Retail Assistant General Manager Adidas jobs at Adidas in Germany

Key Interfaces:BU Categories, Commercial, Brand Comms & Planning, Newsroom/PR, DTC, WHS, SPOMA, Culture Marketing, Brand Operations, Corporate Communications, external agencies and vendors.

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

This role is to

• Lead the C4C concept creation and implementation of retail design concepts and solutions for GCA through Flagship Stores and the Pilots architectural design- ensuring locally relevant design solutions that are also on-brand - bringing global retail creative direction to life for GCA
• Develop retail design concepts and solutions that create brand desire for Chinese consumers and set worldclass standards for the image of the adidas brand in GCA, and enable GCA to successfully implement the global vision
• Inspire a winning culture and drive operational excellence through leadership of the Retail design architecture team, and collaboration with the HQ & other markets
• Interact the Global development & landing of Global new concepts and the optimization of all consumer touchpoints to elevate consumer impact in GCA.

• Lead a team of channel marketing professional driving premium experiences in retail architectural environment, own retail and franchise
• 360 digree management of execution budget across all channels
• Drive the cascade of Global Retail concept guidelines to GCA related team on the architecture elements, but not limited to the other concept rollout tools including long term ISC and digital experience or servieses
• Orchestrate and gather input on current and future retail concepts and formats, digital and physical experience topics based on local customer/consumer and channel distribution needs
• Lead the capture and consolidation of input across all channels of GCA to inform and influence Global HQ-CE to ensure concepts and stories land with impact
• Become the Market communication counterpart for the Global HQ Consumer Experience team
• Validate global deliverables on current and future key store concepts, digital and physical experience, and other Consumer Experience topics are in line with China input.

• Drive strong partnership with local execution team ensuring brand look and feel lands correctly in key stores across China. Monitor design execution across channels and formats according to concept guidelines
• Drive the design review & approval process cross key stakeholders for flagship stores/ new concept pilots, as well as manage the approval process with Senior Leadership Team if required.
• Continue to optimize & develop a stronger design architecture vendor pool and lighting design vendor pool with NTP, ensuring high quality of delivery to the China market
• Additional projects as agreed

• Be responsible on design execution cost review and managing cost efficiency for Flagship/ pilot stores of GCA

Team Management

• Coach and mentor team members on an ongoing basis, driving a focus on personal development
• Foster a highly empowered and motivational working environment that encourages diversity of thought
• Instill a team culture in which all important issues are discussed openly and constructively
• Promote a high-performance culture by setting clear objectives, expectations and individual goals
• Evaluate the hard and soft competencies of your team on a regular basis and provide timely feedback and guidance to drive continuous learning

Key Relationships in adidas:

• HQ Consumer Experience
• HQ Brand Units
• China Brand Activation
• China Business Units
• China Store Design & Construction
• China Finance
• China Procurement
• China Ominichannel
• China Retail Expansion
• HK & TW counterpart

Key Relationships outside adidas:

Government AuthoritiesLandloardsAgencies, Architects
Vendors, Supplies

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong presentation, communication, negotiation and influencing skills, especially with senior stakeholders within a global matrix organization.
• Strong cross-functional and stakeholder management experience across commercial functions (e.g. marketing, sales, etc.) and support functions
• Fluent spoken and written Mandarin and English.
• Regional languages an advantage, but not required
• Willingness to travel upwards of 20% of time

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• 8-12 years architectural design/ interior design industry working experience
• Progressive channel marketing and consumer experience expertise
• Regional expertise desired
• Sporting Industry experience desired
• University degree in Business or equivalent professional experience, ideally in Sales and/or Marketing

You’ll be joining our Stockport

Skills you’ll need:

Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office tools (Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams) and fluency in English are essential. This role requires creativity, commercial acumen, and the ability to manage budgets, resources, and multiple projects while ensuring visual consistency and delivering measurable results

To ensure everyone feels welcome we endeavour to accommodate everyone at all stages of the application and interview process. Should you need it, please let your recruitment partner know and they will be more than happy to help.

Additional Benefits:

Leading pension scheme, performance related bonus, 25 days holiday + bank holidays, Bupa health insurance & Westfield cash plan and generous employee discount.

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

• To drive brand and consumer experience by managing a high-volume, strategically positioned Brand Flagship store that represents the adidas brand and product in the most impactful way

• To work in close collaboration with both the Market and Global teams to shape the strategic direction of the Brand Flagship concept in the Market

• To lead the Store Management Team in providing an outstanding consumer experience while maintaining high operational and brand standards.
• To drive store profitability by meeting or exceeding store sales and profit targets
• To ensure compliance through proper execution of established policies, procedures, initiatives and directives

Key Responsibilities:

• Deliver exceptional consumer experience tailored to the Brand Flagship through ensuring outstanding execution of global brand and retail operational standards
• Foster a positive culture in the store and enable the Store Management team to create an active, authentic and consumer-centric culture in the store
• Understand the concept and strategic importance of the Brand Flagship store and think broadly for the organization when setting the direction of the store and creating brand advocacy
• Develop and lead the execution of a visionary, well thought-out business plan for the Brand Flagship
• Provide input and feedback to different departments and global teams in order to achieve the Brand Flagship ambition
• Support and coach the leadership team and associates to drive sales and meet key performance indicators, while managing expenses to increase profitability and drive brand advocacy
• Partner with Store Management Teams to hire, develop and build a high performing team
• Hold P&L accountability for the Brand Flagship store
• Foster a collaborative working relationship with both the global and the Market organizations
• Collaborate with Line Manager to develop clear action plans for the Brand Flagship and thrive to achieve objectives, deliverables and timelines
• Communicate and provide visibility on product needs/other operational needs and opportunities to the Line Manager
• Ensure all established Visual Merchandising and In-Store Communication standards are consistently executed and maintained
• Ensure consistent implementation of all global programs, initiatives and strategies within the Brand Flagship
• Leverage global and local tools to lead the performance management, succession, recruiting, hiring and development activities, resulting in high employee engagement
• Promote a high-performance culture in the Brand Flagship by setting clear expectations, holding employees accountable, creating an effective and efficient work environment, and setting goals that focus the team on key drivers that impact success
• Take clear accountability for training and execution in store in all areas, including business, operations, sales/customer service, and visual merchandising, while also coordinating with Sales Academy to ensure all employees are trained in Retail Standards
• Ensure all team members are trained on Foundational and Seasonal Brand and product knowledge in all stores
• Ensure timely completion of all recordkeeping associated with applicants, new hires, payroll, performance appraisals, salary reviews, counselling, disciplinary actions and terminations

• Produce results under a variety of situations/market conditions and overcomes barriers to the company’s success in compliance with corporate guidelines
• Work with the Store Managers to identify and develop select strong performers with potential for growth along the Retail Field Career Ladder

Key Relationships:

• Consumers, Peers, Key Retail Support Functions i.e Marketing Activations, VM, Operations, Vendors and Supports Functions,

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong ability to understand and use financial data to make decisions and influence outcomes
• Ability to use critical thinking and creative ways to solve problems
• Ability to make recommendations that effectively resolve problems by using judgment that is consistent with standards, practices, policies, and procedures
• Strong leadership, interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong ability to collaborate and influence across different levels and departments
• Thrives under ambiguity; open to change and act as advocate for the ‘new’
• Open to feedback; able to keep composure in stressful situations
• Passion for adidas brand and for sport
• Proficient with MS applications (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and other computer software (Internet, POS Systems, etc)

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant market experience
• Leadership role in a branded organisation (creating a brand experience)
• Successful leadership of a team (50 people +)

• Geographical mobility
• Advanced numeracy, literacy and strong communication skills

• Act as a key player in Global Sourcing, driving the vision to be the Most Agile, Most Competitive, Most Digitalized & Cleanest Supply Base in the industry.
• Lead engineering and manufacturing innovations at both process and product levels—from concept validation to full deployment—to enhance overall industrial competitiveness.
• Serve as a technical consultant, guiding world-class supply of rubber, EVA, PU, injected plastic components, ink/paint, textile coloration, finishing processes, adhesives, and other chemical products.

• Research sporting goods, technologies, and supply partners through pulse checks and benchmarking across industries to identify opportunities for innovative technologies, processes, or materials that create competitive advantage.
• Understand and navigate the Intellectual Property (IP) landscape.
• Collaborate in project teams to develop and deploy engineering and manufacturing innovation concepts, ensuring readiness through Gate 1 & 2 meetings and scalability across assigned projects.
• Identify challenges and opportunities during innovation readiness stages; initiate workstreams focused on performance, efficiency, cost, and sustainability.
• Manage seasonal compound requests from product creation teams; guide supply partners in experimentation, formulation, testing, and transitioning from development to production.
• Own Material Lifecycle Management system for bottom material creation and management (including clean-ups).
• Provide technical feedback to Operations/Materials teams for supplier onboarding, costing, and quality.
• Ensure compliance with adidas’ Responsible Sourcing & Purchasing Policy, standards, and legal requirements across all sourcing operations.
• Role-model leadership to foster a culture of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for an inclusive workplace.

• Internal: Global Sourcing (costing, materials operations, sourcing operations, sustainability sourcing, engineering & manufacturing innovation), HQ innovation teams, innovation management, materials creation, sustainability, and Product Development.
• External: Sourcing suppliers.

• Advanced knowledge of polymer chemistry and chemical products, including formulations, processing, machinery, and physical testing in:
  • Solid: Rubber, injected plastic components, textiles
  • Liquid: Ink/paint, textile coloration, dyes/finishing chemicals, adhesives, primers
  • Gas: EVA, PU, TPU, and other chemical foams
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to plan and deliver projects effectively.
• Ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Innovative mindset; constantly challenges the status quo.
• Basic understanding of costing principles.
• Excellent influencing, presentation, and communication skills.
• Fluent in English (written and spoken).
• Proficient in Microsoft Office.

• University degree in Chemical Engineering, Polymer Science, Materials Science, Textile Engineering , or related fields.
• Minimum 5+ years of relevant experience.