Head of Retail - Country Road

at  Country Road Group

COUNTRY ROAD GROUP (CRG) IS EMBARKING ON TRANSFORMATION TO POSITION ITSELF FOR GROWTH, LEVERAGING OUR SCALE, CAPABILITIES AND CULTURE AS A HOUSE OF BRANDS. WE ARE INVESTING IN NEW AND EXISTING CAPABILITIES AND HAVE A NUMBER OF EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE.

The primary purpose as the Head of Retail is to drive and execute the retail strategy with a focus on driving profitability, ensuring the brand’s retail business remains competitive, customer-focused and aligned with the brand and Group vision. You will oversee the retail field and visual merchandising field teams, ensuring retail store operations and visual standards in-store are flawlessly executed, delivering a consistent and engaging customer experience that maximises customer conversion and profitability for the retail business.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Strategy & Implementation:

• Lead the execution of the brand and Country Road Group’s retail strategies and in-store visual merchandising (VM) execution
• Liaise with merch, product and VM creative leads to understand upcoming launches and store execution expectations at a brand level
• Partner with GM Retail, brand MD, and Head of Retail Operations to align retail strategies with the overall brand vision and the Group’s goals
• Contribute to the development of strategic plans as part of the Brand Leadership team, providing insights and recommendations to drive business growth and innovation.

Finance Management:

• Drive and be accountable for brand’s retail business P&L, actively managing the brand’s retail cost base and optimising revenues
• Provide guidance and coaching to Retail and VM Field teams on profitability levers to ensure all locations are leveraging best-practice to drive sales, conversion and profitability
• Work with Retail Operations and Finance teams to ensure store and labour budgets are accurate, reflect current business performance, and set clear, achievable improvement targets for stores and retail leadership.

Retail Operations & Customer Experience:

• Create a customer service strategy that is unique to brand and delivers a ‘best in class’ customer experience (including customer loyalty), generates repeat business and maximises sales opportunities
• Partner with Retail Operations team to provide brand input into the development and implementation of standardized tools, reports, and strategies for retail operations, including brand operations standards, data insights and reporting, and communications needed to drive flawless and profitable in-store execution
• Partner with the Real Estate team on the development and execution of the real estate strategy, including pipeline and new site identification, format development, and collaboration with store design on layouts for new stores, refurbishments, small works and prioritised store maintenance.

Brand Management:

• Oversee the VM Field Operations team, which focuses on supporting and upskilling store teams in the practical execution of VM guidelines and standards within stores
• Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of VM programs and initiatives, using data and feedback to drive continuous improvement of efficient in-store operations and ensure a consistent and compelling brand experience across all stores
• Foster strong collaboration and communication between the VM Field Operations team and the Head of Visual Merchandising to ensure seamless implementation of creative VM direction and address any operational challenges.

People & Leadership:

• Provide leadership across Retail team, promoting vision and motivation for the brand; ensuring clear paths of communications and information flow are developed and executed
• Provide coaching to direct reports to ensure they are effective in their roles and able to problem-solve and prioritise the right outcomes for the brand
• Create & foster an inclusive environment where all team members can thrive and feel included, respected and safe. Set clear expectations of behaviour and hold self and others accountable
• Collaborate across group, building team cohesion and connection, to inspire and bring our House of Brands strategy to life
• Embrace uncertainty and change while facilitating and enabling strategic change with clarity, empathy and optimism
• Partner with people business partner to ensure the current and future people needs and opportunities are delivered to support the strategic plan i.e. team culture, training and capability, talent capability and management, recruitment, succession planning, performance management.

KEY CAPABILITIES

• Extensive Management experience within a retail environment or working in a high sales turnover retail business
• Strong industry and operational experience – a keen aesthetic and affinity with brand essential
• Proven track record in senior leader role, management experience and ability to lead and motivate large teams
• Ability to drive and execute strategic plans, knowledge of how to take a business forward
• Ability to manage budgets and profitability, interpret basic financial reports and generate efficient rosters
• Demonstrates flexibility and responsiveness in a dynamic environment, adapting strategies as needed
• Skilled in leading teams through change, fostering a culture of adaptability and continuous improvement.