Guillaume, aged 32
Regional Sales Director
« Like a sports coach, I recruit, train and support my teams to make them winners »
What is your job in the Group and what does it entail?
I work within the Yves Rocher Store Sales Board France. I manage a team of 8 in charge of commercial, financial and human resources management for a total of 146 stores.
More precisely, I am responsible for setting up sales campaign plans: customer traffic, average turnover, customer database, merchandising, quality, etc., and financial action plans.
What motivates my whole team? To achieve our sales and financial objectives.
We also work to support all store managers, from the time of their recruitment and throughout their career with the Group. We are in charge of training and appraisals (sales techniques, management, products, etc.) of the 800 people in the region.
Could you describe your everyday job and how you actually organise your days?
It is above all a job involving contact with other people, common sense and organisation. When I am not in a sales management meeting, I am in the field, meeting my partners, brand franchisees or employees. I can then analyse sales or financial indicators with them to draw up appropriate action plans. We can also work on the future of the store – team development, renovation work, for example.
What is your training and what positions have you had in the Group since you joined?
I graduated from ESCP in 1998 and spent four years in a management consultancy. Then I joined the Yves Rocher Group in 2002 as Operations Manager (management control, logistics, legal affairs, pricing policy and IT) for the 4 subsidiaries and 20 agents in the Eastern European zone.
What do you like most about this job?
Two very different things! The human dimension first. Stores are human entities with a host of details to deal with. My work pattern therefore varies tremendously from one day to the next.
Then the operational aspect. It enables you to see the concrete results of your actions, which is very satisfying.
The regional director is rather like a sports coach – I recruit, train and support my teams to make them winners You need to be very adaptable, as our contacts profiles are constantly changing.
What advice would you give to young graduates who would like to do this job?
To work in retailing, you need good knowledge of other jobs: management control, ideally also operational marketing, customer relations and logistics. The important thing is to have an objective: to improve the top line on the balance sheet as much as possible…
Why did you choose the Yves Rocher Group when you were looking for a job?
Because it was a family-based international business, with a human dimension and for its resulting management methods. But also for its environmental and charitable commitments.
