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Store Manager

Store Manager CV example and template (South Africa)

Updated November 2026 · Written for South African employers

Store managers (called branch managers at some chains) run a single shop as if it were their own business. Chains such as Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay, Pep, Ackermans, Mr Price, Clicks and Dis-Chem hire them, usually promoting from assistant managers and supervisors, and franchise owners at stores such as Spar or Pick n Pay franchises hire them too. The area manager reading your CV wants to see your numbers first: the size of the store (turnover and staff), how you did against your sales budget, your shrinkage (stock lost to theft, damage and admin errors, shown as a percentage of sales at stock-take) and how well you controlled wage costs. After that they look at how you lead people, because a store manager hires, rosters, trains and disciplines a whole team.

The example below is for a clothing store manager in Pietermaritzburg who worked up from front-end supervisor at a supermarket. Put each store's turnover, staff numbers and your best results in your duties, and name the retailer, because every chain knows how the others operate. Show that you know the basics of labour law, such as the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) rules on hours, overtime and Sunday pay, and a fair disciplinary procedure. If you are an assistant manager or supervisor aiming for your first store, lead with the times you ran the store on your own and any W&RSETA (Wholesale and Retail SETA) management qualification.

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Store Manager CV example

Nosipho Gumede

Retail Store Manager, 11 years in fashion and grocery retail, 24 staff and R3.2 million a month

072 555 0164 · nosipho.gumede@example.co.za · Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal

Profile

Store manager with eleven years in retail, now running a Mr Price Apparel store in Pietermaritzburg with 24 staff and a turnover of about R3.2 million a month. Beat the annual sales budget in each of the last three years, brought shrinkage down from 1.6% to 0.8% of sales and kept wage costs within budget through careful rostering. Experienced in stock-takes, cash office control, recruitment, training and fair disciplinary procedure. Holds the W&RSETA Occupational Certificate in Retail Chain Store Manager (NQF 5).

Work experience

Store Manager

Mr Price Apparel, Liberty Midlands Mall, Pietermaritzburg | Sep 2021 – Present

Run a store with 24 staff and a turnover of about R3.2 million a month, beating the annual sales budget by 4% to 7% in each of the last three years
Brought shrinkage down from 1.6% to 0.8% of sales over two stock-takes
Plan weekly rosters for 14 full-time and 10 flexi-time staff, keeping wage costs at or below 9% of sales
Run two full stock-takes a year and investigate every large variance before sign-off
Investigate misconduct, issue warnings and act as initiator in disciplinary enquiries with the regional HR partner
Recruit and induct about 15 festive season staff each year
Control the cash office and daily banking, with no cash losses since 2021

Assistant Store Manager

Pep, Church Street, Pietermaritzburg | Jun 2018 – Aug 2021

Ran the store during the branch manager's leave, about eight weeks a year, including two festive seasons
Received deliveries from the distribution centre, checked them against invoices and processed returns
Led the store's monthly spot counts and helped prepare for the six-monthly stock-take
Trained new staff on tills, cellphone and airtime sales and store procedures

Cashier, then Front-end Supervisor

Shoprite, Pietermaritzburg | Feb 2015 – May 2018

Promoted from cashier to front-end supervisor after one year, then supervised up to 18 cashiers and packers per shift and planned till cover for month-end and SASSA payment days
Authorised refunds and voids and checked cashiers' cash-ups and till variances
Handled customer complaints at the service desk

Education

Occupational Certificate, Retail Chain Store Manager

W&RSETA learnership through an accredited skills development provider, 2024, NQF level 5

Occupational Certificate, Retail Supervisor

W&RSETA learnership through Pep, 2019, NQF level 4

National Senior Certificate (Matric)

Pietermaritzburg Girls' High School, 2014, NQF level 4

Subjects: English Home Language, isiZulu First Additional Language, Business Studies (76%), Mathematical Literacy, Economics, Consumer Studies, Life Orientation

Skills

Sales budgets and daily trading reports
Shrinkage control and loss prevention
Stock-takes and variance investigations
Staff rosters and labour cost control
BCEA hours, overtime and Sunday pay rules
Disciplinary procedure and warnings
Recruitment, induction and training
Cash office and banking
Visual merchandising standards
Health and safety in store

Certificates

Disciplinary Procedures for Line Managers (short course), Accredited labour law training provider, 2022
First Aid Level 1, St John Ambulance, 2025
Health and Safety Representative training, Accredited training provider, 2023

Achievements

Store of the quarter in the KZN Midlands area for shrinkage results, 2024
Three team members promoted to supervisor or assistant manager posts since 2021

Personal details

Driver’s licence:: Code B (Code 8)
Own transport:: Yes
Nationality:: South African
Languages:: isiZulu (Home language), English (Fluent), isiXhosa (Good)
Notice period:: One month
Availability:: Full-time, including weekends, public holidays, month-end and festive season trading

References

Bhekani Mthethwa

Area Manager, Mr Price Apparel, KZN Midlands

033 555 0119

Yolanda Naicker

Branch Manager, Pep, Church Street, Pietermaritzburg

033 555 0181

Store Manager CV summary you can copy

Change the details so they are true for you.

Store manager with eleven years in retail, now running a Mr Price Apparel store in Pietermaritzburg with 24 staff and a turnover of about R3.2 million a month. Beat the annual sales budget in each of the last three years, brought shrinkage down from 1.6% to 0.8% of sales and kept wage costs within budget through careful rostering. Experienced in stock-takes, cash office control, recruitment, training and fair disciplinary procedure. Holds the W&RSETA Occupational Certificate in Retail Chain Store Manager (NQF 5).

Skills to list on your Store Manager CV

Running a store to a monthly and annual sales budget, using daily trading reports
Controlling shrinkage through stock counts, loss-prevention checks and staff training
Preparing for and running full stock-takes, including recounts and variance investigations
Planning weekly staff rosters for full-time and flexi-time staff to match trading hours and peak days
Controlling labour cost as a percentage of sales, including overtime and Sunday and public holiday pay
Applying the BCEA rules on working hours, overtime, rest periods, leave and Sunday pay
Investigating misconduct, issuing warnings and taking part in disciplinary enquiries by the company code
Recruiting, inducting and training staff, and running W&RSETA learnerships in store
Cash office control, including till floats, banking and cash-in-transit collections
Receiving stock, checking deliveries against invoices and managing returns to the distribution centre
Visual merchandising and store standards to head office guides
Health and safety, including evacuation drills, first aid boxes and incident reporting
Handling customer complaints and escalations
Using retail reporting tools and Excel to track sales, stock and staff performance

Duties written as strong bullet points

Managed a clothing store with 24 staff and a turnover of about R3.2 million a month, beating the annual sales budget by 4% to 7% in each of the last three years
Brought shrinkage down from 1.6% to 0.8% of sales over two stock-takes by tightening receiving checks, fitting room control and staff bag searches
Ran two full stock-takes a year with external counters, finishing each count on time and investigating every large variance before sign-off
Planned weekly rosters for 14 full-time and 10 flexi-time staff, keeping wage costs at or below the 9% of sales budget while covering month-end and festive peaks
Checked that rosters and pay followed the BCEA, including the 45-hour week, overtime limits and the higher rate for Sunday and public holiday work
Investigated misconduct, issued written warnings and acted as initiator in six disciplinary enquiries, following the company code and the Code of Good Practice on Dismissal
Recruited and inducted 15 festive season staff each year, and mentored three W&RSETA learners who finished their Retail Supervisor qualification
Controlled the cash office, checking till floats and daily banking, with no cash losses in three years
Promoted two sales assistants to supervisor and one supervisor to assistant manager at another branch

Tips for a stronger Store Manager CV

Lead with the store's size and your results

Give turnover, staff numbers and store format for every store you ran, then your results against budget. "Store with 24 staff and R3.2 million a month, sales budget beaten three years in a row" tells an area manager more in one line than a paragraph about passion for retail.

Give your shrinkage as a percentage

Write your stock loss at stock-take as a percentage of sales and how it changed, such as "from 1.6% to 0.8% over two stock-takes", and add one line on how you did it. Shrinkage is one of the first numbers regional managers look at, and leaving it out makes them wonder why.

Show you control labour cost

Wages are usually a store's biggest cost after stock. Say that you plan the roster, how many staff and flexi-timers you schedule, and how your wage cost compared to budget. Mention that you apply the BCEA rules on hours, overtime and Sunday pay, because mistakes there cost money and lead to disputes.

Describe how you lead and discipline fairly

Mention how many people you hire, train and promote, and that you follow a fair disciplinary procedure, such as investigating first, giving written notice of the allegations and letting the employee answer with a representative. Chains want managers who correct problems early and whose dismissals hold up if they reach the CCMA.

Show you can run the store alone

If you are applying for your first store, list every time you managed the store on your own, such as covering the manager's leave, running a stock-take or opening a new store. Add the months and the results, so the reader can see you are ready.

Questions people ask

What qualifications does a store manager need in South Africa?

Most chains ask for matric and several years of retail experience, often including time as an assistant store manager. The Wholesale and Retail SETA (W&RSETA) has occupational qualifications that match the career path, such as the Retail Supervisor certificate (NQF 4), Retail Chain Store Manager (NQF 5) and Retail Store Manager (NQF 6), and many chains run them as learnerships. A diploma or degree in retail or business management, for example from Unisa, also helps for area manager posts later.

What is shrinkage and how is it measured?

Shrinkage is the difference between the stock the system says you should have and the stock you actually count. It comes from shoplifting, staff theft, damaged and expired goods, and admin mistakes such as wrong deliveries or prices. It is measured at stock-take and shown as a percentage of sales. Each chain sets its own target, so give your result next to the target if you can.

What labour law should a store manager know?

The basics of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, such as the maximum of 45 ordinary hours a week, overtime only by agreement and at one and a half times pay, and Sunday work paid at double time, or one and a half times for staff who normally work Sundays. You should also know the Code of Good Practice on Dismissal, which explains fair reasons and a fair procedure for discipline, and that unfair dismissal disputes go to the CCMA or a bargaining council. Most chains train managers on their own disciplinary code as well.

Is there a difference between a store manager and a chain store manager?

W&RSETA uses chain store manager for someone who runs a branch by head office systems and reports to a regional or area manager, as at Pep, Clicks or Shoprite. A retail store manager in the wider sense also sets policy and reports straight to the owner, as in many franchise and independent stores. On your CV, say which kind of store you ran and who you reported to.

How do I move from assistant manager to store manager?

Ask to run the store during your manager's leave, lead a stock-take or take charge of a department's budget, and record the results. Finish a W&RSETA supervisor or chain store manager qualification if your company offers it. When you apply, lead your CV with the weeks you ran the store and what happened to sales, shrinkage and wage cost.