WIDDOP and Co. is a leading trade supplier of bespoke giftware, offering an extensive range of products from photo frames and figurines to clocks and stationery for a wide variety of retailers. With 10,000+ products exclusively designed in-house, aligned with market trends to ensure contemporary, affordable, and distinctive ranges. We also make white label product for some of the UK and Europe's most famous retailers and now operate in over 75 countries from offices in the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, China and the USA.

The company manages a portfolio of 35 original brands such as Amore wedding gifts, Bambino baby gifts, and Wm Widdop homeware, alongside collaborations with global names including Disney, Warner Brothers, Sanderson and Universal Studios. WIDDOP and Co. is proud of its multi-award-winning customer service, having received The Greats award for Best Service to the Independent Trade 14 times. With stunning showrooms in North Manchester, a regional UK and Ireland sales force, and an International Sales Team, the business delivers award-winning products and service to over 60 countries worldwide.

Role Description

The Showroom, Retail and Concessions Manager is a full-time, hybrid role based in the Manchester Area, United Kingdom with some travel to our multiple retail sites and to tradeshows in the UK and Internationally. Day-to-day responsibilities include overseeing the showroom operations, ensuring merchandise is displayed to brand standards, and creating engaging retail environments that reflect current collections and market trends and deliver amazing customer experience.

The role manages retail operations and concessions partners, including stock planning, pricing, and promotions, to meet sales and profitability targets. The manager coordinates closely with sales, design, and merchandising teams to support product launches, trade shows, and customer visits, while maintaining high levels of customer service. Additional duties include monitoring performance metrics, supporting budgeting processes, training and leading showroom and retail staff, and ensuring compliance with company policies and health and safety standards.

Job Description

• Manages the day to day operations and ongoing improvements/ presentation of our 20,000sqft, 5 room, showroom facility along with external B2B exhibitions and retail sites including pop up stores, outlet shop and concessions to deliver commercial results year on year for the business within budget
• Supports the on time, impactful launch of over 5,000 new products each year by project managing, budgeting, resourcing and delivering continuous showroom improvements in service, experience and theatre.
• Manages the showroom and exhibition team day to day and budgeting, reporting and cost control for the function and each individual event and coaching and development of new sales, showroom, PD and other staff to ensure they have a customer service and sales focus.
• Manages day to day maintenance and upkeep and services of the showroom facilities including cleaning and best practice hospitality for our customers such as catering, chauffeuring and hosting to an exceptional standard
• Works with our Customer Services Manager and each Sales Team heads to proactively manage the showroom and event diaries to ensure that customers have the best experience with first class catering, chauffeuring, hosting and sales support when engaging in person with our business
• Finds and liaises with outside providers of catering, chauffeuring, construction and other services as needed to maintain a first class catering facility within budget and on demand.
• Designs, manages and regularly implements changes to the peripheral experiences of a customer visit from reception and signing in, car parking, facilities such as hallways, toilets, office standards, tours, subliminal messaging and customer information.
• Manages showroom sample inventory working with the team to ensure that all stock is on show in a timely and appropriate fashion and that stock takes are completed and acted upon including the removal of discontinued items promptly.
• Managed the commercial presentation of products working with the team to ensure appropriate highlights for new lines, best sellers, pre-sale items, promotional items.
• Brief and manage implementation of appropriate product, range, brand and promotional POS around the showroom to articulate key selling points and messaging, highlight and improve performance of promotions.
• Manages the process of loaning and replacing showroom samples when they are used outside the building for meetings and customer sign offs
• Working with the Marketing team in implementation of marketing activities that deliver improving showroom attendance and internal use of showroom facilities for marketing, filming and photography etc
• Works with the Event Planner and Showroom team to design impactful, experiential, commercial seasonal showroom changes and exhibition designs to ensure little disruption to day to day customer activities and delivery of changes on time and budget.
• Works with the Brand Development Managers to understand all our brands, ranges, VM, pricing to a level of company leading knowledge to support, coach and challenge the sales functions across the business to deliver their sales goals and sell more using the showroom.
• Works with the marketing and ecommerce teams to promote, collate case studies and feedback and to ensure the highest levels of engagement with our showroom facilities and events.
• Supports the Independent Sales function in their use of the showroom and shows and to improve our customer service and ultimately sales performance across web, tradeshow and in person channels.
• Hosting and selling to showroom customers and showroom supported/regular accounts proactively to deliver a growth in sales and improved year on year experience for these customers.
• Working with the brand development managers to ensure that all product stored for launch is labelled, prepared and moved in to the showroom environment in a timely fashion for product launches.
• Coordination and Engagement with National and Key Account sales people to make sure that showroom and show meetings are adequately prepared for and that any samples are not lost and missing from display
• Research and Identification of appropriate Pop Up shop opportunities around the UK and proposal to the Sales, Marketing and Widdop and Co Board
• Design, Project Management and Operational Deployment of B2C Retail Pop Up Shops around the UK working with contractors, recruitment and other external teams to deploy commercially successful retail events
• Reporting, analysis and continuous improvement of Pop Up Shops to ensure commercial success against budget and business case.
• Research and Identification of appropriate B2C Concession shop opportunities around the UK and proposal to the Sales, Marketing and Widdop and Co Board
• Design, Project Management and Operational Deployment of B2C Concessions including the selection of appropriate brands and managing contractors, recruitment and other external teams including retail store management to deploy commercially successful retail events.
• Reporting, analysis and continuous improvement of B2C Concessions to ensure commercial success against budget and business case.