General Manager - IStore Africa at Core Group

As a market leader in the consumer electronics distribution space, we strategically align our services and values with our global partners – some of the most valued and loved brands in the world – to ensure that we deliver world-class solutions to both the retail and enterprise industry we service across the African continent.

Requirements

Qualifications:

• Relevant Qualification
• Sound commercial skills and business acumen
• Sound (4 -7) years management experience managing teams

Min Requirements:

• 7 years practical managerial experience with a proven track record of operating effectively within a sales & marketing and customer service focused environment, which is strongly target driven.
• Experience within the retail sector

Key Performance Areas.

1) Communicate & drive the sales target

2) Business Development, Customer Relationship and Business Growth

• Provide input into budget formulation and manage performance in line with budget.
• Develop & agree a business plan for each store.
• Manage the debtors by close liaison with the debtors team.
• Strategic planning in the education vertical.
• Provide in country support and assistance to existing reseller base.
• Grow the B2B base
• Work closely with the marketing team to manage the BDF process to ensure the Apple ecosystem is communicated to the consumer, corporate customer and educational institutions
• Manage & execute in store events

3) Leadership & Personnel

• Build, organize, motivate and lead a dynamic, high performance team. 
• Inspire, motivate and support iStore teams and continuously follow up with iStores to maximize sales. Provide leadership and ensure team members are effectively managed, coached and developed. 
• Grow managers skills and EQ to facilitate growth of the leadership team.
• Build succession capacity of Store Managers
• Proactive recruitment & retention of high potential candidates who are able to engage and serve customers in line with Apple brand promise, including development of innovative solutions to achieve this. 
• Support the growth of an embedded culture focusing on demystifying the Apple brand, customer service, increasing traffic into stores, increasing conversion rates, technical expertise, support.
• Ensures adherence to all Labour legislation and relevant acts.
• Performance management appraisals & scorecards conducted in line with company policy.

4) Customer Experience/Customer interaction

• Ensure the highest standards of customer engagement and service are set, measured and met.
• Handling customer conflict effectively.
• Demonstrate a hands-on and interactive approach to customers and ensure that the entire iStore team buys into this approach and demonstrate this, and ensure this ethos permeates into the iStores.
• Focus on developing long term customer relationships and ensure that this is a regional approach

5) Training

• Daily, “on the sales floor “coaching of sales staff to equip the team to increase sales conversion rates. This is a strategic and critical role of the GM.  Build Store Manager’s capacity to fulfil this role effectively. 
• Ensure that each store has high level of product,    technical and sales skills through intensive and ongoing training of team members, including ensuring that all Apple & Core Group training and certification standards are met.

6) Process & Procedures

• Monitor adherence and remedy any non-compliance issues.
• Ensure that all Company policies and procedures are in place and adhered to, to minimise risk and maximise efficiencies
• Identify any gap areas which detract from consistent delivery to meet above & develop necessary iStore Processes that are not in place to provide store staff with daily, weekly and monthly roadmaps that facilitate consistency of delivery within the iStores.
• Control all controllable expenses.
• Be accountable for the safeguarding of stock, cash/debtors and fixed assets in the region
• Identifies potential risk and eliminates gaps by recommending areas of improvement.
• Ensure that all iStore technical infrastructure is operational.
• Attention to detail and uncompromising with company process and procedures

Stock

• In conjunction with the planning team work to ensure that the store has the correct mix and volume of stock per stock item.
• Assist in the merchandising layout in each store and ensure the planning team supply the right stock in the right quantities to create an impactful display. 
• Ensure stock rotation to minimise unnecessary stock ageing 
• Stock planning and optimization.
• Oversee control of stock items and assets within iStore in area of responsibility, with focus on minimizing shrinkage and/or all pilferage.
• Ensure business assets are secured

Merchandising

• Conduct customer/store/retail visits where applicable (displays/compliance/ stock levels/competitors products)
• Ensure that stores are merchandised in line with the Apple APR Program
• Ensure that 3rd Party product is merchandised in line with 3rd party guidelines.