Vice President of Retail

Summary

A prestigious and rapidly growing luxury brand is seeking a Vice President of Retail to lead the next phase of its omnichannel retail expansion. This executive will assume full P&L ownership of the brand's retail ecosystem, which currently includes three flagship locations across the United States and Europe, a high‑touch digital selling team, and a dynamic traveling pop‑up program. Reporting directly to the CEO, the VP of Retail will serve as the architect of an ambitious multi‑year growth strategy with the mandate to open several new stores per year over the next five years. The ideal candidate is a seasoned retail leader who has scaled a boutique or luxury retail footprint from a handful of doors into a meaningful global network — someone who thrives at the intersection of brand storytelling, operational excellence, and commercial performance.

Responsibilities

Retail Strategy & Expansion

• Develop and execute a comprehensive multi‑year retail expansion roadmap, targeting the opening of several new stores annually across key domestic and international markets over a five‑year horizon.
• Lead all aspects of new store development including market analysis, site selection, lease negotiation, design oversight, build‑out management, and launch planning.
• Define and evolve the brand’s retail concept to ensure each location delivers a distinctive, immersive client experience consistent with the brand’s luxury positioning.
• Establish scalable frameworks for store operations, staffing models, visual merchandising standards, and local marketing activations that can be replicated across new markets.

Omnichannel & Digital Selling

• Oversee the digital selling team, ensuring alignment between in‑store and remote client engagement strategies to deliver a seamless, high‑touch omnichannel experience.
• Drive clienteling initiatives and CRM adoption across all retail touchpoints, leveraging data and client insights to deepen relationships and increase lifetime value.
• Collaborate with e‑commerce and marketing leadership to create a unified brand experience across physical and digital channels.

Pop‑Up Program

• Direct the strategy and execution of the brand’s traveling pop‑up program, using temporary retail activations as both a revenue driver and a market‑testing tool to inform permanent store placement decisions.
• Identify high‑impact events, wholesale, and cultural partnerships that extend the brand’s physical presence into new audiences and geographies.

Team Leadership & Talent Development

• Build, mentor, and lead a best‑in‑class retail organization across all existing and future locations, the digital selling team, and the pop‑up program.
• Establish a talent pipeline and succession planning framework to support rapid organizational growth, recruiting and developing store directors, regional leaders, and field support functions.
• Foster a performance‑driven culture rooted in hospitality, brand values, and accountability.

Operations & Financial Management

• Own the full retail P&L, setting and delivering against revenue, margin, and profitability targets across all channels and locations.
• Develop and manage annual operating and capital expenditure budgets for the retail division, partnering with Finance on forecasting, scenario planning, and ROI analysis for new store investments.
• Implement and continuously refine retail KPIs, reporting cadences, and operational playbooks to ensure consistency and excellence as the footprint scales.
• Oversee inventory planning and allocation in partnership with merchandising and supply chain teams to optimize sell‑through and minimize liability across a growing store network.

Cross‑Functional Partnership

• Serve as a key member of the senior leadership team, contributing to overall brand strategy and company‑wide decision‑making.
• Partner closely with the CEO, Creative, Marketing, Merchandising, and Finance teams to ensure retail priorities are fully integrated with broader business objectives.
• Represent the voice of the retail client within the organization, surfacing insights that inform product development, assortment strategy, and brand positioning.

Requirements

Experience

• 12–15+ years of progressive retail leadership experience within luxury fashion, fine jewelry, or a comparable high‑touch luxury category.
• Demonstrated track record of scaling a retail footprint — ideally from a small base of stores to a significantly larger network — including hands‑on experience with new market entry, store openings, and international expansion.
• Proven P&L management experience at the division or business‑unit level, with a strong command of retail economics, four‑wall profitability, and capital deployment.
• Meaningful experience managing omnichannel retail operations, including digital selling or clienteling programs alongside traditional brick‑and‑mortar.
• Prior experience reporting to or partnering directly with a founder, CEO, or C‑suite in an entrepreneurial, high‑growth environment.

Skills & Competencies

• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate a long‑range vision into actionable, milestone‑driven execution plans.
• Exceptional leadership and talent development capabilities, with experience building retail teams from the ground up during periods of rapid growth.
• Strong financial and analytical acumen, comfortable building business cases, modeling store‑level economics, and presenting investment recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Deep expertise in luxury retail operations, client experience design, and brand‑right visual merchandising.
• Outstanding communicator and collaborator with the executive presence to influence cross‑functional partners and represent the brand externally.
• Highly adaptable and comfortable operating in a fast‑paced, founder‑led environment where resourcefulness and hands‑on engagement are valued alongside strategic leadership.

Additional Qualifications

• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 40–50% of the time to support existing locations, new store openings, pop‑up activations, and market visits.
• Existing relationships within the luxury real estate and retail brokerage community are a strong plus.
• Multilingual ability or international market fluency is a plus given the brand’s global retail presence.