions by. Some of the stores are part of a huge chain not only all over the country but also oversees. For these kinds of chain stores there is a central office and branches in each city or town. These branches have under them individual stores. This in turn also sets the chain of command for their personnel requiring a general manager, a regional or area manager, branch managers and managers for each of the outlets. Then, there are stores which are owned independently and operated in that way too. They proudly proclaim, “We have no branches.”

Skills and Abilities needed for a store manager

A store manager’s job entails meeting with a lot of people including customers, suppliers, subordinates and seniors. For that the main ability that a store manager has to have is people skills. Enumerated below are some people skills required by the store manager.

• Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Must have very good interpersonal skills.
• Must be a problem solver.
• Leadership qualities have to be strong.
• Decision making skills should be strong.
• Knowledge of basics of computers is a must.
• Should be a motivator to the staff.
• Should be a person who can think out of the box and be innovative.

Duties and Responsibilities of a store manager

The duties of a store manager are directly proportionate to the size and type of store for whom they work. For a store manager who has to run the business can divide his duties into four categories viz. Merchandizing or the business of buying and selling; store operations or receiving goods and hiring personnel; accounting and bookkeeping; advertising, promotion and marketing. In smaller establishments all of these duties re under one head but in larger establishments these duties again would be divided into relevant divisions under the overall control of a store manager. The broad duties of a store manager are spelled out below.

• Merchandise Management:
• The primary responsibility of a store manager is the day to day running of the store.
• To ensure the quality of the merchandise in the store.
• To generate the best quotes from the suppliers.
• To plan and design a layout for the store which is customer friendly and attractive to them.
• To manage not only the product inventory but also look after the sales personnel, goods on display, sales that are taking place, etc.
• Customer Management:
• To use good relation management with customers.
• Give the best possible service to the customer.
• Store managers and/or their sales team look after the needs of every customer and sees that the customer leaves as a happy and satisfied customer.
• To resolve the customers complains and problems if any.
• Personnel Management:
• To hire and train the employees in their store.
• To develop and put in place procedures and policies whereby the staff following it would achieve the targets successfully.
• Motivate the existing employees to give of their best and thereby increasing the sales and the profit line.
• Take measures to ensure the safety and well being of the staff.
• To review and write performance reports of the staff.
• Link Management: To be a link between the staff under him and the management and to smoothen out any ruffled feathers.
• Account Management:
• To perform or delegate the accounting and bookkeeping duties and show due diligence for their accuracy.
• To control the inflow and outgo of cash and monitor its traffic in the store.

Educational qualifications needed for a store manager

There are no set rules regarding a store manager’s education. In some cases even a high school diploma holder with good interpersonal relations can become a store manager or with experience of working in the store a person get promoted.

• For direct entry as a store manager and as more responsibility is placed on store managers, employers generally look for a person with at least a bachelor’s degree.
• A master’s degree would be more than welcome as people with this qualification are likely to be promoted to higher level of management and administration in larger stores.
• A business administration degree is very helpful to land a job as a store manager as this provides candidates with the necessary skills to become store managers as the courses that they take up would include subjects such as accounting, marketing, management strategy and business ethics.

Salary and Remuneration

The income that a store manager receives for the job that he does are dependent on several factors such as how many years experience they have in this field of work, which part of the industry they work in, what are the employer types that employ them or the city that they work in. All these factors and some more make a difference to the kind of salary that a store manager gets. The average annual salary that a store manager gets

• Years of Experience

• Experience of less than one year the salary range is between $ 22,484 and $ 50,598 and the hourly wage range is between $ 8.22 and $ 16.39.
• Experience between one to four years the salary range is between $ 22,747 and $ 49,495 and the hourly wage range is between $ 8.64 and $ 17.53.
• Experience between five to nine years the salary range is between $ 28,120 and $ 59,319 and the hourly wage range is between $ 9.82 and $ 20.25.
• Experience between ten to nineteen years the salary range is between $ 30,643 and $ 67,977 and the hourly wage range is between $ 10.04 and $ 23.06.
• Experience of more than twenty years the salary range is between $ 32,744 and $ 76,725 and the hourly wage range is between $10.21 and $ 23.40.

• Industry
• A Store Manager working in a clothing industry  gets an annual salary range between $ 28,984 and $ 60,776 and an hourly wage rate between $ 9.90 and $ 22.27.
• A Store Manager working in retail gets an annual salary range between $ 28,742 and $ 65,521 and an hourly wage rate between $ 8.95 and $ 19.22.
• A Store Manager working in retail, department stores gets an annual salary range between $ 29,654 and $ 77,831 and an hourly wage rate between $ 9.38 and $ 20.03.
• A Store Manager working in a retail, apparel gets an annual salary range between $ 29,247 and $ 59,426 and an hourly wage rate between $ 9.97 and $ 22.13.
• A Store Manager working in a retail drugstore, pharmacy chain gets an annual salary range between $ 38,880 and $ 67,750.
• A Store Manager working in retail, general merchandise gets an annual salary range between $ 27,737 and $ 72,452.
• A Store Manager working in retail consumer electronics gets an annual salary range between $ 23,005 and $ 63,509.

• Employer Type
• A Store Manager working for a company gets an annual salary range between $ 28,345 and $ 64,019 and an hourly wage rate between $ 9.59 and $ 20.60.
• A store manager working for a franchise gets an annual salary range between $ 24,233 and $ and an hourly wage rate between $ 8.24 and $ 15.64
• A store manager who is self-employed gets an annual salary range between $ 21,205 and $ 51,667 and an hourly wage rate between $ 8.17 and $ 16.43.
• A store manager working for other organization gets an annual salary range between $ 24,542 and $ 61,880 and an hourly wage rate between $ 8.59 and $ 18.24.
• A store manager working for a non profit organization gets an annual salary range between $ 24,952 and $ 50,779 and an hourly wage rate between $ 9.55 and $ 19.64.
• A store manager working for a private practice or firm gets an annual salary range between $ 25,691 and $ 56,717 and an hourly wage rate between $ 8.34 and $ 20.59.
• A store manager working for a college or university gets an annual salary range between $ 30,635 and $ 52,072 and an hourly wage rate between $ 9.38 and $ 14.62.
• A store manager working for a government – federal gets an annual salary range between $ 31,785 and $ 83,754.
• A store manager working for a foundation or trust gets an annual salary range between $ 24,808 and $ 55,369.
• A store manager working for a hospital gets an annual salary range between $ 29,087 and $ 51,064 and an hourly wage rate between $ 7.55 and $ 24.13.
• A store manager working for a government – state and local gets an annual salary range between $ 28,383 and $ 69,243 and an hourly wage rate between $ 15.17 and $ 23.54.
• A store manager working for a team gets an annual salary range between $ 28,033 and $ 49,344 and an hourly wage rate between $ 7.93 and $ 17.62.
• A store manager working for a school or school district gets an annual salary range between $ 25,704 and $ 42,495 and an hourly wage rate between $ 9.00 and $ 17.62.
• A store manager working for a contract gets an annual salary range between $ 38,884 and $ 46,255.

• City
• A store manager working in New York, New York gets an annual salary range between $ 34,295 and $ 72,978 and an hourly wage rate between $ 9.31 and $ 22.93.
• A store manager working in Houston, Texas gets an annual salary range between $ 28,274 and $ 63,799 and an hourly wage rate between $ 8.79 and $ 19.07.
• A store manager working in Chicago, Illinois gets an annual salary range between $ 28,481 and $ 68,000 and an hourly wage rate between $ 10.14 and $ 21.26.
• A store manager working in Los Angeles, California gets an annual salary range between $ 34,217 and $ 72,450 and an hourly wage rate between $ 10.20 and $ 23.94.
• A store manager working in Atlanta, Georgia gets an annual salary range between $ 29,799 and $ 69,617.
• A store manager working in Dallas, Texas gets an annual salary range between $ 29,860 and $ 65,399.
• A store manager working in Orlando, Florida gets an annual salary range between $ 26,463 and $ 63,614.