General Manager – Member Development & Retail Operations

Associated Retailers Ltd; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Associated Retailers Limited (ARL) is seeking a General Manager – Member Development & Retail Operations to shape performance across 290+ independent members and 400 stores across Australia and New Zealand, while leading the transformation of company-owned SportsPower and Toyworld stores.

Reporting to the CEO, you’ll oversee member development and the company-owned portfolio, lifting store profitability, setting benchmarks for retail excellence, and turning learnings into practical initiatives

Qualifications

• Senior multi-site retail leadership experience.
• Experience in a franchise, member-based or independent retail network.
• Strong P&L ownership and profitability improvement track record.
• Deep understanding of sales, margin, inventory, wages and operating costs.
• Proven ability to develop Store Managers and retail leaders.
• Excellent commercial judgement and stakeholder management.

Responsibilities

• Lead ARL’s member development agenda to strengthen capability and profitability.
• Take commercial ownership of the company-owned store portfolio.
• Lift performance and profitability of company-owned stores.
• Develop stores into benchmarks for retail best practice.
• Turn store learnings into practical initiatives for independent members.
• Lead, coach and develop Store Managers and retail teams.
• Drive disciplines across sales, margin, inventory, wages, buying, ranging, promotions and local marketing.
• Strengthen the member journey from onboarding to offboarding.
• Build and execute a member recruitment strategy to grow the ARL network.
• Use data, systems and commercial insights to drive decision-making.

Job description

General Manager – Member Development & Retail Operations

Shape retail performance. Build member capability. Create the benchmark for what great looks like.

Associated Retailers Limited (ARL) is looking for an experienced, commercially minded retail leader to join our executive team as General Manager – Member Development & Retail Operations.

This is a unique opportunity to influence performance across a network of 290+ independent members and 400 stores across Australia and New Zealand, while leading the transformation of ARL’s recently acquired company-owned SportsPower and Toyworld stores.

About ARL

ARL is a leading retail services group supporting independent retailers across some of Australia’s best-known retail brands, including SportsPower, Toyworld, Compleat Angler, Camping World and Mensland.

Our purpose is simple: to help independent retailers build thriving, contemporary and profitable businesses.

We’ve recently added 10 company-owned SportsPower and Toyworld stores to our network. These stores give us an exciting opportunity to test, learn and demonstrate retail best practice - then share what works across our broader member network.

The Opportunity

Reporting to the CEO, you’ll lead two interconnected priorities:

You’ll lead ARL’s member development agenda - helping independent retailers strengthen their capability, performance and profitability - while taking commercial ownership of our company-owned store portfolio.

Your focus will include:

• Lifting the performance and profitability of our company-owned stores.
• Developing these stores into benchmarks for retail best practice across the ARL network.
• Turning store learnings and insights into practical initiatives that help our independent members perform better.
• Leading, coaching and developing Store Managers and retail teams.
• Driving retail disciplines across sales, margin, inventory, wages, buying, ranging, promotions and local marketing.
• Strengthening the member journey, including onboarding, development and offboarding.
• Building and executing a member recruitment strategy to grow the ARL network.
• Using better data, systems and commercial insights to drive decision-making and performance.

About You

You’re an experienced retail leader who knows what makes a great retail business tick.

Commercial and hands‑on, you’re equally comfortable reviewing a P&L, challenging inventory levels, coaching a Store Manager, talking strategy with the CEO or getting into a store to understand what could be better.

Ideally, you’ll bring:

• Senior multi‑site retail leadership experience.
• Experience in a franchise, member‑based or independent retail network.
• Strong P&L ownership and a track record of improving profitability.
• Deep understanding of the key retail levers - sales, gross margin, inventory, wages and operating costs.
• Experience developing high‑performing Store Managers and retail leaders.
• Strong knowledge of buying, merchandise and inventory management.
• Excellent commercial judgement, stakeholder management and communication skills.
• A practical, curious and improvement‑focused leadership style.

Most importantly, you’ll enjoy taking ownership, building capability and being accountable for results.

Why ARL?

This isn’t a role where you’ll simply inherit an established operating model. You’ll have the opportunity to shape it.

You’ll influence retail performance across hundreds of independent businesses, help evolve two iconic Australian retail brands - SportsPower and Toyworld - and create a company-store network that demonstrates what great retail can look like.

You’ll also enjoy:

• A senior role with genuine scope and autonomy.
• Direct influence on ARL’s growth and retail strategy.
• Competitive salary package.
• Birthday leave.
• Oakleigh Support Office with free parking.