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What is a Retail Regional Manager?

Summer Banks
Summer Banks

A retail regional manager is a representative of a retail company that oversees a defined geographical area of stores. Depending on the retailer, the size of the region managed could vary. The number of stores managed in a given area may also depend on the employer. A regional manager will often have more responsibilities than local store managers or district managers.

Retail can be defined as the selling of products or services to the consumer. In this industry, the regional manager may be hired for the position, or promoted from within the company. Many retailers require management candidates to have earned a bachelor’s degree in order to qualify for such a position. A regional manager job is one that typically entails being responsible for multiple ongoing duties, including the presentation of new products, reporting sales information, and meeting company goals.

A retail regional manager may oversee several department stores.
A retail regional manager may oversee several department stores.

The retail regional manager will often need very strong personal and written communication skills. Presenting information to supervisors as well as employees on topics such as sales, profits, and training could also require a manager to have word processing and spreadsheet skills. Experience with business math, retail forecasting, and budgeting are also valuable skills for a regional manager.

A retail regional manager's resume needs to show past work in a retail setting.
A retail regional manager's resume needs to show past work in a retail setting.

Obtaining a regional manager job often does not require previous work experience with a specific type of merchandise, because the industry tends to follow the same seasons, sales patterns, and sales goals. A regional manager resume should, however, include a past work in a retail setting, and a history that is similar to the position for which the manager is applying is helpful. For instance, if the applicant is applying for a retail regional manager position with a clothing company, previous apparel experience may be a benefit, but is typically not required in order to get the job.

A retail manager might make sure that a store display is set up properly.
A retail manager might make sure that a store display is set up properly.

In some cases, the retail regional manager may be promoted from within a given company. The starting position could be an entry-level position, with various promotions over years of service. Most of the time, the retail regional manager who is promoted from within will have years of employment with a company.

The regional manager salary will often depend on the amount of work experience he or she has, as well as the size of the coverage area to be supervised. Typically, a large store or company will require a retail regional manager to handle more responsibilities, and therefore will offer more compensation. As with any job, manager salaries vary by position and company.

Discussion Comments

manykitties2

You really don't need a degree to become a retail regional manager. Most companies hire from within and experience counts for a lot when it comes to moving up into this kind of position.

My friend only has a high school education and he started out as a customer service representative. After two years he became a store manager and then a few years after that moved into a regional manager position.

His company pays him really well for the regional manager position, around $70,000 a year. That isn't bad for someone without any formal post-secondary education. I suppose when you have been with one retail chain for a decade the loyalty factor can really pay off.

letshearit

There was always a lot of panic at our video store when we heard the regional manager was stopping by to inspect our branch. I remember our immediate managers sending us on a mass cleaning spree and forcing us to brush up on our customer service skills and employee policy guidelines before he stopped by.

Even though it has been years since I worked retail I always wondered what exactly our regional manager did besides strike fear into the hearts of branch managers. As far as I could tell he would come in with a clipboard and check list, make small talk and leave.

I suppose if I had been a manager back in the day I may have been more concerned. I really just remember hating all the cleaning that came before his somewhat surprise visits at our store.

everetra

@Mammmood - Software sales jobs are a bit more challenging in my opinion. I work for a software company and we have several sales managers. They spend all day on the phone, going through their contacts program and trying to line up prospects for our products.

It’s a very specialized industry, so the sales people know what markets to target and how to get the right contacts. When they find them, they ship them demonstration CDs of the software, and that gets the ball rolling with the evaluation process.

Thereafter they make calls every two weeks or so to see how things are going. It’s not my kind of work, personally. I’d rather just stay on the computer all day and focus on programming.

Mammmood

@MrMoody - That sounds awesome, especially for a college graduate.

I imagine she’s banking a lot of money too. I think the retail district manager salary will vary according to the kind of business you’re in. If you’re working for a major multinational, like you said, there’s probably a lot of money involved.

I knew someone who worked in a similar position for a fast food chain. He certainly made a lot of money compared to the store manager, but it wasn’t much in my opinion considering the range of responsibilities. He did get bonuses for stores that outperformed, however, so that seemed to make up for the difference a little bit.

MrMoody

My niece recently graduated from college and got an entry level position for a retail district manager with a name brand soft drink company.

Actually she was recruited from campus with the company’s “fast track” to management program. She was selected among thousands of applicants because of her excellent academic record, previous experience living overseas (they thought that was a plus, since they are multinational), and her excellent communication skills.

She isn’t stepping into the management position right away, but will do so after a year. In the meantime she is learning the different parts of the company’s operations.

She becomes familiar with the bottling facility, travels with the shippers as they distribute the product to local outlets and meets with store managers.

It’s not an easy position – she easily puts in 60 hours a week, often working odd hours from morning to evening. She loves it, however. It takes a certain kind of person to do this kind of work.

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    • A retail regional manager may oversee several department stores.
      By: Kenishirotie
      A retail regional manager may oversee several department stores.
    • A retail regional manager's resume needs to show past work in a retail setting.
      By: phasinphoto
      A retail regional manager's resume needs to show past work in a retail setting.
    • A retail manager might make sure that a store display is set up properly.
      By: Kaspars Grinvalds
      A retail manager might make sure that a store display is set up properly.
    • A retail regional manager may be promoted from within the company.
      By: pressmaster
      A retail regional manager may be promoted from within the company.
    • A retail regional manager may handle customer complaints during store visits.
      By: Adam Gregor
      A retail regional manager may handle customer complaints during store visits.