Olivia Gorman

During my role at Fresh Food Centre as a sales advisor, the skills I gained were invaluable. I gained a multitude of confidence, a manner in which to deal with customer queries and a passion for retail. I learnt how to work individually, but also as a team to help improve the store. I developed a lot of life-long skills that would further my knowledge and progress my career in ways I couldn't of imagined.

Continuing on, I dealt with cash management, handling of keys, and the ordering of stock and deliveries. I gave one‑to‑one till training to all new staff, whilst also learning how to merchandise efficiently and handle stocktake in a timely manner. Throughout this role I developed my passion for management and leadership, this role was the stepping stone for the success of my career. Below is a summary of my role within this company;

• Demonstrated product features and functions to engage potential customers.
• Built rapport with new and existing customers to boost client retention.
• Placed customer orders, providing guidance on product delivery timeframes.

I started Superdrug after graduating University, knowing that my passion was retail and my calling was management. I started as a sales advisor, and within 4 weeks my Area Manager saw my potential and promoted me to Supervisor. After being a supervisor for a short 2 months, I was then promoted to Assistant Manager and underwent a 3 month Retail Management Training. I then took my first position and after only being in the role for 5 months, I was promoted to Store Manager. During my time in Superdrug I have worked in 4 different stores, with my biggest store meaning I was in charge of over 30 staff. My experience of these different shops have proved indispensable to my career. I am certain I can manage any store, of any size, and any size of team, I personally believe that with a good manager in charge of a team, anything can happen and no result is impossible. Throughout my career in Superdrug I have been invited on a Superdrug Chat Show with my Regional Manager to talk about my fast career progression and great results.I have received a 'You are Super' award by my Regional Manager for the great results in store, and I was asked to produce a speech for all Assistant Managers in training across the Region to inspire and educate the future Assistant Managers by showing them my own career path and what is possible. Along with the normal day-to-day running of the store which includes Paperwork, Audits, HR dealings, stock management, stock takes and merchandising; the biggest responsibility is KPI's. Superdrug are a KPI driven company, which in turn has made me solely focus on KPI's and the stores performance, which has produced great results. In perspective, at the end of 2020 my store was the only store to finish in positive territory, despite the decline in customers due to the pandemic, with a result of +14.2% vs The previous year. We were the only store in our area to have made a profit which is through the focus and effectiveness of our KPI's. We ended up top of the area for sales and shrinkage, two of our biggest KPI's. For example, Shrinkage is the effectiveness of Loss Prevention. We have current measures in place to control our losses, however I went above and beyond to ensure that there was no unknown shrinkage and that all losses were accurate, e.g Delivery discrepancies. As a result of my accuracy with stock, I received an under budget stock take result. I also received the best bonus of 2020 due to receiving the highest percentage of KPI's across the company.

I took over Superdrug Boucher Road which is currently the 2nd biggest Superdrug in NI, the only retail park Superdrug in Ireland and the only hub store in NI. I'm responsible for 3 different teams within my store which are my core store team, my beauty services team and my hub team. I'm in charge of 30 staff and always have to ensure communication is key across these departments. As a manager of the only hub store in NI, were responsible for all orders placed on the Superdrug website to be delivered to across NI. We pick, pack and dispatch all orders within the last year we were responsible for over 33k orders totalling 1 million pound. As the store manager of this store, I have to ensure to constantly be setting targets and following up on my team to ensure pace is consistent. During the busy peak periods, we would be picking over 3k orders a week, whilst also running a busy store that took just shy of 200k on Christmas week . Due to us being the only hub store, we have 150% allocation of stock more than normal stores, therefore our warehouses are structured, organised and always kept this way to ensure seamless picks. Finally, I got my store the highest percentage of KPI's in 2023 with a bonus totalling 22% of their yearly wage due to the focus on all areas and continued success throughout the year.