Brand General Manager - Portfolio Growth

Apparel Group; Dubai; On-site; AED 38,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

Apparel Group in Dubai invites a seasoned Brand General Manager to lead portfolio growth across multiple fashion brands. You will own P&L, set strategic direction, and drive revenue, margin, and market expansion through strong partner relationships and data-driven decisions.

The role demands senior leadership, cross-functional collaboration with Buying, Merchandising, Marketing, and Retail Operations, and a track record of delivering profitable brand performance in challenging markets.

Qualifications

• Senior-level experience in retail brand management, commercial strategy, merchandising, buying, and P&L leadership.
• Experience growing multi-brand portfolios and managing brand partnerships.
• Ability to translate strategy into annual business plans and financial targets.

Responsibilities

• Create multi-year strategic plans for assigned brands with growth potential.
• Own revenue, gross margin, and P&L performance; manage budgets.
• Review results against plans and take timely corrective actions.
• Lead pricing, promotions, and assortment decisions across markets.

Skills

P&L ownership

Brand portfolio strategy

Retail brand management

Commercial negotiations

Merchandise planning

Job description

Brand General Manager - Portfolio Growth job snapshot: Role: Brand General Manager - Portfolio Growth. Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Industry: Retail. Function: Brand-Product Marketing. Experience: Senior-level experience in retail brand management, commercial strategy, merchandising, buying, and P&L leadership. Job Type: Full-time.

Position Overview: Brand General Manager - Portfolio Growth in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is a senior Retail opportunity for a commercially driven leader responsible for growing an assigned brand portfolio through strategic planning, P&L ownership, merchandise direction, market development, partner management, and operational performance. Apparel Group is hiring an experienced brand leader to strengthen revenue, margin, market share, inventory productivity, customer engagement, and long-term business value across multiple retail functions.

Job Details: Country: United Arab Emirates. City: Dubai. Industry: Retail. Function: Brand-Product Marketing. Salary: 38000-58000. Estimated salary range based on similar jobs in the job city; please confirm the final offer with the employer. Gender: Any. Candidate Nationality: Any. Job Type: Full-time.

Role Context: The Brand General Manager will take commercial ownership of the assigned portfolio and ensure each brand is managed as a profitable, scalable, and customer-relevant business. The role requires close control of financial results, merchandise performance, pricing, stock health, marketing activity, retail execution, expansion plans, and brand partner relationships. Decisions made at this level will directly influence revenue growth, gross margin, EBITDA, inventory turnover, customer satisfaction, and future market opportunities. Working across Buying, Merchandising, Retail Operations, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, and HR, the Brand General Manager will align teams behind clear priorities and convert performance data into practical actions that improve both short-term results and long-term brand strength.

Key Responsibilities

• Create multi-year strategic plans for assigned brands based on growth potential, market positioning, customer demand, and commercial priorities.
• Translate strategy into annual business plans, budgets, financial targets, and operating objectives.
• Maintain ownership of revenue, gross margin, operating profit, and overall P&L performance.
• Review actual results against budget and forecast and take timely action when performance deviates from plan.
• Identify expansion opportunities involving new stores, territories, partnerships, product categories, or commercial channels.
• Assess new opportunities using sales potential, investment requirements, competition, customer demand, and expected returns.
• Analyze sales by category, location, channel, product, season, and customer segment.
• Evaluate customer behavior and market dynamics to guide commercial decisions.
• Lead pricing decisions while balancing competitiveness, brand positioning, customer value, and profitability.
• Develop promotional calendars and markdown strategies that improve sell-through without unnecessarily eroding margin.
• Manage annual budgeting, rolling forecasts, financial planning, and performance updates.
• Set strategic direction for seasonal buying and merchandise planning.
• Ensure assortments reflect local customer demand, brand identity, price architecture, and commercial objectives.
• Review stock levels, ageing, sell-through, inventory turnover, and stock cover across the portfolio.
• Adjust buying, replenishment, allocation, and markdown decisions based on product performance.
• Work with merchandise planning teams to reduce overstock, protect availability, and improve inventory productivity.
• Maintain senior relationships with brand principals, licensors, franchise partners, and other international stakeholders.
• Lead commercial negotiations relating to trading terms, growth plans, investments, marketing support, and expansion.
• Conduct annual and periodic business reviews with brand partners.
• Ensure contractual obligations and brand operating requirements are followed consistently.
• Represent the organization in strategic meetings with international partners.
• Coordinate with Marketing teams on launch calendars, campaigns, promotions, seasonal initiatives, and customer communication.
• Protect consistent brand positioning across stores, digital activity, campaigns, and customer touchpoints.
• Support acquisition and retention strategies designed to strengthen repeat purchasing and customer lifetime value.
• Track competitor developments, category movements, consumer trends, and emerging market opportunities.
• Partner with Retail Operations to improve store productivity and execution quality.
• Ensure stores have appropriate product availability to support planned sales.
• Monitor conversion, ATV, UPT, sell-through, stock turn, and other retail KPIs.
• Develop recovery plans for underperforming stores, categories, or product groups.
• Support store openings, relocations, refurbishments, and portfolio expansion initiatives.
• Lead brand management teams and establish clear commercial objectives for each function.
• Coach managers and develop future leadership talent within the portfolio.
• Encourage effective collaboration between commercial, operational, financial, and support teams.
• Build accountability around targets, timelines, decisions, and agreed actions.
• Prepare executive performance reports, forecasts, financial reviews, and strategic presentations.
• Present portfolio results and growth plans to senior leadership and external brand partners.
• Monitor financial, operational, stock, contractual, and market risks.
• Implement mitigation measures where risks could affect profitability or brand performance.
• Ensure compliance with internal governance standards, policies, and operating procedures.

The preferred candidate will bring significant leadership experience in retail brand management, commercial operations, buying, merchandising, or multi-brand portfolio management. Experience managing established international fashion, footwear, beauty, lifestyle, luxury, or consumer brands will be highly relevant. Candidates should have direct responsibility for a P&L and demonstrate strong knowledge of revenue management, gross margin, EBITDA, budgeting, forecasting, pricing, markdowns, and commercial investment. A strong merchandise background is important, including seasonal buying, assortment planning, inventory productivity, sell-through analysis, stock cover, and stock ageing. The role also requires experience managing international brand principals or licensors, conducting business reviews, and negotiating commercial agreements. Candidates should be comfortable interpreting financial and retail data, identifying performance gaps, and converting analysis into clear commercial actions. Strong leadership, negotiation, presentation, and stakeholder management skills are essential for influencing both internal teams and international partners.

Skills Set

• Brand portfolio strategy
• Retail brand management
• P&L ownership
• Revenue management
• Gross margin management
• EBITDA
• Business planning
• Annual budgeting
• Financial forecasting
• Commercial strategy
• Market expansion
• Business development
• Pricing strategy
• Promotion planning
• Markdown strategy
• Seasonal buying
• Merchandise planning
• Assortment management
• Inventory productivity
• Inventory turnover
• Sell-through
• Stock cover
• Stock ageing
• Category performance
• Customer analytics
• Market analysis
• Competitive analysis
• Brand partnerships
• Principal management
• Licensor management
• Commercial negotiations
• Annual business reviews
• Brand compliance
• Marketing coordination
• Customer acquisition
• Customer retention
• Retail operations
• Store performance
• Conversion rate
• Average Transaction Value
• ATV
• Units per Transaction
• UPT
• Store expansion
• Store openings
• Team leadership
• Talent development
• Executive reporting
• Governance
• Risk management
• Cross-functional management

Why Join Us

This position offers the opportunity to influence the commercial direction of major Retail brands from Dubai while managing the complete connection between product, customer demand, financial performance, store execution, and international partnerships. The role provides substantial exposure to strategic growth decisions, brand expansion, merchandise investment, P&L management, senior negotiations, and portfolio leadership. It is particularly suited to a retail executive seeking broader responsibility for both commercial performance and long-term brand development across a large multi-brand organization.

About the Company

Apparel Group is a major retail organization managing an extensive portfolio of international fashion, beauty, footwear, lifestyle, and consumer brands across the United Arab Emirates and other global markets. The company combines international brand partnerships, merchandise expertise, large-scale retail operations, customer-focused growth, and disciplined commercial management across its expanding network.