When Aldi store manager Hannah Duncan starts work, the first thing she does is walk through her Northamptonshire store, greeting each colleague from store assistants to cleaners, to make sure everyone is ready for the store to open at 8am. “I’ll ask how they’re getting on, whether there are any issues, do they need any help?” It’s a key point of her day, and something she knows matters, given she started her career at Aldi as one of those very store assistants, aged 21.
Now 34, she’s risen through the ranks to store manager, a role she’s held for the last four years. For her, the diversity of the role and its focus on people is what makes it most enjoyable. The fact she can still get quite hands-on – not always the case as a store manager in retail – is also a big plus, given she works alongside 34 colleagues who are all from different backgrounds. “I really enjoy that element,” she says. “No day is the same – there’s quite a bit of routine but also plenty of variety.”
On a typical day, once she has greeted colleagues, she’ll dive into figures from the previous day. She’ll analyse what areas need to be prioritised, including sales and stock. Then she’ll seek feedback from customers, such as whether they found everything they wanted, or if the people working in-store were friendly and aisles clear. Later, it’s time for an “availability walk” – a detailed walk of every aisle of the store creating a list of low-stocked items, high stocked items or anything that doesn’t look right, ensuring optimum availability for customers. Finally, she tackles the ordering to ensure stock arrives on time.
Aldi store managers are usually contracted to work 48 hours a week, but the retailer also offers flexible contracts. A full-time store manager can expect to earn £51,615 rising to £67,315 after four years (those working within the M25 also receive an allowance of up to £3,945, depending on location). Shifts vary from 7am-5pm, to 8am-6pm, or 10am–8pm. For Duncan, being available to her team is paramount: “I want my team to know I’m with them, that it’s a team effort.”
Colleagues of Duncan say her availability doesn’t go unnoticed, especially to one new colleague who joined from a rival supermarket chain. “He said to me: ‘You know, Hannah, you would never see someone on your level on the shop floor. I’d expect you to be in a suit and in the office and not be seen.’” But for her, being “visible” is what it’s all about.
The all-encompassing nature of the store manager role at Aldi is something she embraces. She says it can be fast-paced and that managers juggle multiple priorities, but ultimately that makes the operation very straightforward: “In some other supermarkets you might have managers of each section, someone who manages fruit and veg, someone who manages ambient goods, someone who manages a bakery. Whereas in Aldi, you manage everything. You’re managing the whole store at all times. So your awareness has to be absolutely key. You have to be hot off the press to make the right decisions, which is what I pride myself in doing.”
Duncan says she relaxes by listening to her favourite music, RnB, on her way to work.
Fellow store manager Matt Costello, helps manage his work-life balance by running – something he does seven days a week, often before work. The 41-year-old has worked for Aldi for just over a decade after joining as a store manager from another major supermarket chain, motivated by a smaller, simpler setup. “It was all about getting back to basics. You’re a little bit more hands on, you’re closer to people. Where I was manager before, it sounds crazy but you didn’t know 50% of the people you worked with. Here is very much a family feel.”
Costello usually blocks Monday out for admin, including looking at the KPIs from the previous week – but talking to all his colleagues at his store in Wellington, Shropshire, is another key priority. “I’ll probably spend an hour, hour and a half, just talking to people, going around the shop, having a quick chat, really seeing how they are, how their week’s gone,” says the dad-of-three.
Like Duncan, he is more than happy to roll up his sleeves and work on the shop floor. “Working alongside people, I can chat with them, see what’s working and what’s not working. Customers can also get to know me and come and have a chat with me. Again, you just wouldn’t get that with other retailers. You’d be too far removed, and I think you’d miss stuff.”
The closeness of the team is something Costello prides himself on helping to encourage, looking for colleagues who will fit in with the ethos. He says team members help each other out and socialise outside work. That “family” feel, alongside market-leading pay and the ability to maintain a coveted work-life balance, is something he feels will lead to a long-term career at Aldi. “I’ll be honest, when I first joined I was like: ‘I’m probably gonna stay till I’m 35 and I’ll end up moving on.’ But I just love it – and I don’t see myself leaving.”
To learn more about opportunities at Aldi, visit aldirecruitment.co.uk/roles/stores
