Head of Retail (Patch - East Anglia, East Midlands, North London)
Simon Acres Recruitment are looking for a Head of Retail who will take overall ownership for the performance, profitability, and operational delivery of our client’s nationwide showroom portfolio. This senior leadership role is responsible for shaping the direction of the retail estate, setting the strategy, and ensuring showroom sales, customer experience, and brand presentation consistently support long-term business growth.
Package
* Salary: £95,000
* Bonus: Up to £15,000 (Capped)
* Company car
Key responsibilities of the Head Of Retail;
- End-to-end responsibility for the retail P&L across all showroom locations
- Ownership of the retail strategy, including sales growth, market expansion, and operational improvement
- Leadership of the senior retail management structure rather than individual store-level management
- Senior commercial influence, with regular contribution at board level to wider business strategy
Retail Strategy & Growth
* Develop and execute a long-term retail strategy aligned with our client’s goals and market dynamics
* Set, manage, and deliver sales and profit targets across the entire retail estate
* Lead budgeting, forecasting, and capital investment planning, including new store openings and refurbishment projects. Analyse market conditions and competitor activity to support commercial decision-making and site acquisition opportunities
Commercial Performance
* Establish clear KPIs for Store and Regional Management teams, ensuring accountability for results
* Review trading performance, addressing underperformance with structured improvement plans
* Drive revenue growth through informed decisions around pricing, promotions, stock mix, and conversion performance. Implement margin improvement and cost-control initiatives without compromising customer experience
Retail Operations
* Ensure consistent operational standards, compliance, and best practice across all showroom locations
* Approve and manage major store changes, including openings, relocations, refurbishments, and closures
* Champion brand standards and visual merchandising to deliver a high-quality, consistent customer journey
* Lead the end-to-end process for new store launches, including recruitment and showroom fit-out
Leadership & People Development
* Inspire, develop, and lead senior retail teams, building strong succession and leadership capability, creating a culture of performance, ownership, and collaboration across the retail function
* Oversee recruitment, development, and performance management for all retail roles
* Act as a visible senior leader, embedding company values and driving cultural and behavioural change
Customer Experience & Brand
* Champion a customer-first mindset across all showrooms
* Use customer insight and feedback to shape continuous improvement initiatives
* Represent the brand as a senior ambassador internally and externally
Knowledge & Experience
Essential:
* Significant senior retail leadership experience, ideally operating at Head of Retail or Retail Director level, with demonstrable success in driving growth and transformation across a multi-site retail operation
* Full P&L accountability with a strong track record of delivering profitability
* Advanced commercial and financial capability, including management of large budgets
* Experience presenting to and influencing senior leadership or board-level stakeholders, and strong understanding of retail operations, merchandising, customer experience, and compliance
Desirable:
* Background within furniture or home interiors retail
* Experience supporting digital change or omnichannel retail strategies
* Formal leadership or commercial strategy training
Essential Attributes:
* Strategic and visionary, with the ability to translate plans into practical delivery. Commercially focused and driven by measurable results
* Credible, engaging leader able to influence at senior levels with excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
* Strong analytical and decision-making capability, and comfortable balancing long-term strategy with short-term commercial priorities
* Resilient, adaptable, and confident leading change in a fast-paced environment
Simon Acres Recruitment is acting as an employment agency in relation to this vacancy