Head of Retail

As a Strategic Retail Manager for Experience Centers & Trade Channel, you will play a crucial role in shaping the retail strategy and in-store brand experience. Your responsibilities will include: - **Retail Strategy & Format Development** - Define and execute the long-term retail strategy across various formats such as flagship experience centers, franchise showrooms, and trade partner outlets. - Co-create immersive, design-led retail spaces in collaboration with architects, interior designers, and brand teams. - Continuously evaluate and evolve the retail format to stay ahead of consumer trends and competitor activities. - **Experience Design & Brand Expression** - Own the retail customer journey by translating brand values into tangible, differentiated in-store experiences. - Guide the visual merchandising approach, zoning principles, storytelling, and interactive elements within stores. - Ensure alignment of retail environments with broader marketing campaigns and product launches for seamless brand consistency. - **Expansion & Market Development** - Collaborate with the expansion and projects team to identify new market opportunities, assess locations, and plan rollouts. - Develop go-to-market retail blueprints for new geographies, considering customer expectations and operational feasibility. - Support strategic partner on-boarding and alignment to brand standards. - **Cross-Functional Leadership** - Work closely with design, trade marketing, brand, supply chain, and sales leadership as the strategic retail lead. - Partner with trade marketing to shape channel-specific retail strategies and ensure store-level execution excellence. - Lead store training programs to empower retail associates as brand ambassadors. - **Performance Intelligence & Evolution** - Develop performance dashboards tracking footfall, engagement, sales per sq.ft., NPS, and conversion. - Analyze insights to optimize layouts, experiences, and product placement. - Present findings and strategic recommendations to senior leadership. **Qualifications Required:** - Graduate in Business, Architecture, Retail Design, or related fields. MBA or Masters in Retail Strategy, Design Management, or similar is preferred. **Experience Required:** - 8-10 years in strategic retail roles, ideally in premium lifestyle, interiors, bath ware, or design-forward categories. - Experience in launching or revamping experience centers or flagship formats is a strong plus. **Skills Required:** - Strategic thinking with a blend of commercial and creative acumen. - Strong understanding of retail design, customer experience, and brand storytelling. - Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional leadership skills. - Proficiency in MS Office and exposure to retail analytics tools.,