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Jason Ellis of Retail Human Resources provides a market snapshot from the retail management sector. Amid the political and economic maelstrom of the last 12 months, how has demand for candidates stood up and how has this impacted on salary levels?
While the retail industry has suffered many trials at the hands of economic turbulence and recession over the last 18-24 months, since February there have been far more promising signs. Twelve months ago there were very few companies in the retail market that were recruiting externally. As consumer fears deepened about just how far the financial rabbit hole was going to go, it was a very select band of retailers that managed to thrive. The likes of the 'big four' supermarkets, petrol forecourts and price-sensitive convenience operators including the hard discounters Aldi and Lidl, were among the few seeing great sales and market share growth.
Retail Management: Supermarkets
| Turnover | Headcount | Min. | Max. | Typical | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Store Manager | £50m+ | 600+ | £60,000 | £90,000 | £70,000 |
| Store Manager | £35m-50m | 350-599 | £50,000 | £60,000 | £55,000 |
| Store Manager | to £30m | to 350 | £42,000 | £50,000 | £48,000 |
| Deputy/Duty Manager | £30m+ | 200+ | £32,000 | £42,000 | £37,000 |
| Department Manager | - | to 50 | £23,000 | £30,000 | £28,000 |
| Supervisors | - | 10-20 | £15,000 | £20,000 | £18,000 |
Cash-conscious consumers began to shop outside of their natural comfort zones in order to make their money go further. As a result there were high levels of recruitment activity within these sectors as new stores were opening and the labour needed due to higher footfall in existing stores resulted in increased numbers of staff. Similarly, these types of employer became more attractive propositions within the retail sector; with job security at a premium, candidates began to look at these environments as much safer employment options.
Nevertheless, even in the depths of the recession, there were instances (among the rarefied elite of successful retailers) where demand for candidates outstripped supply. This necessitated some businesses to pursue added means of attraction, the upshot of which was higher salary ranges in certain circumstances.
Retail Management: Convenience Stores
| Turnover | Headcount | Min. | Max. | Typical | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Store Manager | 5m-10m | to 60 | £35,000 | £45,000 | £38,000 |
| Store Manager | 2.5m-5m | to 40 | £30,000 | £35,000 | £33,000 |
| Store Manager | to 2.5m | to 30 | £27,000 | £30,000 | £28,000 |
| Deputy/Duty Manager | 5m-10m | - | £25,000 | £33,000 | £28,000 |
| Deputry/Duty Manager | 2.5m-5m | - | £22,000 | £25,000 | £22,000 |
| Deputy/Duty Manager | to 2.5m | - | £16,000 | £22,000 | £18,000 |
Overall, recruitment patterns have been quite erratic. The closure of many major high street names, most notably Woolworths, flooded the market with very talented managers in need of employment - most of whom were snapped up by a wide range of retailers. After this had taken place there was a considerable drop in the amount of registered vacancies. Most companies put a ban on recruitment as well as internal training and development as a means of cutting costs. From February 2010 onwards, however, there has been much more movement across all sectors. The lack of internal development of staff and external recruiting has left many retailers very short of numbers coming through the ranks, where candidates have started moving to different retailers with ostensibly more to offer. This has in turn started the cogs moving and meant that many companies that hadn't been recruiting have been forced into external recruitment - seeking cost-cutting measures in other areas of the business.
Retail Management: Fashion
| Turnover | Headcount | Min. | Max. | Typical | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area Manager | 60m+ | 300+ | £50,000 | £65,000 | £58,000 |
| Area Manager | to 60m | to 250 | £40,000 | £50,000 | £45,000 |
| Store Manager | 15m-25m | to 350 | £40,000 | £60,000 | £48,000 |
| Store Manager | 5m-15m | to 120 | £33,000 | £40,000 | £37,000 |
| Store Manager | 3m-5m | 30 | £28,000 | £35,000 | £31,000 |
| Store Manager | to 3m | 20-30 | £26,000 | £30,000 | £28,000 |
| Concession Manager | to 2m | 10 | £20,000 | £26,000 | £24,000 |
| Deputy Manager | 10m-20m | 100 | £30,000 | £40,000 | £36,000 |
| Assistant Manager | 2m-5m | 30 | £24,000 | £30,000 | £26,000 |
| Assistant Manager | to 2m | 20 | £18,000 | £24,000 | £21,000 |
The signs for the next 12 months are very encouraging across all sectors. Now we are out of recession there appears to be a lot less fear amongst retailers and they are a lot more comfortable recruiting. Again the issue with most is that having put all or most development and talent-pipeline succession on hold they are more likely to look at the external candidate market. Equally where recruitment departments have got that much smaller during the recession there has been an increased need for agencies to step in, with some retailers simply no longer having the infrastructure to manage large scale recruitment campaigns.
Retail Management: Department Stores
| Turnover | Headcount | Min. | Max. | Typical | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Store Manager | 80m+ | 400 | £70,000 | £100,000 | £80,000 |
| Store Manager | 30m-80m | 250 | £50,000 | £70,000 | £61,000 |
| Store Manager | to 30m | 180 | £40,000 | £50,000 | £45,000 |
| Deputy/Assistant Manager | 80m+ | - | £45,000 | £55,000 | £51,000 |
| Deputy/Assistant Manager | 30m-80m | - | £36,000 | £42,000 | £39,000 |
| Deputy/Assistant Manager | to 30m | - | £31,000 | £35,000 | £33,000 |
| Department/Sales Manager | - | - | £23,000 | £28,000 | £25,000 |
| Supervisors | - | - | £16,000 | £20,000 | £17,500 |
Right now, the most buoyant sector by far is the fashion sector. This is probably largely down to the fact that while people are reducing spending on 'high ticket' items due to lack of disposable income, they still want to treat themselves and it seems like the fashion sector is where they are spending their money. This has lead to an increase in roles which has in turn meant there has been much more movement as candidates start moving to different companies.
Retail Management: DIY/Home/Furniture
| Turnover | Headcount | Min. | Max. | Typical | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Manager | 80m+ | 300 | £50,000 | £70,000 | £60,000 |
| General Manager | 25m+ | 150 | £40,000 | £70,000 | £50,000 |
| General Manager | 15m-25m | 100 | £35,000 | £50,000 | £45,000 |
| Store Manager | to 15m | - | £33,000 | £43,000 | £36,000 |
| Deputy/Floor Manager | - | - | £25,000 | £40,000 | £28,000 |
| Supervisor/Snr Sales | - | - | £15,000 | £25,000 | £18,000 |
The supermarket retailers continue to be as strong as ever and are recruiting. Department stores have started recruiting again as well as the DIY retailers. The biggest change in fortunes has occurred in the DIY sector, which was arguably one of the worst hit 18 months ago. The housing market was in freefall and consequently consumers were not investing in their homes, thus the DIY retailers suffered. There were a few DIY retailers that re-structured at a management level and lost a number of management layers when sales were low. Due to the upturn in the market there is again a need for management numbers to be higher. As a result the salary levels across the board are gradually starting to rise. The swing between too many candidates and not enough roles has gone the other way. There are now too many roles and not enough candidates of the right calibre who can move into these roles. This has meant that a number of retailers have had to instruct agencies to approach candidates who aren't necessarily "actively" looking for a new role. Invariably these are the managers who are doing well in their current jobs, which in turn means that the salary offered will need to be significantly higher to attract them away from their current roles.
Retail Management: Electrical/Telecoms
| Turnover | Headcount | Min. | Max. | Typical | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area Manager | 80m+ | 250+ | £60,000 | £80,000 | £65,000 |
| Area Manager | 30m-80m | 150 | £42,000 | £50,000 | £45,000 |
| Area Manager | to 30m | 100 | £33,000 | £38,000 | £35,000 |
| Store Manager | to 20m | 60 | £40,000 | £50,000 | £48,000 |
| Store Manager | 10m-20m | 45 | £35,000 | £42,000 | £39,000 |
| Store Manager | to 10m | 30 | £33,000 | £38,000 | £36,000 |
| Assistant Manager | 10m-20m | - | £30,000 | £37,000 | £35,000 |
| Assistant Manager | to 10m | - | £23,000 | £30,000 | £25,000 |
In terms of benefits, the biggest area of change in the last 12 months has been bonuses. A large number of retailers put many bonus payments on hold during the recession but over the last few months they have re-introduced bonus schemes due to the upturn in company performance. These are usually different schemes to the one they enjoyed previously but nonetheless it's a positive sign for an industry almost daring to say the word 'recovery' out loud. The economic wildcard that could still impact upon employment and salary trends, of course, is the effect of the Government's much heralded austerity measures and cutbacks in public spending. Only time will tell how this will play out.
Retail Management: General Merchandise
| Turnover | Headcount | Min. | Max. | Typical | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Manager | 20m+ | 150 | £45,000 | £60,000 | £50,000 |
| Store Manager | 5m-10m | 100 | £30,000 | £40,000 | £38,000 |
| Store Manager | to 5m | 60 | £28,000 | £35,000 | £32,000 |
| Deputy/Assistant Manager | - | 20 | £20,000 | £30,000 | £26,000 |
| Sales Manager | - | 15 | £20,000 | £25,000 | £21,000 |
| Supervisor | - | 8 | £15,000 | £20,000 | £16,000 |
