Store Director Chicago store - John Lobb

Hermes • Chicago, IL

8h • Onsite

About The Position

John Lobb is proud to open its new flagship store in Chicago, a significant step in the House's expansion across the Americas. Since 1866, John Lobb has been synonymous with exceptional English craftsmanship and bespoke shoemaking excellence. This new boutique will offer clients an unparalleled experience, showcasing our legendary collections and refined accessories in an environment that honors our heritage and timeless elegance. We are seeking an outstanding Store Director to lead this exciting opening. At the helm of a team of two Sales Associates, this individual will establish a strong local presence and embody the values of excellence and savoir-faire that define the John Lobb spirit.

General Mission
The Store Director of Chicago flagship store oversees all aspects of the boutique, in line with the commercial strategy approved by the management of JL & Company, ltd. – Americas Branch, including supervising the staff members in all of their activities (coaching, training and assisting them in achieving sales objectives); demonstrating an active management presence on the sales floor, modelling exceptional service and ensuring all team members embody the John Lobb spirit.

The Store Manager Mission:

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

Requirements

• Tertiary education and experienced Manager with a proven number of years of management experience and a strong sense of customer service
• Used to performing a Brand Ambassador style role as well as demonstrating the skills and experience of a leading retail manager in a luxury environment
• Exceptional communication and networking skills, able to build good professional working relationships demonstrating the ability to work across cultures
• Proactive, results-driven individual, demonstrating initiative and commercial creativity
• Well organized with an ability to think multi dimensionally
• Strong business sense with solid analytical skills
• Hands on computer knowledge of MS office and excellent digital skills
• Excellent spoken and written English
• An appreciation of the style and elegance of the house reflecting this in personal presentation

Nice To Haves

• Additional languages are a plus

Responsibilities

• Offering an excellent after-sales service
• Surveying the competitor’s projects and events
• Preparing and making purchases at the presentation of the new collections, throughout the year
• Implement a proper buying strategy, based on the specificity of the boutique (demand, inventory and sales objectives)
• Drawing up and monitoring the budget in cooperation with the Managing Director
• Ensuring the control of all the activities in terms of Stock Management, Merchandising, After Sales Service, Sales administration and Internal control, in line with the internal rules and procedures
• 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
• Welcome and engage with client, embodying the image of the John Lobb 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 John Lobb standards of Client service
• 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
• A retailer at heart, the 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 Managing Director of Americas ensures all leaves taken are in line with company policies and procedures while all untaken annual leaves are properly managed
• Provide inspirational and motivational leadership, giving vision and clarity to the team; participating in the recruiting process, integrating and training sales staff in terms of product, customer service and the art of selling John Lobb products; ensuring the respect of law and company policies, even in health and safety of the store and team
• Setting an example to the team by acting as the first ambassador to customers
• 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: monitoring maintenance services, renovations, extensions, minor works, and reviewing the zoning
• Acting as the John Lobb Ambassador to the customers and every other person that can interact with John Lobb
• Representing the John Lobb name to existing and potential customers
• Compiling an accurate customer database and updating it permanently
• Proposing store promotional activities and customer service practices

Benefits

• Commission and bonus incentives based on sales performance
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance and Disability
• Paid time off (annual vacation of 15 days, 11 company holidays, 3 floating holidays, 2 wellbeing days, and sick & safe time)
• Paid Parental leave and transition time
• Various voluntary benefits such as flexible spending accounts, voluntary life insurance
• Product discount and EAP resources
• Access to Family Building Support

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: Associate degree