Retail | Full-Time | Multi-Unit Leadership
Position Overview
The District Manager is a key leadership role within adidas Canada, responsible for driving retail performance, operational excellence, people development and profitable growth across a portfolio of stores. This role requires a commercially driven, analytical and people-focused leader who can translate business strategy into actionable plans, deliver consistent results and build high-performing teams.
As adidas continues to invest in its Canadian retail footprint and expand its store network, the District Manager will play a critical role in increasing store productivity, improving the consumer experience, developing future leaders and ensuring operational consistency across all locations.
The successful candidate will have a strong growth mentality, a passion for sport and retail, and the ability to lead through influence, accountability and collaboration. They will balance short-term sales objectives with long-term talent development, ensuring that every store operates efficiently, every team member is empowered to perform and every opportunity for growth is maximized.
Key ResponsibilitiesCommercial Performance & Business Growth
- Own and drive the financial and operational performance of all stores within the assigned district, delivering sales, profitability and key performance targets.
- Translate business objectives into clear, measurable priorities and actionable store-level strategies.
- Drive key retail KPIs, including sales productivity, conversion, average transaction value (ATV), units per transaction (UPT), traffic capture and sell-through.
- Analyze business performance, identify opportunities and develop strategies to close performance gaps and maximize sales.
- Drive a strong commercial mindset across store leadership teams, ensuring decisions are informed by data, consumer behaviour and local market opportunities.
- Partner with Planning and Allocation to optimize inventory availability, improve size and product distribution, manage stock imbalances and maximize full-price sell-through.
- Identify opportunities to increase productivity through effective scheduling, labour optimization, merchandising and improved selling behaviours.
- Lead promotional and clearance strategies, including aged inventory reduction, to improve inventory health, maximize sales and create capacity for new product.
- Build and execute strategies that support new store openings, existing store growth and increased market share.
Leadership & Talent Development
- Build, develop and retain high-performing store leadership teams that consistently deliver business results and create an engaging consumer experience.
- Establish a strong leadership culture rooted in accountability, trust, collaboration, inclusion and continuous improvement.
- Coach and develop Store Managers through regular store visits, performance reviews, structured feedback and individual development plans.
- Identify high-potential talent and build succession plans for key leadership positions across the district.
- Create a strong internal talent pipeline by providing meaningful career development opportunities, stretch assignments and exposure to broader business responsibilities.
- Set clear expectations and empower Store Managers to take ownership of their business, make informed decisions and lead their teams with confidence.
- Address performance gaps through timely coaching, clear accountability and measurable improvement plans.
- Drive employee engagement, morale and retention by fostering a positive environment where team members feel valued, supported and motivated to grow.
- Lead recruitment and talent planning to ensure stores are consistently staffed with capable, diverse and future-focused talent.
Operational Excellence & Execution
- Drive consistent execution of adidas retail standards, ensuring all stores deliver an elevated and seamless consumer experience.
- Establish a strong foundation of operational discipline, with a focus on store readiness, inventory accuracy, visual merchandising, loss prevention and workforce productivity.
- Conduct regular store visits and business reviews to assess execution, identify opportunities and establish clear action plans.
- Ensure stores maintain clean, organized and efficient back-of-house environments, with a focus on inventory accessibility, replenishment and stockroom organization.
- Improve inventory management practices, including receiving, replenishment, cycle counts, stock transfers and aged inventory control.
- Partner with Loss Prevention to minimize shrink, identify operational risks and strengthen asset protection practices.
- Ensure effective execution of visual merchandising guidelines, product presentation, seasonal transitions and commercial initiatives.
- Identify opportunities to simplify processes, remove operational barriers and improve productivity at store level.
- Establish clear standards of accountability and follow up on execution to ensure consistency across the district.
Consumer Experience & Brand Execution
- Champion the adidas brand by delivering an authentic, engaging and differentiated consumer experience across every store.
- Ensure store teams demonstrate strong product knowledge, effective selling behaviours and a genuine passion for sport, culture and the adidas brand.
- Drive a consumer-first selling culture focused on meaningful engagement, conversion and building long-term consumer loyalty.
- Analyze consumer feedback, store reviews, sales trends and local market insights to identify opportunities to improve the shopping experience.
- Ensure stores consistently execute brand campaigns, product launches, seasonal initiatives and visual merchandising standards.
- Leverage local market knowledge to tailor store-level strategies, strengthen community engagement and maximize opportunities within each trade area.
- Establish clear expectations around consumer engagement, from the initial greeting to product recommendations and the final transaction.
Strategic Planning & Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner closely with Retail Operations, Planning, Allocation, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, Retail Training, Real Estate and Loss Prevention to deliver district and national business objectives.
- Develop a strong understanding of the district's individual store opportunities, competitive landscape, consumer demographics and market potential.
- Work collaboratively with cross-functional partners to improve inventory flow, labour planning, store operations and overall business performance.
- Provide actionable feedback and store-level insights to influence assortment planning, product allocation, promotional strategies and future retail investments.
- Support new store openings, relocations, renovations and expansion initiatives, ensuring operational readiness, effective recruitment and strong commercial execution.
- Contribute to the development and implementation of national retail strategies, sharing best practices and identifying opportunities to improve performance across the broader business.
- Use structured business reviews and clear communication to align teams, establish priorities and maintain accountability against agreed objectives.
Business Planning & Continuous Improvement
- Establish clear district priorities and measurable goals aligned with adidas Canada's broader business strategy.
- Utilize a structured execution approach, including Wildly Important Goals (WIGs), lead measures and regular accountability check-ins, to maintain focus on the activities that drive results.
- Develop store-specific action plans based on sales performance, productivity, inventory health, consumer experience and talent opportunities.
- Monitor business trends, identify emerging risks and opportunities, and proactively adjust strategies to deliver results.
- Promote a culture of continuous improvement by challenging existing processes, sharing best practices and encouraging innovative thinking.
- Ensure business decisions are supported by data, sound financial judgment and a clear understanding of their impact on store performance and profitability.
Qualifications & Experience
- 7–10+ years of progressive retail leadership experience, including multi-unit management and responsibility for a portfolio of stores.
- Proven track record of delivering sales growth, improving store productivity and achieving financial targets in a fast-paced retail environment.
- Demonstrated ability to develop, coach and retain high-performing teams, with a strong history of building future leaders and succession pipelines.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen, with the ability to interpret business data, identify trends and translate insights into actionable strategies.
- Experience managing store operations, inventory, labour planning, visual merchandising and loss prevention.
- Proven ability to lead through change, manage competing priorities and execute strategic initiatives across multiple locations.
- Strong communication, influencing and relationship-building skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across all levels of an organization.
- Experience supporting new store openings, renovations, relocations or retail expansion initiatives is an asset.
- Proficiency in retail reporting, business analytics and Microsoft Office; experience with retail planning and workforce management systems is an asset.
- Flexibility to travel regularly within the assigned district.
Please Note
- adidas celebrates diversity, supports inclusiveness and encouragesindividual expressionin our workplace. We do not tolerate harassment or discrimination toward any of our applicants or employees. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.
- adidas offers a robust and progressive range of benefits, including: health and dental benefits, including prescription drug coverage, out of country coverage, short and long-term disability, basic life and AD&D insurance, and an Employee & Family Assistance Program. Employees are able to enroll in adidas’ Retirement Savings Plan with employer match. Qualifying employees are eligible for our education assistance program and fitness reimbursement program.
- Employees are eligible to earn an annual bonus based on both company and personal performance. We recognize the commitment of our employees by increasing vacation time with length of service. We also offer Service Awards & Service Time Off during milestone years, paid bereavement leave, and parental leave top-up to eligible employees.
- Though our teammates hail from all corners of the world, our working language is English.
- adidas is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates, including those with Disabilities, and will accommodate applicants’ needs, upon request, throughout all stages of the recruitment and selection process. If selected to participate in an interview, accommodations will be made available on request. Please inform the Recruiter of the accommodation(s) that you may require. Information received relating to accommodation will be addressed confidentially.
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adidas celebrates diversity, supports inclusiveness and encourages individual expression in our workplace. We do not tolerate the harassment or discrimination toward any of our applicants or employees. We are an equal opportunity employer.
