About John Lobb
For more than 150 years, John Lobb has been defined by exceptional craftsmanship and a spirit of innovation. Deeply rooted in the Maison’s Anglo‑Saxon heritage, our shoes bring together meticulous handwork and the finest materials, selected with uncompromising care.
At the heart of our Maison are two iconic locations:
The Paris bespoke workshop, where every pair is crafted using time‑honoured techniques passed down through generations;
The Northampton Manufacture in England, where our ready‑to‑wear collections are produced with the utmost respect for materials and tradition.
Today, John Lobb is embracing renewal. We are evolving our codes, opening the brand to new sources of inspiration, and imagining a more contemporary expression of masculine elegance, always faithful to our heritage.
A subsidiary of the Hermès Group since 1976, John Lobb has a global presence with around twenty stores across Europe, the United States, China and Japan, as well as a highly selective network of authorised retailers.
Joining John Lobb means becoming part of a community of more than 200 colleagues - artisans, sales advisors and support functions. United, committed, and human‑scaled, our teams bring our excellence and creativity to life with passion every day.
At John Lobb, we are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. It is the policy of John Lobb that applicants for employment are recruited, selected and hired on the basis of individual merit and ability with respect to positions being filled and potential for promotion or transfer which may be expected to develop. Applicants are recruited, selected and hired without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, citizenship, military or veteran status or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. In addition, personnel procedures and practices with regard to training, promotion, transfer, compensation, demotion, lay off or termination are to be administered with due regard to job performance, experience and qualifications, but without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, citizenship, military or veteran status or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. John Lobb also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities, in accordance with applicable laws.
Context
John Lobb is proud to open its new flagship store in Chicago, a significant step in the House's expansion across the Americas. Since 1866, John Lobb has been synonymous with exceptional English craftsmanship and bespoke shoemaking excellence. This new boutique will offer clients an unparalleled experience, showcasing our legendary collections and refined accessories in an environment that honors our heritage and timeless elegance.
We are seeking an outstanding Store Director to lead this exciting opening. At the helm of a team of two Sales Associates, this individual will establish a strong local presence and embody the values of excellence and savoir-faire that define the John Lobb spirit.
General Mission
The Store Director of Chicago flagship store oversees all aspects of the boutique, in line with the commercial strategy approved by the management of JL & Company, ltd. – Americas Branch, including supervising the staff members in all of their activities (coaching, training and assisting them in achieving sales objectives); demonstrating an active management presence on the sales floor, modelling exceptional service and ensuring all team members embody the John Lobb spirit.
The Store Manager Mission:
• Drive sales growth, profit and loss management and operational excellence for the store
• Design and action the store strategy with a vision on mid and long term
• Controls expenses and inventory shortage
• To be proactive in proposing business development strategies to Retail Management
• Assumes leadership role through effective communication and awareness of staff morale and career development
Main Responsibilities:
1. Sales strategy:
Offering an excellent after-sales service; - surveying the competitor’s projects and events;
With the support of Commercial Office, preparing and making purchases at the presentation of the new collections, throughout the year;
Implement a proper buying strategy, based on the specificity of the boutique (demand, inventory and sales objectives);
Drawing up and monitoring the budget in cooperation with the Managing Director
Ensuring the control of all the activities in terms of Stock Management, Merchandising, After Sales Service, Sales administration and Internal control, in line with the internal rules and procedures.
Responsible for achieving the store's sales targets and ensuring that resources are aligned with objectives.
Ensure the proper maintenance of the store's profit and loss statement, and you define and manage the various quantitative and qualitative KPI’s for the store (including market trends and inventory control).
Improve quality of sales as per internal House standards
Ensures that store team fully understands the selling goals & strategy (and applies it)
Prepare weekly retail catch up meeting with sales KPI’s and team feedback
Manage inventories in a proactive way: optimize sales, control stock accuracy, anticipate needs by reordering, minimize shrinkage, deploy cycle counts and stock take in partnership with store administrator.
2. Client Experience
Welcome and engage with client, embodying the image of the John Lobb brand. As an ambassador and promoter of a unique experience within the store, ensure that the values cherished by the House are brought to life: a warm welcome, genuine generosity, a story to share, a human connection, personalized attention, and a journey from surprise to inspiration
Ensures that each member of the sales team provides an excellent service to all visitors entering the boutique, in line with John Lobb standards of Client service
Actively work on client loyalty and development within the client portfolio (traffic management, activation strategy, client knowledge)
Responsible for maintaining a strong local presence in the city. Coordinate retail events within the store, in collaboration with Communications Department. Possess excellent knowledge of the local environment and anticipate clients’ expectations
Continuously be present & support sales team in case of difficult client situations
3. People Management and development:
A retailer at heart, the Store Manager is present on the shop floor with client, teams and you motivate the team to serve all store visitors in excellent standards
Keep track of each team member’s performance, defining responsibilities and setting short and mid-term targets
Ensure the fair allocation, motivation and development of employees, with the aim of helping each employee grow, creating a sense of team spirit around collective success
Work hand in hand with retail management to ensure that the team receives training regularly (CX, product knowledge and selling skills)
In partnership with Managing Director of Americas ensures all leaves taken are in line with company policies and procedures while all untaken annual leaves are properly managed-
Provide inspirational and motivational leadership, giving vision and clarity to the team;
participating in the recruiting process, integrating and training sales staff in terms of product, customer service and the art of selling John Lobb products;
ensuring the respect of law and company policies, even in health and safety of the store and team.Setting an example to the team by acting as the first ambassador to customers.
4. Sales Administration & Other
Guarantees that procedures and systems are clearly understood, run smoothly and comply with the ever-changing needs of the sales activities
Responsible for ensuring compliance with the procedures and requirements defined within the company making sure that all sales activities are properly processed according to the company’s defined procedures
Ensure the quality of the boutique: monitoring maintenance services, renovations, extensions, minor works, and reviewing the zoning
5. Communications and public relations:
Acting as the John Lobb Ambassador to the customers and every other person that can interact with John Lobb;
Representing the John Lobb name to existing and potential customers;
Compiling an accurate customer database and updating it permanently;
Proposing store promotional activities and customer service practices.
Supervisory Responsibility:
YES
Supervises Sales Staff
Budget Responsibility:
YES
Responsible for achieving the sales goal for the year for their specific location. Also need to ensure the store is profitable and has an accurate inventory that falls within the parameters of the company sets.
Responsible for maintain stock levels.
Decision Making Responsibility:
YES
Responsible for making decisions that relate to the staff, the client and the running of the store.
Applicant profile
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The ideal candidate:
Tertiary education and experienced Manager with a proven number of years of management experience and a strong sense of customer service;
Used to performing a Brand Ambassador style role as well as demonstrating the skills and experience of a leading retail manager in a luxury environment;
Exceptional communication and networking skills, able to build good professional working relationships demonstrating the ability to work across cultures;
Proactive, results-driven individual, demonstrating initiative and commercial creativity; - well organized with an ability to think multi dimensionally;
Strong business sense with solid analytical skills;
Hands on computer knowledge of MS office and excellent digital skills;
Excellent spoken and written English. Additional languages are a plus;
An appreciation of the style and elegance of the house reflecting this in personal presentation.
The range for this position is $120,500.00 - $134,500.00 annually. Actual rates are determined based on the job, location, and individual experience.
Hermès is proud to offer a variety of benefits to support the needs of our employees and their families, including:
Commission and bonus incentives based on sales performance
Medical, Dental, Vision,
Life Insurance and Disability
Paid time off (annual vacation of 15 days, 11 company holidays, 3 floating holidays, 2 wellbeing days, and sick & safe time)
Paid Parental leave and transition time
Various voluntary benefits such as flexible spending accounts, voluntary life insurance
Product discount and EAP resources
Access to Family Building Support and more!
We are looking for a candidate who has a combination of the above attributes and can perform the key functions of the role with or without reasonable accommodation.
We collect personal information (PI) from you in connection with your application for employment with John Lobb, including the following categories of PI: identifiers, personal records, commercial information, professional or employment information, non-public education records, and inferences drawn from your PI. We collect your PI for our purposes, including performing services and operations related to your potential employment. For additional details or if you have questions, contact us at ccpa@hermes.com.