Area Manager

As an

Area Manager , you will hold full leadership responsibility for the commercial results, customer experience, and overall profitability of the stores within

Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece . You ensure the effective implementation of global and regional strategies, delivering elevated collection presentation and operational excellence that position COS as a market leader within your region.

In this role, you oversee the strategic planning and execution of all sales‑driving and operational activities, ensuring each store delivers a consistent, inspiring brand experience aligned with company standards. You work closely with Store Managers to analyse performance, identify opportunities, and drive continuous improvement across your portfolio.

A central part of your mission is to cultivate a

people‑first culture . You build strong, high‑performing teams by providing coaching, development, and clear leadership to ensure your stores are equipped to deliver exceptional service and achieve sustainable, profitable growth.

What you will do

Sales and Financial Performance:

Accountable for the commercial success of the area, analysing performance data to identify opportunities and risks and ensure the delivery of strong financial performance. Lead the execution of sales strategies and implement cost control measures to drive profitability and growth.

Customer Experience:

Champion a customer‑first mindset, ensuring exceptional service across all stores. Monitor service performance and competitor benchmarks to maintain COS’s leadership in customer experience.

Operational Management:

Oversee daily operations across multiple stores, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and compliance with COS standards. Collaborate cross‑functionally to implement staffing structures, optimise store layouts, and uphold audit criteria.

Team Leadership and Development:

Lead and develop Store Managers, fostering a high‑performing and inclusive culture. Guide the team through the full employee lifecycle, ensuring alignment with COS’s values, leadership principles, and business goals.

Compliance and Safety:

Ensure all stores comply with health, safety, and legal regulations. Lead efforts to minimise stock loss and operational risk through audits and adherence to COS guidelines.

Qualifications

Business Acumen:

Understands the retail landscape and makes resourceful, data‑informed decisions. Balances priorities with a focus on sustainable results and long‑term value creation.

Dedication to Excellence:

Fosters a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging a mindset focused on value creation and continuous evolution to surpass customer expectations with outstanding services.

Customer Centricity:

Keeps a pulse on customer and user needs, industry trends and best practices to ensure COS can deliver exceptional experiences and drive business outcomes through external partnerships.

Operational Excellence:

Demonstrates the ability to oversee and continuously improve operations. Applies strategic planning, process optimization, and resource management to drive efficiency and consistency.

Communication:

Communicates clearly and effectively, adapting to different audiences and contexts. Listens actively, gives and receives feedback constructively, and represents the brand confidently when engaging with franchise partners.

Additional Requirements:

Fluent in English, with strong verbal and written communication skills. Willingness and ability to travel extensively (up to 80% of the time).

Additional Information This is a full time permanent position based in Milan, Italy.

Benefits We offer all our employees attractive benefits with extensive development opportunities around the globe. All our employees receive a 25% staff discount usable on all our H&M Group brands in stores and online. In addition to our staff discount, all our employees are included in our H&M Incentive Program – HIP. You can read more about our H&M Incentive Program here.

€6 meal vouchers granted for office days with a minimum of 6 hours worked (not applicable on travel days)

Access to the company benefits portal, offering over 1,500 discounts on products and services for wellbeing and everyday life

Inclusion & Diversity At H&M Group, we're determined to create and maintain inclusive, diverse and equitable workplaces throughout our organisation. Our teams should consist of a variety of people who share and combine their knowledge, experience and ideas. Having a diverse workforce leads to a positive impact on how we address challenges, what we perceive as possible and how we choose to relate to our colleagues and customers all over the world, therefore all diversity dimensions are taken into consideration in our recruitment process.

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