Gregg's Journey

One thing we value above all things here in the Sports Direct team is passion. It is the one defining characteristic that unifies all of our employees. All roles should be viewed as the start of a journey with endless opportunities. Managers, Department heads, and even Directors have been internally promoted from junior, store and warehouse positions.

Recently I sat with Gregg from our E-commerce team and he described his journey. I thought that his example was well worth sharing with my connections on LinkedIn.

"I began work as a Sales Assistant at the flagship Republic store in Leeds in 2012. After the company was acquired by Sports Direct, the store was transformed into USC and I was offered a new role as a Denim Specialist where I was able to hone my customer service and salesmanship skills. Through regular visits and communications from the prestige brand representatives, I began to develop a real interest in the way brands showcase their products and maintain a specific ‘brand image.’ It was developing this understanding that inspired me to look into career opportunities in marketing.

In February of 2014, I took part in an internal competition specifically based on Digital Marketing. The focus of the contest were topics such as Social Media and Search Engine Optimisation. The duration of the competition was 8 weeks and with each new week brought a new task. I stayed focused and driven to ensure that all of my entries were high in quality, creative, engaging and in line with the brief. As a result, I was one of two candidates in the competition who were highlighted and recognised which led to an interview at the Shirebrook Head Office for a position in the E-Commerce department; after all the effort in the competition itself as well as the interview, I was successful and was offered a role as Social Media Executive!

I began the role in October 2014 and in this time I have developed my understanding and abilities in not only Social Media but Digital Marketing as a whole. I now manage the social media accounts of Sports Direct, USC, and PULP, and with a potential audience of around 900,000 people, it is certainly a role I could have never imagined I would be doing when I began working as a Sales Assistant. It is fast paced, creative and hugely rewarding to be able to engage with and grow the Sports Direct audience across all fascia’s."