Sportsgirl national retail operations manager: Graeme Jack

This is an exclusive preview from Ragtrader magazine. To read more industry insights, and meet entire fashion teams, subscribe here.

What is your previous experience in the industry?

I was pretty much born into retail. My parents were retailers and I just naturally fell into it. From very humble beginnings on the sales floor where I learnt the basics, I progressed to lead some great global brands and work with some amazing people.

Operations manager for the Nuance group, GM for Beachculture where we operated 30 stores and then established joint ventures to open stores for Oakley, Guess accessories, Bonds and Rip Curl, which led to Billabong buying the business when we operated over 75 stores.

I was privileged enough to work with the team at Ksubi as GM for six years, and I got a real insight into what building a brand really means. And now I am fortunate enough to head up the retail operations of a national icon, Sportsgirl.

What is your day to day role?

I work with every department in the Sportsgirl head office, to ensure the retail operations team get it right on the sales floor.

I lead a team of 1200 people, so it’s about understanding how we unlock our retail teams’ potential and support our head office team to deliver on our goal of being Australia’s number one youth fashion brand.

What is the most rewarding aspect?

The people I work with and the team I lead. When you can be a part of creating a career for someone and unlocking their potential. It’s a pretty special thing to do.

What is the most challenging aspect?

Staying focused on what you do better than anyone else and what your brand truly represents.

It’s pretty easy to think that you should rewrite the rule book and try to be everything to everyone, in the hope of succeeding.

I really respect retailers and brands that know who they are, what their customers want and expect, then play to these strengths, no matter what is happening in the market.

When things get tough, you start to see brands stepping away from their strategic positioning to grow sales, and then follow it up with new marketing initiatives that tell their customers of the changes.

It often just ends up confusing their customers and becomes a huge distraction for the brand, ultimately taking the focus away from delivering the basics that actually drives the growth of their business and brand.

What is an initiative you are most proud of?

I have been very focused on getting our team engaged and focused on the part they play in our overall business success.

To see the results of this work has been exceptional.

I have seen our business managers and store managers become leaders and take true ownership of their teams and their sales performance.

Its sounds simple but when you have this type of ownership it drives big changes.

What is the biggest change you see in the industry?

In Australia, it’s been the arrival of the international brands. Their arrival has made every Australian brand and retailer have a good look at who they are and what they do. We are now starting to see some brands really elevate their game and create some great retail experiences and deliver positive growth. 

What is the biggest change you see coming?

How do we effectively leverage technology and data to deliver better to the customer.