Fashion Department Manager- Holt Garden Centre

Are you an experienced retail manager with strong commercial awareness, excellent leadership skills, and a passion for fashion retail? Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment where customer experience, visual merchandising, sales performance, and team development are key to success?

If so, we would love you to join us as our Fashion Department Manager at Holt Garden Centre.

Location: Holt Garden Centre
Hours: Full-time, 42.5 hours per week, including alternate weekends
Salary: Competitive, depending on experience

Why Join Us?

Holt Garden Centre is part of the Blue Diamond Garden Centres group, the UK's largest garden centre group by turnover, continuing to grow rapidly across the UK and Channel Islands.

We are proud to create inspirational retail destinations that combine style, innovation, and exceptional customer service. Our centres attract a strong AB1 customer demographic, and we focus on delivering premium retailing through outstanding presentation, operational excellence, and strong commercial performance.

Led by Chief Executive Alan Roper, Blue Diamond has built a reputation for developing talent, supporting career progression, and maintaining excellent staff retention across the business.

The Role

As Fashion Department Manager, you will take full responsibility for the day-to-day leadership, commercial performance, and operational management of the Fashion Department.

You will oversee a broad range of fashion and accessories, ensuring the department delivers an exceptional shopping experience through outstanding customer service, inspiring visual merchandising, and strong stock management.

You will lead and develop your team to maximise sales opportunities, maintain premium retail standards, and create an engaging and welcoming environment for our customers.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring a commercially driven retail manager who can motivate teams, manage performance, and consistently deliver excellent retail standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the department to achieve sales, margin, and profitability targets.
• Manage and develop a high-performing team through coaching, training, and leadership.
• Deliver exceptional customer service standards across the department.
• Maintain outstanding visual merchandising and product presentation standards.
• Oversee stock control, replenishment, deliveries, and stock management processes.
• Analyse daily and weekly sales reports to identify opportunities and drive performance.
• Plan and execute seasonal collections, promotional activity, and POS implementation.
• Ensure the department remains commercially focused and trend-led.
• Manage rota planning, staffing levels, and daily operational organisation.
• Ensure full compliance with health and safety and company procedures.
• Conduct regular shop floor walk-rounds to maintain operational excellence.
• Work closely with senior management to support wider business objectives.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, standards, and commercial performance.

The Ideal Candidate

• Proven experience in a retail management role, ideally within fashion, lifestyle, premium retail, or a similar customer-focused environment.
• Strong commercial awareness with experience managing sales performance and KPIs.
• Excellent leadership and people management skills.
• Strong understanding of visual merchandising, stock control, and retail operations.
• Passion for fashion, styling, and delivering an exceptional customer experience.
• Organised, proactive, and able to manage multiple priorities effectively.
• High attention to detail and pride in presentation standards.
• Hands-on management style with a flexible and positive approach.
• Ability to motivate and inspire teams to achieve results.
• Desire to grow and develop within a successful and expanding retail business.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary.
• Generous staff discount.
• Ongoing training and development opportunities.
• Supportive management structure.
• Clear progression opportunities within a growing national group.
• Opportunity to join one of the UK's leading garden centre retailers.

If you are a motivated retail manager looking for your next challenge within a growing and successful business, we would love to hear from you.