Hardware Store Manager

Position Summary

The Store Manager serves as the senior on-site manager of Hemly Hardware of Orwell and is responsible for the daily operation, personnel, customer experience, merchandise, inventory, financial controls, facilities, safety, and overall condition of the store and yard. The Store Manager reports directly to the President of Hemly Hardware of Orwell and is expected to operate with an owner's mentality while recognizing that the store operates within budgets, policies, financial controls, and strategic direction established by Executive Management.

Because Executive Management is located off-site, the Store Manager must independently manage routine store matters while maintaining consistent and timely communication regarding significant operational, financial, personnel, facility, customer, vendor, and other business matters. The Store Manager will work with the appropriate members of Executive Management based upon the nature of the issue and seek executive support when circumstances exceed established authority, budget, policy, or operating guidelines.

This is a hands-on management position. The Store Manager is expected to be the visible face of Hemly Hardware of Orwell: professional, knowledgeable, friendly, helpful, and available. The Manager must maintain active awareness of conditions throughout the sales floor, counters, receiving and storage areas, yard, and exterior property; understand what employees are doing and how customers are experiencing the store; and lead by example rather than by dictate.

The Store Manager is accountable for maintaining the Hemly Quality Standard day in and day out and for protecting the company's investment in the store, its employees, merchandise, facilities, equipment, and customer relationships.

Primary Responsibilities

Store Leadership and Overall Operations

• Assume primary responsibility and accountability for the daily operation and overall performance of Hemly Hardware of Orwell.
• Exercise appropriate independent authority over routine store matters within established company budgets, policies, financial controls, and operating guidelines.
• Maintain an active management presence throughout the entire operation, including the sales floor, service and checkout areas, receiving and storage areas, yard, employee areas, and exterior property.
• Establish daily and longer-term operating priorities, delegate responsibilities, follow up on assigned work, and take corrective action when standards are not being met.
• Identify operational problems, customer concerns, staffing needs, maintenance issues, inventory problems, and other matters requiring attention.
• Maintain sufficient knowledge of the store’s current and future point-of-sale and business systems to effectively manage operations, employees, inventory, purchasing, pricing, customer accounts, and daily transactions.
• Ensure store policies, procedures, safety practices, financial controls, and management expectations are understood and consistently followed.

Personnel Management

• Maintain full responsibility for recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, onboarding, training, scheduling, supervising, evaluating, disciplining, and terminating store personnel.
• Establish clear expectations for attendance, conduct, productivity, customer service, job performance, and completion of assigned responsibilities, and hold employees accountable for meeting those expectations.
• Maintain appropriate staffing and scheduling based upon store needs, customer traffic, seasonal activity, employee capabilities, and established labor guidelines.
• Provide employees with clear direction, practical training, appropriate resources, and regular feedback while developing a knowledgeable, dependable, service-oriented team.
• Address employee performance, attendance, behavioral, and workplace issues promptly, consistently, and professionally. All issues must be documented in writing and maintained in the appropriate employee personnel file. Standardized Written Warning Forms will be provided to Manager to ensure consistent and accurate documentation of employee-related concerns.
• Determine starting wages and subsequent compensation adjustments within compensation ranges, budgets, and guidelines established by Executive Management. Compensation decisions outside established parameters require Executive Management approval.
• Seek Executive Management assistance when personnel matters involve unusual circumstances, significant company risk, or issues requiring resources or authority beyond the Store Manager’s established responsibilities.

Customer Experience and the Hemly Quality Standard

• Serve as the visible face of Hemly Hardware of Orwell and set the standard for professional, knowledgeable, friendly, helpful, and responsive customer service.
• Maintain regular presence on the sales floor and throughout the property to understand customer activity, observe employee performance, identify service needs, and ensure customers are receiving timely assistance.
• Ensure the store is consistently clean, organized, properly stocked, professionally merchandised, accurately priced, safe, welcoming, and staffed by employees who are available and willing to help.
• Personally assist customers and step into sales-floor, point-of-sale, receiving, stocking, or other store functions when circumstances require while remaining focused on management of the overall operation.
• Resolve customer concerns and unusual service situations promptly and professionally, using sound judgment to protect both the customer relationship and the interests of the company.
• Lead by example and ensure the Hemly Quality Standard is practiced consistently by all store personnel.

Merchandise, Purchasing, Inventory, and Yard Operations

• Maintain primary responsibility for routine merchandise ordering, purchasing, replenishment, inventory levels, vendor relationships, pricing execution, markdowns, merchandising, discontinued and slow-moving merchandise, and product availability within established budgets and operating guidelines.
• Use sound retail judgment to maintain an appropriate product mix and inventory investment while avoiding unnecessary overstock, shortages, excessive carrying costs, and avoidable inventory loss.
• Coordinate with the President and Executive Management regarding significant new product lines, major vendor or contractual relationships, substantial inventory commitments, and broader strategic changes to the store’s merchandise offerings.
• Ensure merchandise is properly received, verified, recorded, priced, stocked, displayed, protected, and maintained, and that receiving or inventory discrepancies are investigated and resolved.
• Monitor inventory accuracy, shrinkage, stock levels, turnover, seasonal requirements, and merchandise performance and take appropriate corrective action within established authority.
• Maintain overall responsibility for the seasonal outdoor yard operation, including bulk construction stone, soil, clay, asphalt grindings, mulch, and other materials offered by the store.
• Supervise seasonal yard personnel, including the heavy-equipment operator, and ensure appropriate staffing, customer loading, material handling, inventory control, equipment use, organization, cleanliness, and safety throughout the yard.
• Ensure bulk-material sales and physical movement are accurately recorded and monitor quantities and replenishment needs appropriate to the seasonal operation.

Financial and Administrative Oversight

• Take ownership of the store’s business performance, including sales, gross margin, inventory productivity, shrinkage, labor efficiency, expense control, and overall profitability, while operating within budgets and financial guidelines established by Executive Management.
• Ensure accurate completion and timely submission of daily sales reports, including appropriate breakdowns of cash, check, credit card, on-account, and other sales activity required by Executive Management.
• Maintain appropriate controls over cash handling, register activity, deposits, receipts, transaction documentation, and other daily financial activity, and promptly investigate and communicate discrepancies.
• Review and approve invoices, packing slips, receiving documentation, and other operational records as required, ensuring information is complete and properly supported.
• Maintain awareness of expenses, margins, shrinkage, inventory investment, staffing costs, and other financial drivers affecting store performance.
• Review financial and operating information provided by Executive Management, understand significant trends or variances, investigate operational causes when appropriate, and take corrective action within established authority.
• Protect confidential company, employee, customer, vendor, financial, and operational information.

Store Standards, Facilities, Safety, and Property

• Maintain responsibility for the condition, presentation, functionality, organization, cleanliness, and safety of the entire Orwell property, including the store, yard, receiving and storage areas, employee areas, restrooms, exterior areas, parking areas, equipment, fixtures, displays, and signage.
• Preserve the high operating and presentation standards established for the store and prevent gradual deterioration in cleanliness, organization, merchandising, maintenance, or employee expectations.
• Regularly inspect the property for maintenance needs, safety hazards, damaged merchandise or fixtures, equipment problems, housekeeping issues, and other conditions requiring attention.
• Correct routine problems promptly and ensure larger maintenance, facility, technology, equipment, or capital issues are communicated to Executive Management and followed through to resolution.
• Ensure employees follow established safety procedures and that customer and employee activities, including seasonal yard and heavy-equipment operations, are conducted in a safe and orderly manner.

Store Security and Nightly Closing Procedures

· The Store Manager is personally responsible for ensuring that the entire property is properly secured at the close of business each day. This includes verifying that all entry and exit doors, receiving doors, and other access points are securely closed and locked, and confirming that the security alarm system has been properly activated and armed.

· While closing duties may be assigned to designated employees, the Store Manager retains ultimate responsibility and accountability for ensuring these procedures are completed without exception. Protecting company property, merchandise, equipment, and other assets is a fundamental management responsibility.

· Any security concerns, alarm malfunctions, or inability to properly secure the premises must be reported immediately to Executive Management.

Executive Management Communication and Coordination

• Serve as the primary operational communication link between the Orwell store and Executive Management located off-site.
• Maintain consistent and timely communication regarding significant store activities, financial matters, personnel issues, facilities, computer and business systems, inventory concerns, customer or vendor matters, safety issues, and unusual events.
• Provide requested reports, documentation, explanations, and follow-up information accurately and on time.
• Recognize the distinction between matters that fall within the Store Manager’s independent authority and matters requiring consultation, approval, or support from Executive Management.
• Escalate significant unbudgeted expenditures, capital purchases, major inventory investments, contractual commitments, compensation decisions outside established parameters, and other material departures from approved budgets or operating guidelines before committing company resources.

Performance Expectations

The successful Store Manager will be expected to:

• Operate with an owner's mentality while exercising disciplined stewardship of company resources and remaining within established budgets, policies, and operating guidelines.
• Take personal ownership of the customer experience, store condition, employee performance, inventory discipline, financial results, and overall reputation of Hemly Hardware of Orwell.
• Lead by example through dependable attendance, professionalism, work ethic, customer service, sound judgment, and attention to detail.
• Manage through visibility, communication, delegation, follow-up, and accountability rather than attempting to personally perform every store function or managing solely from an office.
• Maintain sufficient awareness of the sales floor, yard, personnel, customers, merchandise, facilities, and financial activity to recognize problems early and act before they become larger issues.
• Build and maintain a capable, accountable, knowledgeable, and customer-focused staff.
• Pursue profitable sales growth and strong business performance without compromising financial discipline, inventory control, company policies, or the Hemly Quality Standard.
• Communicate clearly and promptly with Executive Management and seek assistance when circumstances require company-level resources, approval, or support.
• Follow significant issues through to completion and ensure problems do not remain unresolved simply because responsibility has been referred to another person.
• Maintain the Hemly Quality Standard consistently across customer service, store appearance, merchandising, employee conduct, cleanliness, safety, and overall operation.

Position Characteristics

This is a hands-on, single-location management position requiring an individual who can move comfortably between leadership, customer service, personnel management, merchandise and inventory decisions, financial oversight, facilities, seasonal yard operations, and the practical daily needs of a hardware store. The Store Manager must be willing and able to step into store activities when additional capable hands are needed without becoming routinely absorbed in any one function at the expense of managing the overall operation.

The ideal candidate will bring practical retail judgment, leadership ability, strong organizational skills, financial awareness, reliability, attention to detail, and the ability to communicate effectively with employees, customers, vendors, and Executive Management. The position requires a manager who is comfortable exercising meaningful independent authority while respecting established financial and operational guidelines.

Success in this position will be reflected in a consistently excellent customer experience; a clean, organized, safe, well-maintained store and yard; a capable and accountable staff; disciplined purchasing and inventory management; sound financial performance; and an operation that Executive Management can trust to function effectively without constant intervention.

The Store Manager is expected to be the first and last line of defense in maintaining the standards, condition, culture, and performance of Hemly Hardware of Orwell.

Pay: $52,000.00 - $62,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Experience:

• Hardware / Building Materials: 3 years (Preferred)
• Retail Management: 3 years (Preferred)

Work Location: In person