Job Title: Store Manager
Location: London, Sloane Square
Reports to: Head of Retail
About us
DeMellier is a London-based brand that was founded with the vision of doing things differently: to design handbags that would make women feel empowered, made ethically and sustainably, while giving back to those who need it most. These principles guide everything we do. All our pieces are crafted ethically in Europe using the finest sustainably sourced materials, we champion equality and for every piece sold, we fund vaccines and medical treatments aimed to save the life of a child in need. So far, through our permanent charity initiative, ‘A Bag, A Life’, in partnership with SOS Children’s Villages, we have funded over 2,000,000 vaccines. Join us and be part of an award‑winning, purpose‑driven brand that fosters creativity, collaboration, and meaningful impact within the luxury industry.
The role
DeMellier is opening its first physical store on Sloane Square in September 2026, and we are looking for an exceptional Store Manager to lead it.
This is the most significant hire the brand has ever made. The first person to hold this role sets the standard for everything that follows: the team, the client experience, the culture, and the commercial trajectory of the store. We are looking for someone who understands the weight of that and wants it.
As Store Manager, you are the owner of this business in every sense but the legal one. You are accountable for revenue, for the client experience, for the team, and for the culture. You report to the Head of Retail, and you represent DeMellier in one of London’s most considered retail destinations. You set the standard, you hold it, and you bring your team with you.
The store is not a shop. It was designed to feel like a home - considered, warm, and personal. The Store Manager carries that spirit into every interaction, every decision, and every conversation with their team.
Requirements
- Proven Store Manager experience in accessible luxury, premium, or contemporary fashion, with a minimum of 3 to 5 years in a similar leadership role
- A track record of building, coaching, and developing high‑performing client‑facing teams
- Strong clienteling experience and a genuine understanding of CRM as a commercial driver
- Experience managing a store P&L and reacting to trading performance in real time
- Proven ability to host and convert in‑store events with a clear commercial objective
- The ability to work at a pace without losing sight of the detail or the people
- Experience opening a store or joining a store pre‑opening is highly desirable
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, confident in presenting to senior leadership
- A genuine connection to DeMellier's values, sustainability, gender equality, and giving back. Not because the role requires it, but because you do
Main responsibilities
Client Experience and Clienteling
- Own the client experience from the moment someone walks through the door to the moment they leave, whether they buy or not
- Build and lead a VIP clienteling programme that converts first‑time visitors into long‑term clients and long‑term clients into advocates
- Conceive and host in‑store events with a clear commercial objective behind every one. The best events feel effortless to the client and intentional to the business, discovering client stories, matching product in the moment, booking follow‑up appointments, and understanding that every event has an ROI that must be reached without the client ever feeling it
- Drive traffic to the store through client relationships, community connections, and local partnerships, not just footfall
- Build and maintain relationships with neighbouring businesses and the wider Sloane Square community, positioning DeMellier as a natural part of that neighbourhood
- Ensure every member of the team understands the welcome ceremony, the brand story, and how to read a customer and adapt in real time
- Oversee the Founding Client Programme at opening, ensuring the first clients are logged, followed up, and retained
Team Leadership and Coaching
- Lead, develop and inspire a team of seven across all roles from Supervisor to Sales Adviser
- Bring the team into the vision, not through instruction but through understanding. They must know the why behind every standard, every decision, every way of working, whilst being directed clearly towards their individual and collective targets
- Handle team objections with warmth and conviction. This is a brand with a strong point of view and a service model that challenges convention. Questions will come. Answer them honestly and hold the standard
- Coach the team to tell the DeMellier story with the same conviction and adaptability you have yourself, not from a script but from genuine knowledge and belief
- Elevate individual strengths. Know what each person does brilliantly and build their development around it
- Hold performance conversations with the same warmth and directness the brand demands, high standards, and no ego
Commercial Performance
- Own the store P&L. Know your numbers daily, conversion, average transaction value, units per transaction, CRM capture rate, and hourly performance
- React quickly and decisively when trading requires it, to a slow period, to a product that is not converting, to an opportunity you can see before anyone has pointed it out
- Report weekly to the Head of Retail with clarity, honesty, and a point of view. What gets measured gets managed. Bring both the data and the qualitative context, the numbers that show what is happening and the insight that explains why
- Identify and act on opportunities to grow revenue through clienteling, events, local partnerships, and in‑store experience
- Drive the store to meet and exceed its revenue, conversion, and CRM targets. You are accountable for the numbers, and you own the outcome
Operations
- Manage daily operations across two floors to the standard of the brand and the location demand
- Oversee stock management alongside the Stock Controller, ensuring the back of house reflects the standards of the front of house.
- Manage the rota across early and late shifts, seven days a week, ensuring keyholder cover at every close
- Lead the store through the pre‑opening phase, stock intake, VM setup, team onboarding, and soft launch, to doors open on 1 September 2026
Benefits
- Annual Leave package increasing the longer you stay with us
- Enhanced company maternity policy
- Time given yearly to volunteer for a charity of your choice
- Employee Discount: 50% off Stock and up to 90% off Seasonal Sample Sales
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