Paul Delemere

Professional Experience

Asda | Store Manager- Multi site

• Oversaw the operations of multiple Asda stores, delivering robust financial performance by optimizing team engagement, customer service, and operational efficiency.

• Led teams of over 500 colleagues across various functions, including retail, HR, and customer service, ensuring alignment with business goals and fostering a culture of excellence.

• Delivered financial targets by implementing cost-saving measures, maximising sales, and effectively managing stock levels.

• Spearheaded recruitment for critical roles, including pharmacists, optical managers, and optometrists, ensuring high-quality hires that contributed to the success of the business.

• Directed customer satisfaction initiatives, driving innovation in customer service and improving CSI scores across all stores in the region.

• Managed community engagement programs, enhancing the brand’s presence through partnerships with local causes and community champions.

• Supported the growth of the retail chain through strategic acquisitions, liaising with senior management to identify and pursue new locations, and ensuring new stores were ready for trading within deadlines.

• Led the continued growth of the retail chain, managing shop acquisitions, refurbishments, and closures, ensuring all operations aligned with company goals and financial targets.

• Delivered financial results by driving sales through effective merchandising, pricing, and stock management while minimizing controllable expenses.

• Managed the recruitment, training, and development of shop managers, assistant managers, and volunteers, creating high-performing, customer-focused teams.

• Fostered a culture of accountability and ownership, ensuring all staff and volunteers took pride in their store’s performance and success.

• Maintained high standards of presentation, ensuring shops were clean, well-stocked, and provided an excellent shopping experience for customers.

• Implemented and monitored compliance with health and safety policies, ensuring stores were secure and all procedures were followed to minimise risk.

• Regularly visited stores to ensure they met operational standards, maintained security protocols, and were operating efficiently according to company guidelines.

• Oversaw the opening and closure of shops, coordinating with the head office for the transfer of stock, staff recruitment, and publicity for opening dates.

Key Responsibilities & Achievements

• Leadership & Culture Development: Established a culture of ownership and accountability across multiple stores, ensuring teams were engaged, motivated, and aligned with the company’s goals.

• Sales & Financial Growth: Achieved financial targets by ensuring merchandise was effectively priced, centrally organized promotions were executed, and stock levels were optimized to meet demand.

• Shop Acquisitions & Refurbishments: Played a key role in the expansion of the retail chain, scouting potential shop locations, coordinating refurbishments, and ensuring new stores were operational within set deadlines.

• Talent Management: Recruited, trained, and developed managers and volunteers, fostering a high-performing culture that focused on delivering exceptional customer service and achieving store KPIs.

• Operational Excellence: Delivered consistent results by monitoring stock, overseeing promotions, and ensuring all shops adhered to company processes and procedures for optimal performance.

• Customer Satisfaction Initiatives: Led efforts to improve customer satisfaction, ensuring all staff and volunteers were trained to provide exceptional service, contributing to improved CSI scores.

• Risk Management: Implemented and monitored risk management strategies, ensuring compliance with health and safety standards, and addressing potential threats or opportunities within the retail operations.

• Financial Performance: Delivered strong financial results by maximizing sales, controlling costs, and ensuring that each store met its full sales potential through effective stock management and pricing strategies.

• Streamlined operations to maximise efficiency and minimise waste.
• Enhanced team's performance with regular coaching and feedback.
• Implemented cost-saving measures, significantly reducing operational expenses.
• Managed region-wide projects to successful completion.
• Fostered a positive work environment, boosting employee morale.
• Directed sales efforts to increase brand awareness in the region.
• Coordinated with other departments for smooth business operations.
• Built strong relationships with stakeholders, improving customer satisfaction rates.
• Devised robust contingency plans, ensuring minimal business disruption during crises.
• Provided crucial input into strategic planning, shaping company direction and focus.
• Led process optimisation initiatives to improve workflow efficiency.
• Maintained constant communication with staff, fostering transparency and trust within the team.
• Cultivated a culture of continuous learning within the team, encouraging professional development.
• Navigated challenging market conditions to maintain steady growth in the region.
• Liaised regularly with head office to ensure alignment of regional goals with overall company objectives.
• Tracked key performance metrics to identify areas requiring improvement.
• Ensured compliance with company policies and procedures across all branches in the region.
• Developed targeted marketing campaigns tailored to regional demographics.
• Drove company mission and values, representing organisation at meetings and industry events.
• Implemented change management and network restructuring strategies to address underperforming areas.
• Managed profit and loss to decrease discrepancies and retain timely and under-budget project completion.

Key Competencies

• Strategic Retail Leadership: Proven ability to lead teams to meet and exceed financial and operational targets, with a focus on growth and customer satisfaction.

• Operational Excellence: Skilled in managing acquisitions, refurbishments, and the daily operations of multiple retail sites to drive sales and profitability.

• Financial Management: Strong track record of delivering financial targets through cost control, stock optimization, and the implementation of effective pricing strategies.

• People Development & Recruitment: Extensive experience in recruiting, training, and developing top talent, fostering a culture of high performance and accountability.

• Customer Experience: Lead initiatives to improve customer satisfaction, ensuring all locations provide top-tier service and meet key performance indicators (KPIs).

• Risk & Compliance: Competent in implementing and maintaining processes to mitigate risks, ensuring compliance with health and safety standards, and managing security protocols.

Led Talent Acquisition for Asda’s healthcare division, overseeing the recruitment of pharmacists, optical managers, optometrists, and healthcare managers across the entire Asda estate, impacting over 6000 colleagues and ensuring the consistent delivery of high-caliber professionals in line with business growth.

• Collaborated with senior leadership to define recruitment strategies that aligned with business objectives, focusing on finding specialist talent for hard-to-fill roles in a highly competitive healthcare market.

• Developed innovative sourcing techniques and built long-term talent pipelines, ensuring we had a bench of ready-now talent for key healthcare and optical roles across the country.

• Spearheaded recruitment marketing campaigns, leveraging digital platforms and targeted outreach to attract top-tier candidates, while improving the overall candidate experience.

• Partnered with external agencies and professional networks to streamline recruitment processes, ensuring cost-effective hiring while maintaining a high standard of quality.

• Reduced time-to-hire and improved retention rates by designing and implementing an onboarding program specifically tailored for healthcare and optical professionals, helping new hires transition seamlessly into their roles.

• Conducted regular talent reviews and succession planning, ensuring we proactively managed the future leadership pipeline within healthcare and optical functions.

Key Achievements:

• Successfully filled over 300 healthcare leadership roles and increased retention by 24% through targeted recruitment and robust onboarding processes.

• Reduced time-to-hire for specialist roles by 40%, improving operational efficiency in the pharmacies and optical departments.

• Established a high-performance culture within the healthcare and optical teams by aligning recruitment efforts with Asda’s values and performance expectations.

Provided strategic HR support for some of Asda’s most complex, multi-site stores, covering 22 locations with over 6000 colleagues and an weekly turnover of £24 million.

• Supported store managers, GSMs, and senior leadership teams in implementing HR strategies that aligned with business objectives, focusing on talent management, employee engagement, and operational efficiencies.

• Led on complex employee relations cases, including capability assessments, long-term sickness, performance management, and disciplinary procedures, ensuring outcomes aligned with both legal requirements and company policy.

• Drove the colleague engagement agenda, implementing initiatives that improved colleague satisfaction and retention, resulting in a significant uplift in employee engagement scores across the region.

• Managed workforce planning and succession planning efforts, ensuring a strong leadership pipeline was in place across the stores, and implementing development plans for high-potential colleagues.

• Worked closely with store leadership teams to coach and develop managers, providing HR expertise on talent management, team performance, and colleague development.

• Played a key role in change management initiatives, such as store restructures, ensuring that transitions were handled smoothly, and employees were supported throughout.

• Collaborated with occupational health teams to manage complex sickness cases, facilitating a structured return-to-work process and supporting employees with health challenges.

Key Achievements:

• Successfully handled hundreds of complex employee relations cases, including health and capability assessments, while maintaining compliance and reducing risk.

• Improved colleague retention rates by 19% through targeted employee engagement initiatives and personalized development plans.

• Drove succession planning efforts that ensured readiness of leadership pipelines for critical roles, reducing time to fill vacancies and supporting business continuity.

• Led a change management project across multiple stores, supporting over 100's of colleagues through restructuring processes, resulting in minimal disruption to operations and colleague engagement.