Overview
Opportunity: Head of Retail – UK & Ireland
Location: London (Hybrid – 2-3 days in office & 2/3 days travel to site)
Company Overview
With a long-standing history, the company are one of the Top 5 leading beauty companies in the world, operating in 100+ countries with 40k+ employees and a portfolio of globally recognised skincare, fragrance and cosmetics brands.
Role Overview
Their Head of Retail is responsible for defining and delivering the retail strategy across their UK&I brand portfolio, partnering with their Commercial Director to lead retail organisation, drive sales performance, elevate customer experience, and strengthen brand equity across their sites, balancing strategic leadership with hands-on retail execution to ensure consistent delivery of luxury standards.
Key Responsibilities
* Define and execute the UK&I retail growth strategy to set sales targets & strategic direction with National Field Sales Managers (tracking KPIs, performance insights, and sales forecasts)
* Analyse market trends, competitor activity, and consumer behaviour to identify growth opportunities across partners, doors, and channels
Leadership & Team Development
* Lead and develop senior retail leaders and field teams (2 direct NSM reports + indirect oversight across 3 ASM & 15 Store Managers & 300+ in-store colleagues)
* Build a high-performance retail culture & support recruitment, onboarding, and succession planning; driving accountability and productivity across field teams
Operational Excellence
* Drive innovation and efficiency in retail operations whilst maintaining luxury standards across stores, counters, and retail environments
* Ensure strong visual merchandising, staffing models, and stock management
Customer Experience
* Champion luxury service standards and experiential retail; elevating product knowledge and service behaviours across teams
* Monitor customer feedback and refine service models
Retail Partner Management & Cross-Functional Collaboration
* Build strong strategic relationships with key retail partners, advising them on space, visibility, staffing, and commercial terms; act as the senior escalation point for retail issues
* Work closely with Marketing, Education, Commercial, Supply Chain, and VM to ensure strong launch execution and in-store brand activations; representing the internal voice of retail
Your Experience
* Senior multi-site retail leadership experience within luxury beauty, cosmetics, or premium retail
* Proven commercial track record delivering sales growth & experience leading large multi-layered field teams
* Strong understanding of retail operations and luxury service standards through making data-driven decisions and utilising strong stakeholder management skills
Leadership Profile
* Commercially driven & strategic yet operationally hands-on, eager to collaborate, influence & advise others; agile & solutions-focused with a customer-centric luxury mindset
* Competitive salary DOE + 18% bonus + £5k travel allowance
* 26 days holiday + BH + time off for your Birthday, Marriage & Moving House
* Private Medical + Enhanced Parental Allowance + 8% Matched Pension + Life Assurance up to 4x salary
* Generous product allocation & discount + Flexible Fridays + Wellbeing programmes + Incredible L&D opportunities
NOTE: Please only apply if you have a driving licence & are a UK resident
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