Retail Area Manager in at Gardens Alive Inc

The Retail division is comprised of destination garden centers that serve as a physical expression of the brand, mission, and customer experience. The Retail Area Manager is the senior field leader responsible for leading Garden Center Managers, strengthening team culture, and ensuring operational consistency across a portfolio of retail locations. This role serves as the primary bridge between store-level execution and the Director of Retail, translating divisional priorities into strong day-to-day performance in the field.

This role is responsible for identifying exceptional talent, developing future leaders, and building a culture of high standards, accountability, and internal growth that will take our garden centers to the next level. The Retail Area Manager is accountable for building high-performing teams, developing future leaders, and ensuring each garden center operates with discipline, accountability, and a customer-first mindset. This role drives execution, people leadership, and local performance against the goals set for the division.

Lead Store Teams, Build Bench Strength, and Shape Culture

• Lead, coach, and support Garden Center Managers so they can successfully run their locations and lead engaged, accountable teams.
• Build a deep bench of future Garden Center Managers and emerging leaders by consistently identifying, selecting, and developing top talent across the retail organization.
• Create a culture of high standards, accountability, and internal growth where strong talent is recognized early, developed intentionally, and prepared to take on larger leadership responsibility.
• Establish clear expectations for what great leadership looks like in our garden centers and ensure those standards drive hiring, promotion, coaching, and performance decisions.
• Hold full accountability for field leadership talent, including hiring, onboarding, training, coaching, performance management, succession planning, and retention, in partnership with Human Resources.
• Ensure every garden center has a strong talent pipeline and a clear plan for ready-now and ready-soon leaders, reducing risk and strengthening the organization for future growth.
• Partner closely with Garden Center Managers to raise the bar on talent selection, team development, and leadership capability so the garden center fleet is positioned to operate at the next level.
• Build a culture of collaboration, customer care, ownership, and operational excellence at the store level.
• Address performance and employee relations issues with urgency, consistency, and sound judgment in partnership with Human Resources.

Drive Field Execution

• Ensure all locations execute company standards for customer experience, merchandising, visual presentation, service, safety, and daily operational excellence.
• Conduct regular store visits, identify gaps, and support store leaders in solving issues quickly and effectively.
• Partner with home office teams to ensure seasonal transitions, promotions, and operational initiatives are implemented consistently across the fleet.
• Serve as the primary connector between store teams and home office partners, ensuring priorities are clear, issues are escalated appropriately, and solutions are implemented effectively.
• Lead the field execution of operational, marketing, promotional, seasonal, and merchandising initiatives with consistency, urgency, and high quality.
• Oversee inventory accuracy and operational discipline in partnership with store teams and cross-functional partners, including physical inventory, cycle counts, and issue resolution.

Support Store Performance

• Monitor store-level performance trends, including sales, gross margin, payroll, operating expenses, shrink, inventory productivity, and customer experience metrics, and coach teams to improve results within the divisional plan.
• Hold Garden Center Managers accountable for operating their stores with discipline, consistency, and urgency.
• Support the development and execution of store-level action plans to address risks, close gaps, and improve performance.
• Reinforce sound operational and financial habits that improve customer satisfaction, team performance, and store productivity.
• Develop Garden Center Managers to think and act like business owners while operating within the strategy and financial framework established for the division.

Support Growth and Change

• Support acquisitions, transitions, and new garden center openings by ensuring field readiness, leadership preparedness, and strong execution.
• Help integrate new locations into company standards, systems, culture, and operating rhythms.
• Partner with the Director of Retail on readiness assessments, staffing needs, and execution plans during periods of growth.
• Help scale the retail division by building repeatable field practices, strengthening leadership capability, and ensuring both new and existing locations can perform consistently as the business grows.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

• 8+ years of progressive retail leadership experience, including multi-unit or multi-store responsibility.
• Proven success leading store managers and building strong, high-performing teams.
• Demonstrated strength in talent selection, coaching, leadership development, succession planning, and building organizational bench strength.
• Strong people leadership skills, including accountability, performance management, employee development, and retention.
• Solid understanding of retail operations, customer experience, labor management, inventory discipline, and store-level financial drivers.
• Strong analytical ability and comfort using data to assess performance, identify opportunities, and inform action.
• Strong cross-functional partnership skills and the ability to work effectively with operations, marketing, merchandising, inventory, finance, and human resources.
• Excellent communication, organizational, coaching, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong technical skills with Microsoft Office applications.
• Ability to travel regularly to garden center locations and prospective markets as needed; valid driver’s license required.