Cluster Manager Franchise- North 

Reporting To

Area Manager / Key Account Manager

Location

Gurgaon, Haryana (Please note: there is a system error which shows location as Chandigarh. This person will be based at Gurgaon and not Chandigarh)

Mobility: Willingness to travel extensively within the assigned territory and relocate within India based on business requirements.

Role Purpose

Own the end-to-end business performance of an assigned cluster of franchise-operated stores by delivering commercial growth, operational excellence, brand compliance, customer experience, and people development. Drive productivity, profitability, and portfolio optimization while partnering with franchisees and cross-functional teams to position the cluster as the market leader within the assigned geography.

Key Responsibilities

1.Business Ownership

Own the sales, profitability, productivity, and overall business performance of the assigned cluster.

Deliver agreed commercial and operational KPIs through proactive planning and execution.

Identify business opportunities, mitigate risks, and independently drive corrective actions.

Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement.

2. Commercial Excellence & Productivity

Drive Sales, Like-for-Like (LFL) Growth, Gross Margin, Conversion, ATV, UPT, ASP, Sell-through, and Sales Productivity.

Continuously improve Sales per Sq. Ft. and Sales per Store through data-driven commercial interventions.

Analyse business trends, identify performance gaps, and implement actions to improve productivity and profitability.

Identify opportunities to scale high-performing products across the designated portfolio to maximize sales and commercial performance.

3. Portfolio & Market Leadership

Identify opportunities for new stores, relocation, resizing, expansion, renovation, consolidation, or portfolio optimization.

Develop data-backed business cases based on market potential, catchment analysis, competition, and commercial viability.

Drive initiatives that strengthen market leadership and improve network productivity.

4. Retail Operations & Brand Execution

Ensure consistent execution of brand standards, visual merchandising, retail SOPs, and customer service expectations across all franchise-operated stores.

Conduct regular store visits, business reviews, and compliance audits to drive execution excellence.

Identify operational gaps and ensure timely implementation of corrective actions.

5. Franchise Partner Management

Build strong partnerships with franchise partners to deliver business objectives while protecting brand standards.

Improve franchise capability, operational efficiency, and business profitability.

Ensure franchise-operated stores consistently align with brand expectations and customer experience benchmarks.

6. Inventory & Commercial Management

Drive inventory productivity through effective sell-through, stock availability, size availability, and ageing management.

Identify commercial opportunities to improve inventory productivity and recommend corrective actions.

Partner with Merchandising to optimize assortment productivity and improve business performance.

Monitor inventory health and proactively escalate stock gaps or excess inventory impacting business performance.

7. People Leadership

Coach and develop Store Managers to build high-performing teams.

Drive performance management, succession planning, employee engagement, and capability development.

Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.

8. Financial Management

Drive cluster profitability through disciplined expense management and productivity improvements.

Review business performance and implement corrective actions to achieve financial objectives.

9. Cross-Functional Collaboration

Partner with Merchandising, Training, Visual Merchandising, Store Development, IT, and Franchise Partners to drive execution excellence, resolve business challenges, and achieve cluster objectives.

10. Governance & Compliance

Ensure adherence to company policies, statutory requirements, audit standards, and asset protection guidelines.

Maintain high standards of governance and ethical business practices across the cluster.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Commercial

Sales Achievement

Like-for-Like (LFL) Growth

Sales Productivity (Sales/Sq. Ft. & Sales per Store)

Gross Margin

Conversion

Average Transaction Value (ATV)

Units Per Transaction (UPT)

Average Selling Price (ASP)

Sell-through

Portfolio & Market Leadership

Cluster Productivity Ranking

Network Productivity Improvement

New Store Opportunity Identification

Portfolio Optimization Recommendations

Relocation & Resizing Recommendations

Inventory

Inventory Turn

Stock Availability

Size Availability

Inventory Ageing

Customer

Customer Satisfaction

Customer Complaint Resolution

Operations

Brand Compliance

Visual Merchandising Compliance

SOP Compliance

Audit Compliance

Shrinkage

People

Employee Engagement

Attrition

Training Completion

Succession Readiness

Financial

Cluster Profitability

Operating Expense Control

Budget Adherence

Skills & Competencies

Strong commercial acumen with a business ownership mindset.

Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint.

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to convert data into actionable business insights.

Excellent planning, stakeholder management, communication, and influencing skills.

Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop high-performing retail teams.

Self-driven, proactive, execution-focused, and highly accountable.

Ability to identify growth opportunities and drive continuous business improvement.

Experience & Qualifications

Graduate in Business, Retail Management, or a related discipline (MBA preferred).

5–8- years of retail experience with at least 2 years of multi-store or cluster management experience.

Experience managing franchise-operated stores will be preferred.

Experience in Sportswear, Footwear, Fashion, Lifestyle, or Premium Retail is desirable.