Head of Retail

The Edge Partnership; Mumbai; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,500,000; Full time

Job summary

The Edge Partnership is recruiting for a Head of Retail based in Mumbai to oversee end-to-end retail operations for one of India's fastest-growing beauty platforms. You will drive growth, profitability, and an expansive store network, reporting to the Chief Business Officer.

Key responsibilities include owning P&L, leading the expansion engine, improving store productivity, and shaping in-store experiences while building a strong leadership culture across a distributed frontline.

Qualifications

• 15–17 years of hands-on retail experience across two or three regions of India.
• Depth across at least two or three retail functions (buying/merchandising, marketing, loyalty, ops, or supply chain).
• Exceptional numeracy and analytical rigour with ability to set and drive strategic direction.
• Proven track record of building strong, people-centric teams and leadership gravitas.
• Established industry network with mall operators and developers.
• Background in beauty, lifestyle, or specialty retail with rapid store network scaling is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Own the retail P&L end-to-end, delivering growth and profitability across the store network.
• Lead network expansion from site selection through launch and ramp-up with high store-success rate.
• Drive like-for-like growth and store productivity (conversion, units per transaction, sales per sq ft).
• Own sell-side merchandising margin and in-store customer experience quality.
• Oversee projects and capex for new and existing stores.
• Maintain rigorous store operations, controls, and loss prevention as the network scales.
• Build a strong, people-centric culture and a deep leadership bench across a large distributed frontline.
• Represent the business externally with mall operators, developers, and brand partners.

Skills

Retail leadership

P&L ownership

Regional exposure

Team development

Stakeholder management

MBA

Education

MBA (Tier 1 institute)

Job description

A landmark retail leadership opportunity with one of India's fastest-growing beauty and personal care platforms, which is scaling its physical store business aggressively. This is a Head of Retail role, based in Mumbai (HQ) and reporting to the Chief Business Officer, with end-to-end ownership of the retail business, covering its growth, profitability, and expansion.

This role offers a rare opportunity to build one of the largest beauty-retail networks in the country, putting hundreds of stores on the map at pace while running a disciplined, profitable, best-in‑class operation across the existing estate.

Some of the key responsibilities will include:

• Owning the retail P&L end to end, delivering both top-line growth and best-in‑class profitability across the store network.
• Leading the network‑expansion engine from site selection through launch and ramp‑up, at pace and with a high store‑success rate.
• Driving like‑for‑like growth and store productivity, including conversion, units per transaction, sales per square foot, and range selling.
• Owning the sell‑side merchandising margin shape and the quality of the in‑store customer experience.
• Overseeing projects and capex for new and existing stores.
• Holding an uncompromising bar on store operations, controls, and loss prevention as the network scales.
• Building a strong, people‑centric culture and a deep leadership bench across a large, distributed frontline.
• Representing the business externally with mall operators, developers, and brand partners.

To be eligible for this role you will require:

• 15–17 years of hands‑on retail experience, including direct experience of operating across two or three different regions of India.
• Depth across at least two or three retail functions, such as buying and merchandising, marketing, loyalty, retail operations, or supply chain.
• Exceptional numeracy and analytical rigour, with the ability to set and drive strategic direction.
• A proven track record of building strong, people‑centric teams and culture, with strong personal presence and leadership gravitas.
• An established industry network, including relationships with leading mall operators and developers.
• Background in beauty, lifestyle, or specialty retail, and experience of scaling a store network rapidly, is an advantage.
• MBA from a Tier 1 institution such as the IIMs, ISB, XLRI, FMS, or SPJIMR (or international equivalent).