Have Questions about entering the retail Grocery industry?

These are great questions Brandon!

For our company and a lot of others, the benefits packages are almost a mirror image of the military benefits (Medical, Dental, vision ect..). Most companies, including ours, have pension plans, 401k, stock options, and/or long term cash programs. One of my favorite parts of the store management benefits are the bonuses (work hard....get paid more!)

The work lifestyle is much like that in the military. When I was an assistant manager, I felt like I was a platoon SGT all over again. The store manager was like the platoon commander. You are both working together to get the common mission completed, and were both responsible for the outcome of the store's profits, sales, and agendas. Just like in the military some days are longer than others, and some days are easier than others. The best part was, the work days were never the same, each and everyday there was a new mission or fire that had to be put out and that's where veterans flourish in this environment. Leaders from the military make the best split second decisions and in retail you will be making hundreds of critical business decisions each month.

The best candidates for these roles are NCOs or JMOs who have a good amount of leadership experience in those high stress environments we have all come to know and love! Veterans who have lead diverse groups of individuals with excellent results are always sought after for management roles.

Brandon, I hope these responses answer your questions. If not please let me know.

Wow. That was an awesome rundown Sgt Evan Proctor. Great comparison of the platoon SGT and platoon commander roles as well. Really appreciate you being a resource for our transitioning members who have questions.

I was in retail for 10 years, before and after I entered the military.  The skills I earned in the militay is what landed me a job after I got out of the military.  As far as reatail goes, I was a grocery manager, long hours, sometimes up to 90 hours a week, and not always great pay.

Pay will differ with different companies. It really comes down to which company you choose to work for, and the area of the US where your store is located. A Store Manager in San Francisco is always going to make more than one in Middleofnowhereville NE. Being flexible in your location will greatly improve your chances of moving up the ranks and having more opportunities presented to you.

When I am browsing resumes for store management. I am looking for leadership traits.

Something that will get passed up would be:
"Squad leader of 15 Marines"
"Platoon SGT of weapons plt."
or in the skills section it states "Leadership" but then there is no evidence of it.

What catches my eyes:
"Effectively lead Squads of Marines/soldiers in high stress environments with success"
"Successfully deployed a platoon of 45 Soldiers in a combat zone"
If you are going to mention a skill, elaborate on it.

Do not feel like you are "Churching up" what you did while serving. What we did is/was not easy, not everyone can do it. If they could, everyone would join up!

Interesting thread with different perspectives. After finishing my active duty working on the NAF retail management (exchange and commissary world), I jumped the fence and now work for Acosta as a manager on the private side. The broker side is a bit different than the retail grocery side but we share many of the same goals and work processes. It's a good industry for veterans who enjoy the customer interface and business aspects of retail.

CAPT Edward Eng, Could you elaborate more about the Broker side? What functions are the same as retail?

The broker actually works for the manufacturer who pays for the headquarter sales (working with the buyers for orders) and then the field merchandising (store level retail execution for displays, Point of Sale (POS) marketing, stocking, retail analytics like Not In Stocks, etc.). There are some similar functions like at the store level but again, the broker is working as a manufacturer rep which is a bit different than the retailer. As head of a retail system, my overall objectives were the same, maximize sales and profit but...it wasn't necessarily just for one or a set of manufacturers whereas a broker uses the same techniques and analytics to drive sales but with specific brands in mind. This is a very simplistic but pretty basic explanation.