So Why Retail 101?

So why retail 101?  On my first day as a store manager I walked into my new store and met the district manager.  He introduced me to the staff, handed me my keys and left to deal with an emergency at another store.  What now? I didn’t even know the roles that these newly introduced people played.

                At that time I had some experience as an assistant manager, some part-time management experience at UPS and a little leadership experience in the U.S. Navy.  I was pretty confident I could lead this new group of people, but where to start?  What are the most pressing demands of this location?  What are my new bosses “hot buttons”?  I didn’t know.  I was soon to learn that I had told associates too many times when I was an assistant “I don’t know, go ask Wanda.” (Wanda was my store manager at the time.) I quickly came to realize that I was where the buck stopped now!  I needed the answers.  Thankfully, there were other seasoned managers who were willing to give me pointers and direction. 

On my first store visit by district manager he informed me that the issue he was attacking me for was retail 101. . .further he questioned his choice in store managers.  Having completed my B.S. in education I figured it was a business major course.  I was soon to learn that Retail 101 is NOT a specific course it is the school of experience.  It is the truisms that you learn after time in the trenches.  My goal here is to transfer some of my 17 years of retail management experience . . . to pay it forward and help some others in their career goals and success.  In addition, in almost every post game interview of a coach you will hear them mention the “basics” or the “fundamentals” so even the pros focus on the basics.  As either a beginner or a pro, you will often find when you move to a new location that you will have to refocus the store on the basics.  Hopefully I will be able to help you with remembering some of those fundamentals and smooth your road to success.

I look forward to sharing information back and forth with you in the future.