Retail Store Management and Operations: KPIs, Merchandising and Shrink Control – Dubai, 21–25 Jun 2027

Programme overview

Introduction:

Stores lose margin quietly: shelves run empty while stockrooms are full, labour hours miss peak footfall, promotions go live with wrong shelf-edge prices and shrink is found only at the annual count. This Core Concept retail store management course gives store and area managers the methods to read store KPIs, set out merchandise to plan, replenish the shop floor, schedule and coach staff, execute pricing and click and collect, and audit store operations. Participants walk through store processes against checklists and produce a Store Operations Performance and Audit Plan for their own store.

Course Objectives:

• Analyse store performance with a KPI tree linking footfall, conversion, average transaction value, units per transaction, sales per square metre and shrink
• Lay out the sales floor and fixtures to planograms, space-to-sales ratios and visual merchandising standards
• Replenish the shop floor from the stockroom and control known and unknown shrink with counts, exception reports and loss prevention routines
• Schedule store labour to footfall and task demand, and coach sales floor teams on service behaviours and selling steps
• Execute promotions, price changes and in-store omnichannel services such as click and collect, ship from store and returns without errors
• Produce a Store Operations Performance and Audit Plan with P&L levers, audit findings and KPI targets for their own store

Target Audience:

• Managers accountable for the sales, costs and standards of a single retail store
• Deputies responsible for daily shop floor routines, opening and closing and team rotas
• Area and multi-site managers who review store performance and conduct store visits
• Retail operations staff who write store procedures, audit checklists and task calendars
• Visual merchandising and space planning leads who set floor layouts and display standards
• Loss prevention and stock control leads responsible for shrink and count accuracy in stores

Course Outline:

Day 1: Store Performance Foundations and the Retail KPI Tree

• Retail Formats and the Store Operating Model: Hypermarket, Specialty, Convenience and Department Store
• Store KPI Tree: Footfall, Conversion Rate, Average Transaction Value and Units per Transaction
• Sales per Square Metre, Gross Margin Return on Space and Like-for-Like Growth
• Shrink Measurement: Known and Unknown Loss as a Percentage of Sales
• Current-State Store Walkthrough Checklist and Daily Trading Report Review

Day 2: Merchandising, Space Planning and Visual Standards

• Category Roles and Assortment Tiers with ABC Product Classification
• Planogram Principles: Facings, Shelf Height, Adjacencies and Planogram Compliance Checks
• Floor Layout Patterns: Grid, Racetrack and Free-Flow with Hot Spot Mapping
• Visual Merchandising Standards: Focal Points, Colour Blocking and Window Display Guide
• Space-to-Sales Ratio Analysis for Fixture and Bay Allocation

Day 3: Daily Store Operations: Replenishment, People and Service

• Shop Floor Replenishment Routine: Stockroom-to-Shelf Flow, Gap Scans and Out-of-Stock Checks
• Labour Scheduling to Footfall Curves and Task Hours: Rota Building and Break Cover
• Store Team Huddles, On-Floor Coaching and the Observation Feedback Model
• Sales Floor Service Standards: Greeting, Needs Discovery, Add-On Selling and Queue Management
• Opening, Closing and Cash Office Procedures with the Store Task Calendar

Day 4: Promotions, Pricing, Omnichannel Services and Loss Control

• Promotion Execution Pack: Display Set-Up, Stock Allocation and Post-Promotion Sell-Through Review
• Price Change and Markdown Execution with Shelf-Edge Label Accuracy Audits
• Click and Collect, Ship-from-Store and In-Store Returns Process Maps
• Shrink Root Causes: Theft, Process Error, Damage and Supplier Short Delivery with Loss Prevention Controls
• Store P&L Levers: Wage Cost Ratio, Controllable Expenses and Contribution per Store

Day 5: Store Walkthrough Practice and the Operations Audit Plan

• Fashion Store Walkthrough: Visual Standards, Fitting Room Conversion and Size Availability
• Grocery Store Walkthrough: Fresh Replenishment, Waste Logs and Promotion Compliance
• Store Operational Audit Scoring and Corrective Action Log
• Store Operations Performance and Audit Plan Drafting with KPI Targets
• Area Manager Review Panel: Plan Challenge and Priority Actions

Skills You Will Gain:

• Store KPI Analysis
• Planogram Compliance
• Visual Merchandising
• Shop Floor Replenishment
• Shrink Reduction
• Retail Labour Scheduling
• Floor Team Coaching
• Store Operational Auditing

Why Attend This Course:

• Return with a Store Operations Performance and Audit Plan built from a structured walkthrough of your own store
• Explain a weak trading week by tracing it through footfall, conversion, basket size and availability
• Spot the empty facings, pricing errors and process gaps behind shrink before the next stock count
• Compare store routines with peers from fashion, grocery, electronics, pharmacy and home improvement retail

Conclusion:

A store trades well when its numbers, its shelves and its people are managed as one daily routine. This course moves from the store KPI tree and shrink measurement, through category roles, planograms and visual standards, to replenishment, labour scheduling, coaching and floor service, and then to promotions, pricing, click and collect, loss control and the store P&L. The final day applies structured walkthroughs to fashion and grocery stores and produces a Store Operations Performance and Audit Plan ready for area manager review.