Hi guys, have been getting asked what the Supermarket position structure looks like a bit recently, so I’ve put this together for you to assist in planning your Retail Career in Supermarkets.

This Supermarket job position flow chart will give you an idea of what positions you need to be moving to in order to progress up the chain towards Store Management. As I’ve said before, a retail career can be quite lucrative when you are in management (check out the Pay grade for Supermarket Retail Management positions within Australia), with Store Managers of Coles or Woolworths typically on a six figure salary of $100k+, plus generous bonuses for achieving their business targets.

This is a typical progression model – starting from the bottom.

In some stores the pecking order may seem different, ie a Duty Manager in some stores may seem lower than Department Managers, if there are Senior Department managers and a younger/newer Duty Manager. However the path below is how it generally works. It is important to note that there are some positions that are kind of senior, but are a lot harder to progress up from, such as a Bakery Manager or Deli Manager.

When planning your career or pushing for promotion, it is KEY to know which position you should be aiming for next and clearly communicate that to the Store Manager or your Line Manager to make sure you are progressing your career as quickly as possible. For instance, going from Bakery 2IC to Produce 2IC holds little value in your career path, and it will ultimately take longer to make it to a Department Manager position. However going from Bakery 2IC to Grocery 2IC would be a correct move.

*Suggested Posts*

• Retail Management Positions – How To Get Them
• The Truth About Getting Promoted In Retail

You should be seeking to only do one position at each of the levels below, before moving to a position at the next level. Note the flow chart is horizontally tiered, you don’t need to move to position directly above, just any of the positions on each horizontal line above.

Wherever possible, you should also seek to skip a level. Your best opportunity for skipping a level is moving from Department 2IC to Manager of that Department. This will be much harder to do for a Grocery Manager position though.

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