Head of Retail

Shiseido operates in 120 countries with 42,000 employees and 70 nationalities. We offer a unique selection of skincare, makeup and fragrance brands with a turnover in excess of £7.0bn (2022). Founded in 1872 in Japan, Shiseido Group is among the top cosmetics companies worldwide, and aims to inspire a life of beauty and culture.

The Head of Retail UK&I plays a pivotal leadership role within Shiseido UK&I, responsible for shaping and driving the retail strategy across all brands in the portfolio. This role 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 UK Head office, with regular travel around the UK&I to different store and retail locations.

Your Responsibilities:

• Retail Strategy & Commercial Leadership: 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-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.
• People & Budget Management: 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.
• Field Leadership & Talent Development: 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.
• Operational Excellence & Retail Execution: 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.
• Customer Experience & Luxury Service Standards: Act as a Brand Ambassador for Shiseido UKI, ensuring the luxury experience is consistently delivered across all touchpoints and remains relevant in a changing market. Champion customer-centric initiatives, experiential retail strategies, and clienteling excellence, monitoring return on investment to continuously improve. Lead the National Field Sales Managers in partnering with Brand & Education Teams to elevate product and technical expertise and service behaviours, rooted in a commercial mindset. Monitor customer feedback and insights to refine service models.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Marketing and Education teams to deliver consistent brand messaging, impactful retail execution, and strong launch performance, supporting National Field Sales Managers. Work 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 UK&I, region and global business, ensuring field insights inform brand strategy and planning.
• Retail Partner Management: Build strong, strategic relationships with key retail partners across UK & Ireland. Influence partners to secure optimal space, visibility, staffing, and terms, leveraging the group portfolio where 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.

Benefits You’ll Love:

• Generous product allocation & discount to spend on our gorgeous products!
• Highly supportive work-life balance with 26 days holiday plus bank holidays, birthday day off, and mobility-related leave options; enhanced parental allowance and holiday buy scheme.
• Plan for your future with our enhanced pension offering and life assurance.
• Annual performance bonus based on personal development plans and business performance.
• Flexible Fridays and hybrid work patterns (60% in office).
• Wellbeing programmes including mental health support and exclusive retail discounts.
• Monthly access to L&D opportunities for continuous development.

We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and offer flexible working arrangements as needed. If you need support or adjustments during your application, please get in touch.

Our Hiring Process: We screen CVs and respond to candidates as possible. If shortlisted, you will have a pre-screening call, followed by interviews or an assessment as appropriate. If you do not hear within 30 days, you may not have been successful.