Case studies: Sales manager, Debenhams: Scott Forsyth

Scott graduated from Robert Gordon University in 2007 with a BA in Retail Management. He decided to apply for the graduate scheme at Debenhams due to the company’s size, reputation and prospects for development within the company.

The scheme was challenging and vast. It was very fast paced with a great deal to learn. I got the opportunity to experience every aspect of Debenhams and gained a great deal of technical experience, as well as beginning to develop my own management style and build my self-confidence and belief. The training was very hands-on with the onus on me to progress and learn more. During the scheme I worked in every department in the store as well as the back of house areas. This gave me a global view of the business, which is extremely important, as I know how each area affects each other.

The scheme was a lot tougher than I had expected and there were times when I questioned whether this was the right career for me, but as I moved on and gained more experience I began to realise the choice I had made was the correct one. There were specific training courses, designed to help the behavioural management side of the job, which were also of great help.

My university course helped me prepare for the scheme as it gave me a great background knowledge of the retail industry and also management.

My role involves driving the sales performance of my divisions and trying to achieve profitable growth. I am also tasked with driving account card recruitment for my divisions. I am responsible for the management of my teams, from ensuring rotas are correct to HR issues, etc. Communication is key, in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the business. The store I currently work in is a centre of excellence for the company so this brings extra pressures as the expectations are raised. It is my job to ensure the standards of display are as good as possible and to be as commercial as possible in order to drive the sales of the business.

A typical day involves reviewing sales performance for the previous day/week and looking at which areas need attention and which can be pushed further to maximise their potential. I will then look at the shop floor to ensure the correct visual and stock handling standards are being achieved. The first people in the store are usually the stock movement teams and merchandisers so I will find out how much stock has been and will be delivered and plan for this to be put out. I will then ensure the staff planners are in place and will set goals for the team for the day.

I check my emails and look for any upcoming promotions and communicate these to my team. I spend most of my time on the shop floor making sure everything is running smoothly. I am personally very hands-on and like to get involved so will spend time on the till or putting out delivery or re-merchandising a whole department myself to try to drive sales. I will walk round the floor with the store manager in the afternoon to discuss performance and to update him on my divisions.

Retail is fast paced and with the credit crunch having hit hard, the industry has become very aggressive with its actions and this has led to you needing to be on top of your game at all times. It is a very hard job and you have to be very motivated and driven and prepared to work long hours in order to get the job done.

I would like to stay with Debenhams and work my way up to the level of store manager. I have worked in Aberdeen, Slough and Carlisle in the past two years alone, three places as far apart as you could get. I never planned this or thought I would do this in a million years, but the experience I have gained is priceless, gleaning information and ideas from a plethora of different people of varying levels and experience.