Head of Retail

Head of Retail Date: 28 Jan 2026

Location: London

Head of Retail UK&I WHO WE ARE

Operating in 120 countries with 42,000 employees and 70 nationalities, Shiseido offers a unique selection of Skincare, Makeup and Fragrance brands with a projected turnover over £7.0bn in 2022 . Founded in 1872 in Japan, Shiseido Group is within the Top 5 leading cosmetics companies in the world and aims to inspire a life of beauty and culture.

Beauty Innovations for a Better World.

The Head of Retail UK&I plays a pivotal leadership role within Shiseido UKI, responsible for shaping and driving the retail strategy across all brands in the portfolio.

This position supports the Commercial Director by leading the retail organisation with a focus on elevating customer experience, strengthening brand equity, and delivering exceptional commercial performance.

As the senior ambassador for retail excellence, the Head of Retail ensures that every store and counter reflects Shiseido's luxury standards while empowering field teams to perform at their highest potential.

This is a permanent position, based in our fabulous UK Head office however will be expected to regularly travel around the UK&I to different store locations and retail locations.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Define and execute the retail growth strategy across UK & Ireland, aligned with brand, commercial, and global objectives.
• Lead alongside the National Field Sales Managers to set sales targets and strategic direction for each retail partner and store.
• Define and review performance KPIs in partnership with Commercial, Marketing, and the region, continuously monitoring to identify risks and opportunities, and implement action plans accordingly.
• Analyse market trends, competitor activity, and consumer behaviour to identify growth opportunities, make data and field expertise driven distribution recommendations, and inform strategic decisions.
• Establish clear and standardized reporting flows via National Field Sales Managers to enable delivery of regular sales reports, insights, and forecasts for senior leadership.
• Review productivity of channels, retailers and doors to define and continuously evolve staffing strategies and levels in line with performance and opportunities.
• Build, propose, review and deliver on staffing budgets.
• Lead, coach and develop senior retail leads to create and deliver brand specific sales and service strategies that enable high performing teams.
• Lead, coach, and inspire field and retail teams to deliver high performance, strong productivity, and brand excellence.
• Support and enable career development across the field and retail population through defined programmes and succession planning processes, delivered and managed by the National Field Sales Managers.
• Collaborate with HR to continuously review and develop recruitment, onboarding, performance review, and development initiatives, delivered via the National Field Sales Managers.
• Foster a culture of accountability, empowerment, and continuous improvement across all field teams.
• Drive a culture of operational excellence across all counters, stores and teams through well-defined processes, maintaining high standards in visual merchandising, customer service, and brand representation.
• Drive efficiency and innovation in store operations, including stock management, staffing models, scheduling, and compliance.
• Conduct regular store visits to assess standards, engage teams, reinforce group and brand values, and coach and develop National Field Sales Managers.
• Lead and support National Field Sales Managers to ensure consistent execution of brand guidelines, VM updates, and retail activations.
• Act as a Brand Ambassador for Shiseido UKI, ensuring the luxury experience is consistently delivered across all touchpoints and remains relevant and disruptive in an ever-evolving market.
• Champion and leverage customer-centric initiatives, experiential retail strategies, and clienteling excellence, monitoring return on investment to continuously improve.
• Lead the National Field Sales Managers in effectively partnering with Brand & Education Teams to elevate product and technical expertise and service behaviours across the field, ensuring always rooted in and supported by a commercial mindset and mechanic.
• Monitor customer feedback and insights to continuously refine service models.
• Partner with Marketing and Education teams to ensure relevant processes are in place to deliver consistent brand messaging, impactful retail execution, and strong launch set-up and performance - supporting National Field Sales Manager to deliver.
• Work closely with Commercial, Supply Chain, and VM to optimise stock availability, assortment, and in-store presentation.
• Act as the voice of retail internally, championing a "retail and customer first" mindset throughout the UKI, region and global business, and ensuring field insights inform brand strategy, forecasting, and operational planning.
• Build strong, strategic relationships with key retail partners across UK & Ireland.
• Influence partners to secure optimal space, visibility, staffing, and commercial terms, leveraging group portfolio as appropriate.
• Ensure alignment on service expectations, operational standards, and brand priorities.
• Facilitate the National Field Sales Managers in establishing brand leadership with retail partners and flagship doors.
• Serve as the senior group escalation point for retail partner issues.

Experience Required

• Proven experience in a senior retail leadership role, ideally within luxury beauty, cosmetics, or premium retail.
• Strong commercial acumen with a track record of driving sales growth and delivering against KPIs.
• Exceptional leadership and team management skills, with experience leading large, multi-layered field teams, and senior retail leaders.
• Deep understanding of retail operations, customer experience, and luxury brand standards.
• Proficiency in data analysis, forecasting, and retail systems.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management abilities.
• Strategic thinker with a hands on, solutions focused approach.
• Agile, adaptable, and results driven, with the ability to thrive in a fast paced, evolving environment.
• Leadership & Influence - Inspires teams, builds trust, and drives high performance.
• Commercial Acumen - Understands drivers of sell out, productivity, and profitability.
• Customer Centric Mindset - Champions luxury service and exceptional customer experience.
• Strategic Thinking - Balances long term vision with operational execution.
• Collaboration & Communication - Works effectively across functions and with external partners.
• Problem Solving & Agility - Responds quickly to challenges with practical, scalable solutions.
• Brand Stewardship - Protects and elevates brand equity in every retail environment.
• Data Driven Decision Making - Uses insights to guide strategy, planning, and performance management.

YOUR BACKGROUND

• Proven experience in a senior retail leadership role, ideally within luxury beauty, cosmetics, or premium retail.
• Strong commercial acumen with a track record of driving sales growth and delivering against KPIs.
• Exceptional leadership and team management skills, with experience leading large, multi layered field teams, and senior retail leaders.
• Deep understanding of retail operations, customer experience, and luxury brand standards.
• Proficiency in data analysis, forecasting, and retail systems.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management abilities.
• Strategic thinker with a hands on, solutions focused approach.
• Agile, adaptable, and results driven, with the ability to thrive in a fast paced, evolving environment.
• Leadership & Influence - Inspires teams, builds trust, and drives high performance.
• Commercial Acumen - Understands drivers of sell out, productivity, and profitability.
• Customer Centric Mindset - Champions luxury service and exceptional customer experience.
• Strategic Thinking - Balances long term vision with operational execution.
• Collaboration & Communication - Works effectively across functions and with external partners.
• Problem Solving & Agility - Responds quickly to challenges with practical, scalable solutions.
• Brand Stewardship - Protects and elevates brand equity in every retail environment.
• Data Driven Decision Making - Uses insights to guide strategy, planning, and performance management.

BENEFITS YOU'LL LOVE

• Generous product allocation & discount to spend on our gorgeous products!
• Supporting the delicate work/life balance with enhanced time off through 26 days holiday + bank holidays + your birthday day off + time off for when you get married or move house PLUS enhanced parental allowance for those big life moments and the chance to buy more through our holiday buy scheme
• Plan for your future with our enhanced pension offering and life assurance
• We operate an annual bonus scheme, based on personal development plans and business performance
• Flexible Fridays, so you can focus on what is important to you
• Flexible & hybrid work patterns to suit all backgrounds with 60% of your time being in the office
• Wellbeing programmes including mental health first aiders, free counselling . click apply for full job details