30th January, 2026
About the Role
We are seeking a highly commercial, retail-first General Manager to lead the Chemist Discount Centre (CDC) pharmacy franchise network. This is a senior executive role for a leader who has run retail businesses, owned complex P&Ls, and understands how to win in high-volume, price-competitive, customer-driven retail environments.
CDC operates in a fast-moving, value-led retail category where pricing, discount strategy, merchandising execution, and brand clarity directly determine success. This role is accountable for translating strategy into store-level retail performance, ensuring the brand is competitive, relevant, and executed consistently across the network.
You will act as the chief retail operator and brand custodian for CDC — shaping the offer, setting the commercial guardrails, and driving profitable growth across a national multi-site footprint.
Success in this role depends on exceptional stakeholder leadership. You will operate with influence across franchise members, suppliers, shared services teams, and senior executives — aligning diverse interests around clear retail priorities and driving disciplined execution at scale.
Key Accountabilities
Retail Trading & Commercial Ownership (Core to the Role)
- Hold end-to-end P&L accountability, with direct responsibility for sales growth, gross margin, cost control, and overall trading performance.
- Define and continuously optimise retail pricing and discount strategies, ensuring CDC remains highly competitive while protecting margin and brand equity.
- Lead promotional planning, campaign effectiveness, and value messaging in partnership with merchandising and marketing teams.
- Drive a strong retail trading rhythm, using data, insights, and performance reporting to identify opportunities and address underperformance.
Brand, Offer & Customer Proposition - Own the CDC retail brand strategy, ensuring the proposition is clear, compelling, and differentiated in a crowded discount retail landscape.
- Lead brand refresh and evolution initiatives, grounded in customer insight and retail performance outcomes.
- Ensure consistency of the retail offer across the network — from price perception and promotional execution to in-store experience.
- Act as the public-facing retail leader of the brand, confidently presenting to members, suppliers, partners, and industry audiences.
Network Growth & Retail Expansion - Lead the retail expansion strategy, including site selection, feasibility, demographic analysis, and commercial modelling.
- Own the franchise recruitment and conversion process, clearly articulating the retail value proposition through high-impact pitch decks and presentations.
- Work closely with network development and operations teams on store builds, refurbishments, relocations, and format compliance.
Franchise, Member & Retail Leadership - Build high-trust relationships with CDC members, positioning yourself as a commercial retail partner, not just a network leader.
- Navigate competing stakeholder priorities while maintaining clear commercial guardrails and a consistent retail strategy across the network.
- Establish strong member communication rhythms, translating retail strategy into clear, actionable guidance.
- Manage performance, compliance, and escalations with a clear focus on retail outcomes and customer impact.
Cross-Functional Retail Execution - Work in deep partnership with shared services (merchandising, marketing, consumer marketing) to ensure strategies are executable at store level.
- Ensure retail initiatives are practical, scalable, and commercially sound across a diverse network.
- Champion a disciplined, performance-led retail culture across CDC.
What We’re Looking For - Proven senior leadership experience in multi-site retail (essential).
- A demonstrated track record of owning and growing retail P&Ls in competitive, price-sensitive environments.
- Demonstrated ability to interpret retail trends and translate insight into scalable growth strategies across pricing, format, proposition, and network expansion.
- Deep understanding of retail pricing, discount mechanics, promotional effectiveness, and margin management.
- Strong brand and proposition leadership experience, ideally involving brand repositioning or refresh.
- Highly confident and credible retail communicator and presenter, comfortable being the public face of a brand.
- Experience working within shared service retail models while maintaining strong executional discipline.
- Commercially sharp, data-driven, and comfortable making high-impact retail decisions.
Why This Role is Different This is not a passive franchise leadership role. It is a hands-on retail GM position for a leader who understands where the market is heading and that retail success is won or lost on price perception, offer clarity, and execution at store level.
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