Heritage Colleague Stories - Rory, Stores Director

Heritage Colleague Stories shine a light on some of our amazing, long service colleagues, and how they have grown and evolved with us over the years. And who better to start with than Mr Dunelm Stores himself, Rory Mcallister , Stores Director.

Rory joined Dunelm 16 years ago as a Regional Manager (we call them Regional Coaches here), covering the South East region. Rory left another well-known retailer to join us, where he had worked for 21 years. This was a big change, but Rory says ‘I wish I’d done it sooner!’?

As Regional Manager, Rory was responsible for several area managers and the running of their teams. He also managed multiple other functions including Recommended Ordering, Merchandising Excellence, Health & Safety and Central Ops.

A memory that stands out for Rory is the ‘Keep it Simple’ project, which involved streamlining all of the processes in store to free up more time for customer facing opportunities. The project was hugely successful and is still being referenced in time-saving projects today.

Another pivotal moment in Rory’s career with Dunelm is when he was taken out of his usual role for a year to manage ‘Stock Loss’ and find ways for prevention. Being involved in such significant projects early on in his career with us has given Rory a well-rounded view of Dunelm stores and set him up to be successful.

For the last five years, Rory has been our Stores Director. This is a very important role, with extensive responsibly involving line management of 11 regional coaches, overseeing all 184 stores and operations. Rory has oversight of our sales and profit plans and the strategy to deliver them, alongside audit, loss prevention, security and returns functions.

Rory believes being promoted to the Stores Director position is his proudest moment at Dunelm. He says ‘Customers shop with Dunelm because we have fantastic products, but we also have fantastic colleagues too and I have the pleasure of working with them every single day. I have an exceptional leadership team, great stores team, and amazing store colleagues. I truly love working with them on a daily basis. We put a huge focus on developing our colleagues, which only adds to the enjoyment of my role. We are a very inclusive business and being part of an organization that is proud of this is important to me.’

Why is Dunelm Rory’s happy place?

Rory says-

‘The fantastic stores I work with every day. Every day I get up, I feel like I add value and make a difference. Whether that be improving customer service, colleague development, driving sales and profit, or growing the business, there are just so many things I can add value to!

I’d also say our values. They aren’t just written on a bit of paper – they are alive and kicking! They’re all relevant:

‘Stronger Together’ – no hierarchy, everyone is part of the team and wants the same thing

‘Keep Listening and Learning’ – listening to customers and colleagues, as they know where our opportunities are and where we can improve.

‘Long Term Thinking’ – we should always be delivering in the short-term, but that doesn’t mean we don’t consider how any decision may affect growing the business in the long term as well.

‘Act Like Owners’ - all colleagues are encouraged to have the autonomy to make a difference and do things your own way. I truly feel like I add value every day I come into work.’

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Long-service colleagues like Rory have had a huge impact on Dunelm as a business, and have shaped the way we have continued to grow and become the UK’s number one choice for homewares. Each week during this mini series, we will spotlight on a colleague’s experience with us – join us next week for #2!

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