Retail Manager

Retail Manager

Alta Climbing is seeking an experienced and passionate Retail Manager to oversee retail operations across all three Alta locations. This position is responsible for driving retail revenue, managing inventory, developing strong vendor relationships, creating compelling merchandise displays, and ensuring a consistent and exceptional retail experience across the Alta brand.

The ideal candidate has strong communication and organizational skills, a deep knowledge of the climbing and outdoor industry, and a genuine understanding of what climbers want and need. This individual should be both strategic and hands-onable to develop a multi-location retail strategy while also jumping in to merchandise, receive inventory, work with vendors, and coach staff.

The Retail Manager will work closely with Operations, Marketing, Programs, and Gym Leadership to ensure retail supports Alta's overall business goals and provides an excellent experience for our members and guests.

Key Responsibilities

Multi-Location Retail Leadership

• Oversee retail operations at Alta Climbing, Alta Boulders, and Alta Scottsdale.
• Develop and maintain consistent retail standards across all locations.
• Establish and maintain retail policies, procedures, and expectations.
• Conduct regular visits to each location to evaluate inventory, merchandising, sales, and overall presentation.
• Identify opportunities to improve the retail experience and increase sales.
• Train and hold front desk and retail staff accountable for retail standards and performance.

Sales & Revenue Growth

• Develop and execute strategies to increase retail revenue and profitability.
• Establish sales goals and KPIs for each location.
• Monitor sales performance by location, category, vendor, and product.
• Identify opportunities for increasing average transaction value and retail attachment rates.
• Develop seasonal promotions and product campaigns.
• Work with Marketing to promote merchandise through email, social media, website, and in-gym campaigns.
• Analyze sales trends and adjust purchasing accordingly.

Merchandising

• Create an attractive, organized, and brand-consistent retail environment.
• Develop merchandising standards for all three locations.
• Ensure products are appropriately displayed, priced, and stocked.
• Create seasonal merchandise collections and displays.
• Ensure new products and Alta-branded merchandise are properly launched across locations.
• Regularly evaluate product performance and discontinue slow-moving products when appropriate.

Inventory Management

• Maintain appropriate inventory levels across all locations.
• Develop and maintain inventory par levels.
• Monitor inventory turnover and identify slow-moving or excess inventory.
• Conduct regular inventory audits.
• Coordinate inventory transfers between locations.
• Establish processes to minimize shrinkage, damaged merchandise, and inventory discrepancies.
• Ensure accurate receiving and product entry into the POS system.

Purchasing & Vendor Relationships

• Manage relationships with climbing, outdoor, apparel, footwear, and equipment vendors.
• Research new brands and products that align with Alta's customer base.
• Negotiate pricing, terms, discounts, and product opportunities when appropriate.
• Manage purchase orders and purchasing schedules.
• Evaluate vendor performance and profitability.
• Stay current on industry trends, new products, and emerging brands.

Alta-Branded Merchandise

• Help develop and maintain Alta's branded merchandise strategy.
• Collaborate with leadership and Marketing on new apparel and merchandise designs.
• Manage product launches and inventory planning.
• Ensure consistent Alta branding across all locations.
• Identify opportunities for limited-edition, seasonal, and event-specific merchandise.

Leadership & Communication

Strong communication is essential for this position. The Retail Manager will regularly communicate with:

• General Managers
• Operations leadership
• Front desk teams
• Marketing
• Programs
• Route setting
• Vendors
• Brand representatives
• Ownership

The Retail Manager must be able to clearly communicate expectations, provide constructive feedback, and build positive relationships across all three locations.

Responsibilities include:

• Conduct regular retail team meetings.
• Communicate sales goals and priorities.
• Train employees on products and sales techniques.
• Provide coaching and accountability.
• Communicate inventory needs and purchasing decisions to leadership.
• Maintain strong vendor relationships.
• Provide regular reporting to ownership/leadership.

Industry Knowledge

A strong understanding of the climbing and outdoor industry is required. The ideal candidate should have familiarity with:

• Climbing equipment
• Climbing shoes
• Apparel
• Chalk and accessories
• Outdoor brands
• Climbing-specific consumer trends
• Climbing gym retail
• Youth and competitive climbing
• Local climbing communities

The ability to speak authentically with climbers and understand their purchasing decisions is essential.

Personal climbing experience is strongly preferred.

Financial & Business Responsibilities

The Retail Manager is responsible for understanding the financial performance of the retail department. They will:

• Develop annual and quarterly retail budgets.
• Monitor sales against budget.
• Track gross margin.
• Monitor inventory investment.
• Manage purchasing within approved budgets.
• Monitor inventory turnover.
• Reduce excess and obsolete inventory.
• Identify opportunities to improve profitability.
• Provide monthly retail performance reports to leadership.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The Retail Manager will be measured on:

Revenue

• Total retail revenue
• Revenue by location
• Year-over-year retail growth
• Revenue vs. budget

Profitability

• Gross margin
• Gross profit
• Purchasing efficiency

Inventory

• Inventory turnover
• Inventory accuracy
• Shrinkage
• Slow-moving inventory
• Stock-out rate

Customer Experience

• Retail presentation
• Product availability
• Customer feedback
• Staff product knowledge

Team Development

• Retail training completion
• Staff engagement
• Sales performance by location

Qualifications

Required

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Strong organizational and time-management skills
• Knowledge of the climbing/outdoor industry
• Retail management or supervisory experience
• Experience with inventory management
• Ability to analyze sales and financial data
• Ability to work across multiple locations
• Strong attention to detail
• Ability to lead, coach, and hold employees accountable
• Comfortable working independently and making business decisions
• Ability to work occasional evenings, weekends, and special events

Preferred

• Personal climbing experience
• Experience working in a climbing gym
• Experience with climbing/outdoor retail
• Experience with POS and inventory management systems
• Purchasing/vendor management experience
• Visual merchandising experience
• Multi-location retail management experience

Alta Core Values

The Retail Manager is expected to consistently model Alta's core values:

Attitude

• Bring a positive, solution-oriented attitude