After sales manager, the next step is group manager. It's a department manager with anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five departments reporting to him or her. Group managers have to schedule their salespeople, and they're completely responsible for the floor setup in terms of the merchandise presentation. They're responsible for maintenance of the prices whether they go up or down; they're in charge of making sure that we have the merchandise that's advertised in enough time that action can be taken if we shouldn't happen to have it. They're responsible for the paper work in terms of checking the journals for price changes and transfers, so that we maintain a prescribed stock level. They're responsible for shortages. When inventories are taken, they're involved in those aspects of the business. They must also make sure that if they have something that is selling very well, that it's reported to the buyers downtown and that action is taken or can be taken.
Generally there are two divisional sales managers per store. One over all the hard-line areas and one over all the soft-line areas. They, in turn, would answer to the store manager.
Question - How do you spend your time at work?
Answer - Monday is a meeting day downtown. I have an expense meeting first thing in the morning, then we have an executive committee meeting, where we discuss the state of the store-where we're going, where we've been, whether promotions are planned correctly for the month in order to meet the planned sales. Then after that there are usually a couple of minor meetings. If we set up a meeting we try to set it up on a Monday, so that our branch managers aren't out of the stores too often. I'd say that I spend about two-thirds of the day downtown in meetings. Then I'll come back and have meetings with my division managers to discuss what's happening with our business and if there are any promotions that are coming up toward the end of the week. Tuesdays I usually spend going through all the departments with my divisionals, discussing their best-selling merchandise and whether they have it properly projected and displayed in their departments. It takes the whole day, as there are quite a few departments. Tuesday I am checking my store to see how I am set up as far as my best-selling merchandise is concerned and discussing how I stand on my stock levels by stock classifications and styles. Wednesdays are set up as buyers' days, where an entire division of buyers and merchandise managers for a particular division sit down and discuss the department.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I try to devote to catching up on reports that have to be turned in, getting around the store, meeting with my assistant manager, who is in charge of personnel, meeting with superintendents of the store, and discussing any problems we have as far as staffing and repairs to the store, anything that might be considered general matters. I work every other Saturday, and I try to spend that day on the floor; it's one of the busiest days of the week. I like to be down there to get the feel of the customers, see what they're saying, see that the salespeople are really on their toes as far as taking care of the customers. That's a general picture, but it's a busy one.
I take a walk through, making sure that the actual visual presentation of the store is the way that I want it. That the stores are as clean as I want them to be, that the merchandise is on the appropriate rack, that the signs say what they should be saying. I talk to the salespeople to find out what they're doing, what they need, and what they've got that they don't like.
I spend a lot of time working with the department managers, analyzing businesses, and talking on the phone to various people-general merchandise managers, divisionals, buyers, or the president. That's anywhere from two to three hours, depending on how much business you have to cover. The rest of the time I'm on the floor, working with the associate or department managers.
Monday is a pretty structured day. First of all, when I come in, I read yesterday's reports telling me how much sales volume was attained in each of the locations by department. I analyze that for about an hour in the morning between 7:30 and 8:30. At that point, I'll shoot off little notes to the managers cautioning them if business is down or congratulating them if business is up.
Before 10:00 I'll go through my mail, make a few phone calls, and get a few things rolling. At 10:00 we have meetings scheduled.
After that I'll walk through the store. It'll take the better part of two hours to properly go through the entire floor; converse with the managers; walk the floors with them; make suggestions; see that everything is in order, make sure that either sales are being taken down or set up, that the presentations are proper, and that the signing is proper; check the level of customers; converse with the sales staff to make sure that everybody is in a proper frame of mind and that there are no problems. At the same time, the period between 11:00 and 1:00 is known as "holy hour" in this store. The reason for the designation is that in a downtown store such as this, we do probably 70 percent of our entire store's business between the hours of 11:00 and 2:00. If I'm going to eat lunch, I eat after 2:00.
Question - How much time do you spend at your job?
Answer - This is about a fifty-hour-a-week job on the average. But it really depends on the needs of the business and what kind of time frame we have to execute and what we're trying to accomplish, for instance, major promotional activities or changing of shops or interior displays. If we are ready to do something absolutely crazy, it would require that I be in the store here to supervise it.
Between forty-five and fifty-five hours in the store, because the store management position demands that I am in the store. There's not really any way that I can take it home with me. The amount of paper work I have to do is minimal. Any kind of impact I make, I have to make in the store.
Question - What are some of the things you are responsible for as a store manager?
Answer - What you're looking at is anything you can imagine, from running the store, from whether the lights are turned on and the air conditioning is running, to having the proper basic stock assortment, to the sales promotion of that particular store. Now in its most simplistic terms, I see my job as being one of motivator, coach, and inspector.
All managers are responsible for the profits of their branch. We are responsible as a store manager for the general running of the store. By that, I mean making sure it's open, closed, and the facilities for running it are adequate. But your main responsibility is to see that the store is stocked properly at all times, that you have the proper depth of merchandise, and that customers are being taken care of. That is really your main job. In the course of doing this, you work with reams of figures. Everything is computers today, and we get reams of computer throw-outs on stock levels and sales figures, which we have to digest every week. We decide what departments are doing well and which departments are not. If they aren't doing well, we have to discuss the problems with all parties concerned.
