Retail Manager

**Description**:
In this role as Retail Manager for EMEA, you’ll be responsible for driving operational excellence in our freestanding stores across our portfolio of brands.

We are looking for someone who loves retail, someone who wants to be part of an exciting new team and a key area of focus, someone with a solid foundation in retail best practices, as well as a vision for the future of retail.

**Position Summary**:
Freestanding stores are an essential part of ELC’s global growth strategy for retail.

The key responsibility of the Retail Manager will be to provide direction to markets and geographies on best practices and operational solutions, and the creation of consistent and elevated store operations, including policies and procedures.

**Description**:

- Thought leadership for operational retail topics, including continuous identification of key retail trends and plans to address them
- Gather/share internal best practices and competitor / business intelligence on retail operations, in collaboration with brand and geographic retail leads
- Establish strong relationships with Brands, regions and markets to ensure regional alignment with Retail Channel strategy
- Provide guidance to affiliates on best practices in retail operations including back office retail operations and education
- Development of retail competencies and capabilities in the markets and in the field
- Drive standardization of retail operations policies & procedures
- Active participant in the development of the (Retail Operating System) ROS program on a regional basis
- Oversee the development of the retail store education strategy
- Monitoring and establishing appropriate KPI metrics (e.g. productivity transactions, IPT, AUS etc.), and deploying training and tools to improve productivity and profitability
- Identify and share best practices and develop and/or deploy relevant workshops regionally and locally
- Scoping and directing retail IT needs and interfaces to allow automation of retail business
- Streamline in-store tools with an objective to empower field teams with state of the art solutions
- Have responsibilities for surrounding the retail network generally and its evolution and that of the business model, consulting with markets and advising the region and the global brand as required (the competitors)
- Travel is expected

**Qualifications**:
**Core skills**
- Extensive retail experience in high-transaction sophisticated retail environment
- Direct experience in overseeing Freestanding Store operations
- Experience in luxury / prestige / beauty industries advantageous
- Excellent oral/written communication and presentation skills
- Fluency in English (spoken and written)
- High level of numeracy and analytical skills
- Experience working with Retail Point of Sale (POS) systems/platforms and in project management of roll-out and upgrade of all retail tools and processes to affiliate tea

**Profile**:

- Able to confidently communicate with Senior Affiliate, Regional and Global leaders
- Proven ability to lead by influencing, inspiring, teaching, and collaborating
- Proactive self-starter
- Collaborative relationship
- Ability to manage self and others to effective project timelines
- Effective working with people from different cultures and backgrounds
- Someone keen to be in the field
- Knowledge of store financials (Analytics, Modeling, Reporting)
- Experience in Retail Expansion (Mapping, Network Planning, Demographics, Real Estate, Landlord Relationships, Lease Administration) and Freestanding Store Franchising/Licensing

**Complementary Expertise**:
Expertise in several of these areas will be important:

- Omnichannel Strategy
- Customer Journey, Consumer Experience & Satisfaction
- Workforce Management & Field Communications
- Department Store Counter Operations