Retail Jobs in London

London is one of the most desirable shopping cities in the world and has a wealth of great shopping areas, which attract locals and visitors from all corners of the globe.

Combining the famous high street names on Oxford Street and Kings Road with the delights and individual charm of retailers in Covent Garden and Portobello Road (to name but a few) there is a wealth of shopping available. With such a presence of outlets there are countless job opportunities available within the London retail industry.

The main areas of retail within the London area include:

• Fashion and Clothing
• Electronics
• Jewellery
• Food
• Homeware
• Garden
• Toys

London High Street Retail Jobs

If you are looking for a retail job with a leading high street retailer then London boasts many flagship stores from which to choose. Some of the leading names in high street fashion have several stores in and around the London area and include names such as Topshop, Marks & Spencer and Ted Baker. The high street retailers sit comfortably amongst more exclusive names. Harrodds is a must for any visitor to the capital and some world-renowned designers operate their only UK outlets in London.

If you secure a retail job in any London store you will be expected to undertake some fundamental duties, all of which go towards delivering high levels of customer satisfaction. You will be expected to work on the tills, provide changing room supervision, replenish stock and keep the store presentable and greet and provide any required customer assistance.

Retail jobs based in and around London provide employment to thousands of individuals. Increased trading hours mean that jobs are suitable not only for those seeking full time employment, but also part time work, weekend shifts or full time night shifts. As London gears up towards Christmas trading a number of retail job vacancies emerge for seasonal staff, so working in the retail trade can be a great way of making some extra cash.

With such a wide choice of employers available you should chose your target employers carefully. Consider what kind of things interest you and would make you the ideal candidate to work within that chosen store. You should not apply to retailers selling products of no interest to you, as employers will want their staff to be passionate about their products. You should then check on the retailers website, as many will advertise vacancies online. Also, check in store and speak with staff to see if there are any existing vacancies open for application.

A number of London high street retailers will use online recruitment agencies such as monster.com or reed.co.uk, so submit your details and CV on line to stand yourself a better chance of securing an interview.

Gumtree.co.uk is another great place to find details of retail jobs in and around London. This website is targeted to London and has thousands of classified advertisements, including job ads in the retail sector.

London based Managerial Jobs in the Retail Industry

Many of the leading UK retailers operate their head offices from in and around London. The location is desirable, attracting some of the most talented and ambitious individuals in the country. These retailers are always on the look out for managers at all levels and if you are seeking to start or develop your career in the retail industry then London is the ideal location for you.

Some of the leading retailers with head offices in and around London include:

• Marks & Spencer – one of the leading brand names in the UK retail industry
• John Lewis – for fashion, home and garden
• Harvey Nicholls – renowned for quality clothing and food

Located within commuting distance to London city centre you will find more leading retailers head offices, including:

• Tesco – The UK’s leading food retailer
• Ebay – The worlds number one online market site
• Sainsburys – The second largest food retailer in the UK

If you are looking to work at the London head office of a major UK retailer you will be facing significant competition. These large names attract candidates from across the country so you need to ensure that your CV is up to date and packed with information regarding your previous experiences and achievements, relevant to retailing.

When looking for a head office job you should visit your target employers website, as many advertise head office job vacancies within the corporate or careers section. You should also keep in close contact with suitable recruitment agencies. Within a head office environment there will be a wide scope of roles, from Finance to Buying, Sales to IT, so contact the recruitment agencies who are specialists in your area.

Many of these leading retailers also have managerial vacancies and schemes for new graduates who are looking to start their career within the retail industry. Graduates should speak to their University careers advisors to find out which London based retailers offer such schemes.