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So you want to work in...
Buying
Why Buyers need to look at the bigger picture
Buying is a crucial job that requires a natural flair for trends and hard-learned experience of what consumers want. Let's face it, without buyers a retailer isn't going to sell much.
It's a competitive field to work in, though, and to get the top jobs you need to show potential employers that you understand how retail performance is affected by external factors. The economy, the performance of competitors, inflation and changes in operating costs, taxes and the law can tip the scales towards boom or bust. But it is customers who are the biggest influence on sales and profits - and their ever-changing tastes are the hardest to monitor.
And we're not just talking about fashion tastes. Whether it's technology, furniture or DIY, it's all about having the right product at the right time and at the right price. Unfortunately, the need to understand your product means it is hard to move across into a totally different market.
But you can switch industries. In food, for instance, you can often bring purchasing experience from retail, wholesale, foodservice or the FMCG manufacturing sectors. Similarly, those of you who progressed from a general retail role will be particularly favoured by employers, who like the expertise that comes with all-round experience.
Employers also want you to be numerate and analytical, enthusiastic and proactive. The majority also want a graduate with a retail - or business-related degree.
Most roles are based in head office, although you will have to work closely with suppliers, and in a small firm the buyer is often the manager. Once your decision-making skills are honed, you can look forward to career progression to the likes of trading director. Depending on the product, foreign travel often goes with the territory, too.
Store Management
How to manage your prospects in Store Management
At the independent end, retail management is about managing a small but often complex business. At the corporate end, it's about managing and co-ordinating multimillion-pound operations.
At either end, if you can hit your monthly sales targets the opportunities are endless. Your job can progress from managing a department, to being assistant store manager, to managing a store, to area and regional management and ultimately retail director.
Whatever your level, the successful retail manager is seen to be constantly striving to improve their businesses profit. You'll know how to deal with suppliers and customers, oversee and manage stock-control, check displays, price special offers; ensure that sales targets are achieved and lead and motivate your team.
Similarly, no matter what your status, you'll probably still have to work some weekends and bank holidays - and at the lower levels you may have to have specialised knowledge of a product area or industry.
Although some recruiters report that the job market at this level is static, the retail sector on balance is buoyant. You just have to look at the crowds in huge out-of-town shopping centres to confirm that people are shopping more. Analysts note that consumers are spending more money than ever on luxury goods and the nation's disposable income doubled between 1971 and 1999, so you are in the right business if you want to develop your potential.
Once you've got 10-15 years of retail management experience under your belt, you are ripe to move into a regional manager role. This is a stimulating job where you act as a role model, take full operational responsibility for your specific product lines - and the credit for a job well done. When you've cracked that, you can look forward to becoming a retail director...
Merchandising & Allocation
Take stock of your Merchandising career
Merchandisers have both a head office and in-store role. At head office a merchandiser's responsibilities include forecasting departmental sales, determining buyers budgets for a number of outlets and making sure that stores are stocked with the right products in the right quantities - at the right time.
They also analyse sales figures and examine past trends to predict the future performance of the company. By planning a well-balanced range and having the flexibility to react to product performance, they can maximise sales and reduce wastage.
In short, merchandising is about managing the budget for the buyer. In such a complex role, you'll need sound commercial and numerical skills including the ability to communicate clearly in a pressured environment.
Many of you will have started out as an allocator, or merchandise administration assistant. If you are still at that level, the general perception is that your career will benefit from gaining experience in the structured environment offered by corporate retail organisations.
Certainly, as it is such a skilled job, employers usually look for a degree or equivalent qualification, sound commercial awareness and understanding. They also want candidates who can organise their workload and have good computer skills.
The general progression is allocator, assistant merchandiser, merchandiser, senior merchandiser, merchandising manager, head of merchandising and merchandising director. At the upper levels, you can look forward to being head hunted too.
With a large retail company, you could realistically expect a competitive salary, incentives and bonuses, staff discount and flexible working hours. Look out for employers who also offer training and development so you can increase your potential.
Design
Why Designers have a vibrant future
If you're in this game, it's a safe bet that you're vibrant, interested and full of energy. Certainly, ambitious designers can't afford to be shrinking violets.
In fashion, for instance, it is essential that a designer stays on top of all the latest catwalk collections, developments in style magazines and influences in the music and film industries. But you can't take your eye off the ball when it comes to competitors and other retailers here and abroad either.
Commercial awareness is crucial. You need to predict trends and show you can transform your ideas into successful product ranges that will be snapped up by savvy customers the following year.
Employers apply similar criteria whether they are looking for talented professionals to design kitchens, furniture, shoes...the list goes on. On a tangent, there is also demand for graphic designers in most marketing departments.
For most jobs you will need to have good technical knowledge of your specialist product as well as being creative. Even in this most arty of worlds, you won't get far without computer skills - for instance, AutoCAD, 3D Design.
There are a range of jobs in the design team, including assistant designer, where you will need at least three years' experience and technical designer where you are responsible for producing patterns and keeping to the right budget.
A step up the ladder to design manager means managing a team of designers. For this, you usually need a minimum of five years' design experience, management experience and a persuasive portfolio.
Bear in mind that many jobs come with perks such as a car and there are often opportunities for exotic travel, if you fancy a spot of globetrotting.
In store
How to shop around for the right Sales Assistant job
Welcome to a potentially hot future. Lucky for you, there is robust demand for staff at junior levels and so armed with ambition and a flair for learning quickly you are guaranteed to rise to greater things.
Certainly, if your aim is to work your way up to a managerial store role, and you have a good general education, then a sales assistant position is a good place to start - particularly in fields such as food or fashion, which can be tough to break into later.
So, where to start? If you haven't been through college, you should look for an employer who offers an apprenticeship scheme. That said, some management training schemes require two A levels/H grades or equivalent.
Those of you with an HNC, HND or a degree in a retail or business subject, should aim for a company with a graduate training scheme. On the whole, these tend to be the bigger retailers.
If this is your first foray into retail, you'll soon be hooked by the buzz of working in a shop, meeting the general public and handling great merchandise. But whether you are ambitious or not, you'll still need the brains to know the stock inside and out, and the brawn to be able to stand on your feet for long hours.
In some cases - for instance technology - you might also benefit from having some specialist knowledge.
A top tip - make sure you build up the experience you need before trying to move to the next level. If you work hard at being well presented, courteous to customers, maintaining a good product knowledge and providing after-sales care where necessary, you will be in a good position to aim for that next dream job.
Visual merchandising
Give your career in Visual Merchandising a makeover
You are the guys that make things look good, so it goes without saying that you have lashings of creative flair - but in this field, artistic talent is of limited value unless you can also analyse the impact of your work.
Employers want professionals who have the confidence to take charge of display and promotions to maximise the sales potential of products. You work with the buyers and make sure everything is laid out attractively with the right point-of-sale materials - price-tickets, product information, money-off coupons, promotional posters and so on.
You'll go far if you can prove to your employer that you can make things happen and can deal quickly with complexity and change. You'll be in even greater demand if you possess excellent all-round general management and business skills.
This is a store-based role so hours can be antisocial - the ideal time to build new displays is when the store closes. It's also challenging, for instance devising cunning ways to sell slow-selling products - and rewarding, for instance designing fabulous window and in-store displays that draw the public.
Those of you who are power-hungry will hope to rise to a regional visual merchandiser role at a retail chain. It's an invigorating role where you will be overseeing new stock packages, pulling together themes and implementing seasonal changes. As the main liaison between stores and head office, you need to have an understanding of best-sellers and trends across a number of products and customer bases.
Clearly, visual merchandising is one of the more glamorous sides of retailing and so retailers receive a lot of applications. Bear in mind, therefore, that you won't be considered without the right credentials.
Supermarkets
Why a career in Supermarkets feeds the ambitious
Food - like fashion - is a tough sector to get into unless you have worked your way through the system. Occasionally, there are opportunities to make a cross-sector move into a senior role, but that is rare.
As you know, the market is dominated by a handful of big names and these multimillion pound national chains operate on a level of complexity that are not found elsewhere in retail. Stores for instance that turn over ?1m a week will be seeing 35,000 customers and handling no fewer than 30,000 lines.
What employers want, therefore, is candidates for managerial and supervisory posts with blue-chip experience. They want people who can not only guide a team, but who understand the importance of minimising stock-loss and know how to manage stock that is out of date.
That said, it isn't necessarily better paid than other sectors and the hours can be long. Salaries tends to be commensurate with turnover and number of staff. According to one recruitment expert, a manager could earn about ?45,000 a year in a ?30m turnover store.
An added bonus is that many of the big employers have well-defined people cultures - for flexible working, say - and also have robust training and development programmes in place to help you move up to the next level.
The future looks good. This is one of the few retail sectors that is benefiting from the spending power of the UK's fastest-growing consumer group - post-war baby boomers. Over the next 20 years research shows that this group will have risen 40% to 13.4 million and the good news is that they spend healthily in food and grocery.
Fashion
Learn about the ever stylish Fashion sector
It's true that an increasing number of fashion labels can be bought over the internet, but the good news is that trend-a-holics still love to try on clothes and impulse-buy, so your jobs in this traditionally ?look and feel? sector are safe. In fact, across all sectors, sales over the internet account for less than 4% of total retail sales, despite strong growth in recent years.
It's also in demand with most consumer types - the baby boomers are cash-rich and keen to look good and the 15-24 year-olds are fashion-junkies with the time to shop around.
Unsurprisingly, with perks such as clothes allowances and bonuses, fashion is a popular field to work in, too. This, in turn, makes it tough to break into unless you have worked your way up or trained in it. Those who do well make it their business to always know what the competition is up to, be on the button about what the latest catwalk trends are, and tap into influences coming from the music and film industries - and that goes for whether you are a top designer, store manager or starting out on the shop floor.
Designers work up to two seasons ahead, but they are not the only ones who need a talent for predicting upcoming trends. Visual merchandisers, buyers and managers all need to see into the future.
So, if you want to build your career in a fast-paced, competitive but fun sector of retail, you are in the right place. Those of you who are young and trendy are well placed to move up the lower ranks in the high street chains. The important thing is to develop your confidence and intuition so you can transport your skills to any fashion house.
Home & DIY
Improve your career in Home & DIY
Property prices are sky-high and you just have to flick the TV on to know that the average Brit is heavily into home improvement - let's face it, barely a night goes by without a makeover programme.
So, this is clearly a thriving sector, with most of the big boys expanding into ever-larger units in retail parks or out-of-town sites, while niche high-street outlets do robust trade, too.
The particularly good news is that some of the best employers with a defined people culture can be found in this sector. These national companies are the pioneers of the work hard, play hard culture that nurture a family atmosphere and facilitate part-time and flexi-working. At least one national employer in this sector actively recruited older workers even before recent ageism laws came into force.
While there are jobs aplenty - particularly in furniture showrooms - across the country, you don't have to work in a shop. TV shopping channels are growing substantially, selling DIY and garden-related products.
Indeed, this is a wide-ranging sector, where you might need knowledge of products from power tools, to plants, to watering, lighting, fertiliser, furniture etc. Specialist furniture shops often welcome people with retail sales experience in DIY, bathroom or kitchen companies, car showrooms and other furniture companies.
The roles available are equally diverse, including warehouse manager, internal audit manager, buyer, sales consultant and so forth.
Best of all, the sheer size of some of the national chains means there is plenty of scope to move around the country as well as up the career ladder into area management, operations or trade development. Here you will have the challenge of implementing changes to enable sales growth, improving stock management, merchandising, account management, product training and customer service skills in each individual branch.
Electrical & Telecoms
How to get wired for success in Electrical & Telecoms
If you're in this sector, you probably already have a thorough understanding of either electrical goods, telecoms equipment - or both. Armed with either, it's fairly easy to move around between electrical or telecoms retailers.
As an ambitious retail professional, you get a selection of the usual roles, including buyers, visual merchandisers, store managers, area managers and so on. But there are also more specialised jobs, such as electrical technician, product technologists and category manager. The latter is often a particularly well-paid job in which specialists help to introduce new ranges and category initiatives.
At the beginning of your career, employers may expect you to have a related degree but to climb the career ladder, you'll need to know your technical stuff big time. Employers want professionals who can provide technical expertise and advice to other members of the team, visit the warehouse to make random inspections, liaise with overseas and UK suppliers to advise on quality and packaging, and travel overseas.
You also have to be up to speed on current regulations, legislation and standards - particularly so you can advise suppliers abroad.
This is big business. You could easily find yourself working for one of Europe's leading electrical retailing groups, some of which trade through thousands of stores and online sites internationally. It's no surprise, therefore, that at the top end rewards can be high with benefits such as a company car, market-beating salary, healthcare and pension schemes and performance related annual bonuses.
Admittedly, recruitment consultants report that margins are being squeezed in the electrical sector, partly due to the number of cheap imports, but retailers are restructuring how they buy. And the fact that the public are increasingly buying goods - including white goods - over the internet means there is an insatiable demand in retail for staff with dazzling customer service skills to ensure in-store sales targets are met.
Footwear & Accessories
How to put your best foot forward in Footwear & Accessories
This is a deceptively powerful market. Did you know, for instance, that according to the British Footwear Association, every year in the UK ?5b of footwear is sold to consumers, ?0.6b of footwear is manufactured and about ?0.5bn is exported around the world?
What you can't fail to have noticed, however, is that Britain is home to some of the world's leading footwear brands and the most innovative designers, so the average Brit has high expectations when it comes to the shoes and accessories they need to complement their clothes.
When it comes to going for those store manager or top buyer jobs, therefore, you will, be expected to identify and exploit trends across the UK, understand production, be a whizz at critical path analysis - and be prepared to visit suppliers across the world.
Shoes come in all shapes and sizes - chic, dressy, casual, high-volume fashion, safety and protective, men's, women's or children's - so you need a broad understanding of the market. Employers will favour candidates with a strong footwear background, particularly if the role means you are sourcing footwear ranges and working alongside the sales team, footwear designers and product developers.
The same goes for accessories. Like shoes, you could be in a luxury department store, high street chain or boutique. And like the fashion world, you'll need a commercial approach to cope with ever-changing trends, seasons and peak sales periods.
Altogether, this is a tough fast-moving environment, but if you have got the drive, energy and determination to succeed, you'll get a buzz out of all the exciting challenges that the business kicks your way.
Health & Beauty
Face up to the challenges in Health & Beauty
The world is becoming a beautiful place, thanks partly to the power of A-list stars and glossy magazines. Their glamour has helped make beauty products a luxury that an increasing number of consumers can't leave on the shelves.
While career progression is similar to most retail sectors - you start as a sales assistant and progress to department or store manager, area manager and upwards - the breadth of jobs will spoil you for choice. They include beauty therapist, beauty administration assistant, sales and marketing manager and category manager.
Vocational qualifications often help, especially while you are building the foundations of your career. As a beauty therapist, for instance, you will have had to get NVQs or SVQs in beauty therapy under your belt.
Certainly, in this sector it pays to amass years of product knowledge and market understanding. To reach the heady heights of operations manager, for instance, you will probably have notched up five years or more as a retail area manager in health and beauty.
The great thing is that you won't get bored. Health and beauty is no longer confined to cosmetics and fragrance. Increasingly, retailers - particularly in department stores - are offering spa-type services such as nail-bars, massage, aromatherapy and even advanced techniques, such as electrology to remove thread veins and warts.
As a result, your skills are thrillingly transportable - indeed, the possibilities are endless. You could, for instance, move into management and run your own salon, work on a luxury cruise ship, pamper first-class airline passengers while jetting round the world; work in a health farm or spa, join a leisure centre and even teach ? but the retail industry will keep you busy in the meantime.
Department Stores
Discover your level in a Department Store job
Department stores tend to be run by big companies, with branches in most leading cities or towns. The profits are high and so are the stakes, which is why at the managerial level your adrenalin will be pumping.
From a career point of view, getting department store experience will set you up for life. Shopping, rather like eating-out, has become a national pastime so any skills honed in a national store will always be in demand.
To excel in management, you've got to know who your best customers are. For instance, baby boomer consumers have more money at their disposal than any other age group. Those aged 35-54 generally earn more money and have accumulated more wealth than those younger than them and are more likely to be in employment still, unlike many older customers. Meanwhile, although look-and-feel goods such as fashion and food have robust sales, goods that can be downloaded or bought over the internet are being hit by online purchasing, making them a particular management challenge.
The UK has some of the most famous department stores in the world - particularly in London, Leeds, Edinburgh and Manchester - and if you're still working your way up the career ladder, you can comfort yourself with the fact that these powerful companies have the same drive and resources to retain staff as any conglomerate. Once you're in, they will invest in your training and development and try to harness your talent with perks and benefits.
The range of jobs is endless - from sales assistants through to department managers, visual merchandisers, designers, technologists, buyers and right up to the heady heights of regional manager where you look after a number of stores.
Whatever role you are seeking, working in a department store is a bit like going on a stage where you create magic for the shopper. Look out for the many companies that pride themselves on creating a happy, warm atmosphere for employees and customers alike - and where you can get a buzz out of handling all that wonderful merchandise.
Retail Graduate
Learn about Graduate jobs for the ambitious
When it comes to having the right degree to get into retail, you can almost take your pick - fashion, law, international management, accountancy, retail management, you name it.
Like it or not, you can't always just walk out with a degree into a management job, though. Top employers tend to want management-calibre candidates with some retail experience who are prepared to work their way up.
In some roles, you can learn on the job. For instance, you could take an allocator role, which is the first step to embarking on a career in merchandising. Here, whatever your degree is, analytical skills and mathematical acumen are essential.
The surest way, however, is to look at all the major companies to find out which ones have the best fast-track graduate or management training programmes and a policy of promoting from within. For instance, some offer a 12-month graduate course with a nationally accredited qualification from the Institute of Leadership and Management.
Some also offer summer placements, so if you are an undergraduate, it's worth checking that out. At least then you are well placed to get onto the company's graduate training scheme.
What you need to show employers in this fast-paced industry is that you are quick to learn, have a good grasp of commercial issues, well-honed analytical skills and, of course, leadership qualities.
One last tip. When planning your career, it is worthwhile looking at sectors that are short of talent. Specialist fields, such as in lingerie, toys or wine often find it difficult to attract good staff and assistant buyers are also in short supply. Having said that, industry observers reckon there is a shortage of talent across the board so the truly talented can't fail.
