Fashion Industry : Retail Manager

If you enjoy dealing directly with the public, you might consider a career as a retail manager. A fashion retail manager, also sometimes known as a fashion store manager, oversees the activities of a store that sells accessories and/or garments to the general public. Retail managers are responsible for making sure that the cashiers, salespeople, and other employees of a store perform the tasks necessary for the store to succeed. Fashion retail managers design and implement sales plans; discuss problems and new sales strategies with the store's employees and/or the district manager who oversees the area in which the store is located (if the store is part of a large chain); establish a budget for the store and establish strategies that the store can use to stay within its budget; help employees answer questions and find products for customers; help employees handle customer complaints, problems with customers, and transaction issues; hire cashiers, salespeople, and other store employees; order new accessories and/or garments for the store; report the store's sales and count the money that the store takes in each day; schedule employees to make sure that every shift is covered and that salaries are within budget; set up signs and displays; and supervise and train the store's employees.

A fashion retail manager typically earns between $25,000 and $50,000 a year, but some may make as little as $20,000 a year if managing his or her first small store or as much as $65,000 a year if managing a large store for quite some time. The amount a fashion retail manager makes is also heavily based on the area in which he or she works. A fashion retail manager may be able to make significantly more than usual if he or she works for a large store or a major retail chain on the East or West Coast of the United States rather than for a company located in another part of the country. Fashion retail managers also typically make a sizable portion of their income from the sales that the store makes on commission (a portion of the money collected from each sale) and/or the bonuses that they receive if the store makes a profit.

Specific requirements for becoming a fashion retail manager vary. Most companies require that you have a high school diploma or a General Educational Development (GED) credential, have at least two years of experience in a customer service or retail position related to the fashion industry, pass a background check, and complete a training program. Some companies may also require or prefer that you have an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree in business or management, a Master of Business Administration (MBA), and/or another similar degree.