General Manager - Retail Operations & Business Excellence

Private Advertiser; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail firm in Singapore is looking for a General Manager (GM) to oversee the daily operations of a multi-brand retail portfolio across Singapore and Malaysia. The GM will be responsible for driving sales growth, ensuring compliance with brand standards, and building a high-performance culture. Candidates should have 12–18 years of extensive experience in retail operations and people leadership to lead execution excellence and operational readiness in this hands-on leadership role.

Qualifications

• 12–18 years in multi-site, multi-brand retail or consumer operations.
• Proven experience leading retail operations and business excellence.
• Strong background in sales, store operations, and inventory controls.

Responsibilities

• Drive sales growth and profitability across brands.
• Lead operational and retail leadership teams across the portfolio.
• Ensure compliance with company policies and local regulations.

Skills

Multi-site management

Sales performance

People leadership

Operational excellence

Job description

Role Purpose

The General Manager (GM) is appointed as the Principal Operating Leader, reporting to the CEO, with full accountability for the day-to-day retail operations and business excellence of a multi-brand, multi-store retail portfolio across Singapore and Malaysia.

The portfolio includes established and emerging brands such as Candylicious, Hershey’s, Carnival, Scoop Wholefoods, On, Alo, Subdued, and other new brands that may be launched in the future.

The role carries end-to-end responsibility for execution excellence, operational readiness, people leadership, financial performance, and continuous improvement, ensuring consistent delivery of brand and company standards across all locations.

This is a highly hands-on leadership role requiring strong on-ground presence, sound commercial judgment, and the ability to build scalable, disciplined operations.

Reporting & Governance

• Reports directly to the CEO

• Acts as the operational leader across the retail portfolio

• Brand and Commercial functions report separately; the GM partners closely with these teams to ensure execution alignment

• Works closely with respective brand teams to deliver new store set-up and opening execution
  

Key Responsibilities

1. Enterprise Execution & Business Excellence

• Serve as the primary point of accountability for retail operations and business excellence across all brands, stores, and markets

• Translate established business, brand, and commercial strategies into disciplined execution plans

• Drive a culture of operational excellence, continuous improvement, and accountability

• Establish clear operating rhythms, performance reviews, and execution cadence

• Support senior leadership on high-impact, ad-hoc initiatives of a strategic nature, including complex, cross-functional projects critical to the business

2. Multi-Brand Retail Operations (Singapore & Malaysia)

• Lead end-to-end retail operations across multiple brands, store formats, and concepts

• Ensure consistent execution of customer experience, service standards, and operational SOPs

• Balance brand nuance with operational consistency across a diverse portfolio

• Maintain strong field presence through regular store visits, floor walks, and direct engagement with teams

• Proactively identify operational risks and resolve issues decisively

3. Visual Merchandising & Brand Execution

• Ensure disciplined execution of VM standards and brand guidelines as defined for each brand

• Maintain strict compliance to brand aesthetics, store presentation, and visual standards

• Partner with Brand and Commercial teams to deliver flawless execution of GTM initiatives, campaigns, and product launches

• Ensure operational readiness and in-store excellence during peak trading and launch periods

4. New Store Set-Up & Opening Execution

• Take end-to-end responsibility for new store set-up and opening execution across the portfolio

• Work closely with respective brand teams to ensure store design intent, VM standards, and brand DNA are delivered accurately

• Own project planning, timelines, and cross-functional coordination for store openings

• Ensure readiness across staffing, training, systems, inventory, and operations

• Deliver store openings on time, on budget, and to defined brand and operational standards

• Own post-opening stabilisation and early performance ramp-up

5. Sales Performance & Financial Accountability

• Drive sales growth, productivity, and profitability across brands and countries

• Own store-level KPIs including conversion, ATV, UPT, labour productivity, shrinkage, and cost control

• Manage operational budgets within approved frameworks

• Partner with finance on forecasting, performance reviews, and corrective actions

• Apply strong business acumen to identify opportunities and address underperformance early

6. People Leadership & Culture

• Lead, coach, and develop operational and retail leadership teams across the portfolio

• Build a high-performance, ownership-driven culture aligned with company values

• Ensure teams deeply understand and deliver against each brand’s DNA, standards, and customer promise

• Drive talent development, succession planning, and retention in partnership with HR

• Hold leaders accountable while motivating teams to consistently exceed expectations

7. Process Excellence, Compliance & Governance

• Design, implement, and continuously improve SOPs, controls, and operating frameworks

• Ensure compliance with company policies, brand standards, and local regulatory requirements

• Build scalable processes that support growth and reduce reliance on individual intervention

• Act as escalation point for execution-related risks impacting brand integrity or business performance

Success Measures (12–18 Months)

• CEO materially disengaged from day-to-day operational problem-solving

• Consistent execution and measurable performance uplift across all brands and stores

• Strong, capable leadership bench within retail operations

• Seamless and repeatable execution of new store openings

• Embedded culture of business excellence and accountability across the organisation
  

What We’re Looking For

• 12–18 years in multi-site, multi-brand retail or consumer operations

• Proven experience leading retail operations, store openings, and business excellence at scale

• Strong background in sales, store operations, Merchandising Management, inventory controls, VM execution, and people leadership

• Experience in fast‑paced, founder‑led or high-accountability environments preferred

Leadership & Attributes

• Hands‑on, energetic, and field-oriented

• Commercially sharp with strong KPI and P&L discipline

• Able to flex leadership style across different brand cultures

• Decisive, resilient, high standards, low ego