Corporate Director of Retail

Job Description

Job Description

Corporate Director of Retail

Location: Dallas, Texas

Salary: $175K - $200K ++

Position Summary

The Corporate Director of Retail provides strategic leadership for the development, execution, and performance of all retail operations across a portfolio of luxury hotels and resorts. This executive is responsible for establishing a best-in-class retail strategy that enhances the guest experience, maximizes revenue, strengthens brand positioning, and drives operational excellence.

This role oversees retail concept development, merchandising strategy, visual presentation, product assortment, vendor partnerships, financial performance, inventory optimization, and multi-property operational standards. Working collaboratively with executive leadership, hotel operations, design, finance, marketing, and procurement teams, the Corporate Director of Retail ensures every retail environment reflects the distinctive character of each destination while maintaining consistent luxury brand standards.

Key Responsibilities

Retail Strategy & Brand Development

• Develop and execute a comprehensive retail strategy that supports corporate revenue goals and elevates the luxury guest experience.
• Establish unique retail concepts tailored to individual hotel and resort destinations while maintaining brand consistency across the portfolio.
• Identify emerging luxury retail trends, consumer preferences, and market opportunities to keep retail offerings innovative and competitive.
• Create immersive shopping environments through thoughtful merchandising, visual storytelling, lighting, fixtures, scent, music, and experiential design.
• Lead the development of new retail concepts, store remodels, renovations, relocations, and retail expansion initiatives.

Merchandising & Product Management

• Direct merchandise planning, assortment strategy, product lifecycle management, and seasonal collections.
• Curate luxury merchandise assortments that reflect local culture, regional artisans, exclusive partnerships, and guest demographics.
• Partner with buyers to optimize product mix, pricing strategies, inventory investment, and vendor performance.
• Develop visual merchandising standards, planograms, and presentation guidelines for all retail locations.
• Ensure consistency in merchandising execution while allowing flexibility for each property's unique identity.

Store Design & Guest Experience

• Collaborate with Interior Design, Architecture, Marketing, and Operations teams on all new retail projects and renovations.
• Recommend store layouts that maximize customer flow, merchandise visibility, conversion rates, and sales productivity.
• Ensure retail environments reflect luxury hospitality standards while delivering memorable guest experiences.
• Evaluate retail spaces regularly and recommend improvements that enhance both aesthetics and financial performance.

Financial & Operational Leadership

• Oversee retail financial performance across all properties, including:
• Revenue growth
• Gross margin
• Inventory turns
• Cost of goods sold
• Gross profit
• Sales per square foot
• Revenue per occupied room (RevPOR)
• Average transaction value
• Units per transaction
• Shrink reduction
• Develop annual operating budgets, forecasts, and capital investment plans.
• Analyze retail performance metrics and implement corrective action plans where necessary.
• Standardize operating procedures, inventory controls, pricing consistency, and loss prevention initiatives.
• Conduct regular operational audits to ensure compliance with company standards and best practices.

Vendor & Partnership Management

• Build strategic relationships with luxury brands, manufacturers, distributors, and local artisans.
• Negotiate vendor agreements, pricing structures, exclusivity opportunities, and purchasing programs.
• Evaluate vendor performance using sales analysis, inventory productivity, and profitability metrics.
• Identify exclusive merchandise opportunities that differentiate the retail program from competitors.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Recruit, mentor, and develop property-level Retail Directors and retail management teams.
• Establish retail training programs focused on luxury selling techniques, visual merchandising, customer engagement, and operational excellence.
• Foster a high-performance culture centered on accountability, innovation, collaboration, and exceptional guest service.
• Conduct regular property visits to coach teams, assess operational performance, and ensure execution of corporate initiatives.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Finance, Revenue Management, Marketing, Procurement, Design, Food & Beverage, Spa, and Hotel Operations leadership.
• Collaborate on promotional campaigns, seasonal activations, grand openings, and special events.
• Support digital retail initiatives, e-commerce opportunities, and omnichannel strategies where applicable.
• Present retail performance, strategic initiatives, and business recommendations to executive leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Retail Merchandising, Business Administration, Marketing, Fashion Merchandising, Hospitality Management, or a related field preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education and progressive luxury retail leadership experience will be considered.
• Minimum of 10 years of senior retail leadership experience, including multi-unit oversight within luxury retail, hospitality, resort, or lifestyle brands.
• Demonstrated success managing retail operations generating annual sales exceeding $40 million.
• Extensive experience in retail concept development, merchandising strategy, store design, and visual presentation.
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing budgets, forecasting, P&L performance, and retail analytics.
• Proven expertise in inventory planning, vendor negotiations, assortment optimization, and operational efficiency.
• Experience leading geographically dispersed teams across multiple locations.
• Exceptional communication, presentation, negotiation, and executive leadership skills.
• Ability to travel up to 50% to support portfolio-wide retail operations.

Preferred Experience

• Luxury hotels, resorts or high end retail
• Luxury retail brands
• Destination retail
• Lifestyle and resort merchandising
• Spa and wellness retail
• Golf and resort retail operations
• Boutique retail environments
• Premium apparel and accessories
• Luxury home décor and gift merchandising
• Multi-property hospitality organizations

Core Competencies

• Executive Leadership
• Luxury Brand Management
• Retail Strategy
• Merchandising Excellence
• Guest Experience Innovation
• Financial Planning & Analysis
• Multi-Unit Operations
• Visual Merchandising
• Vendor Management
• Business Development
• Inventory Optimization
• Team Development
• Change Management
• Strategic Planning
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Operational Excellence
• Cross-Functional Collaboration