Jacquie Waite
At just 21 Jacquie Waite is already a retail success story, having worked her way up from a part time cashier to a Category Manager with retailer Mitre 10, she is about to take on another role in the company starting and heading a new distribution, sourcing and online sales business.
Jacquie started her career in retail in 2004, working part time as a checkout operator at Mitre 10 Mega while studying for a Bachelor of Business in Management and Finance at AUT. During her studies Jacquie constantly sort new challenges within her working environment and was given numerous promotions from checkout operator to customer services, supervisor and then to office roles including cashier, receipting clerk and purchasing administrator.
A Finance student Jacquie had planned to move off into the financial sector upon graduation, however she was fortunate enough to receive mentoring from the General Manager of her store who had worked in corporate retail across Australia and New Zealand. He assured her that there was so much more to retail than most people realised - including great earning potential. Following her GM’s advice, after Jacquie finished her degree she accepted a 6 month contract as the imports coordinator at the Mitre 10 store she had been working part time at – this was her first serious role in retail and she loved it! As Imports coordinator Jacquie was in charge of negotiating shipments with suppliers including negotiating pricing, product specifications right through to payment of goods and arranging for containers to be brought through. Every day was varied, full on and challenging for Jacquie who was in daily contact with people based in Europe, China, Vietnam and USA.
Once her contract ended Jacquie took 3 months off to travel through Europe before returning and taking on the position of Category Manager in August 2008. In the demanding role of Category Manager Jacquie is accountable for 8 departments, managing the stock files of approximately 20,000 products, working out which items to put on promotion, negotiating bulk deals and remerchandising displays. She was even fortunate enough to go on a buying trip to China to the Canton Fair which she described as ‘mind blowing’.
Jacquie’s advice for others is that if you want a challenging and rewarding career which is fast paced and varied, definitely consider retail. There is much more to retail than meets eye, and a career in retail is just as good as a career in any other industry.
Gordon Monro
Gordon Monro has over ten years experience in the property management and consultancy field and is currently working for CB Richard Ellis as an Associate Director of their Global Corporate Services division based in Auckland. Prior to joining CBRE Gordon worked for Colliers International as Senior Property Portfolio Manager and Transit New Zealand as Property Manager.
During his time at Colliers International Gordon managed the entire Bank of New Zealand Property Portfolio and was in charge of a staff of eight. Having joined CBRE, one of the world’s foremost leading property companies in October 2008 his career continues to move to loftier heights. Gordon has worked closely with RWR Executive as both a client during his time at Colliers and as a candidate having been placed in his most recent role by the team at RWR Executive. A graduate from Massey University Gordon holds a bachelors degree in Property Management and Valuation and is a board member of the Property Institute of New Zealand.
Phil Clark began his hospitality career in 1993 in the United Kingdom as a barman at a Warwickshire pub. Having a taste for the industry the following year Phil began working for a franchise of the Fat Ladies Arms as a porter where he was soon promoted to assistant manger.
After completing his University degree in 1997 Phil accepted a management position with the Fat Ladies Arms where he became responsible for the operational aspects of new franchises.
Following his tenure at The Fat Ladies Arms Phil joined the Nourish Group in 1999, where he was appointed Manager of Euro, an upmarket restaurant on Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour. In 2003 after a successful occupancy as manager for Euro Phil was promoted to his current position as Operational Manager for The Nourish Group. Phil has a strong relationship with Hospoworld and is a true example of a success story with in the hospitality industry.
Patrick began his retail career as a part time sales professional with Michael Hill Jewelers while he was completing his Bachelor of Management Studies. After finishing his degree Patrick decided to stay on with Michael Hill, taking up the position of Trainee Manager. While most of his peers left retail to follow a more traditional route with their degrees, Patrick was aware Michael Hill offered a lot more than other organisations both in the speed at which you can progress through the company and in financial gains. By the end of his first year working full time in retail Patrick was earning approximately twice as much as his peers.
Patrick has moved quickly through the ranks at Michael Hill, shortly after moving from Trainee Manger to accept a Sales Manager position Patrick was promoted again to Store Manager. Having managed a number of Auckland based Michael Hill stores over the past few years, including most recently their highest grossing store; Patrick has accepted an international transfer to take up a Regional Management position with the company in Australia.
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Retailworld Resourcing is a recruitment agency that specialises in the retail sector. We place people in retail jobs in New Zealand and retail jobs in Australia, throughout all areas and levels within the retail industry.
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