Sr. Manager, Retail Experience

Lids; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

Retirement plan

Employee discount

Paid Time Off

Career development

Early Wage Access

Job summary

Lids Sports Group seeks a Sr. Manager, Retail Experience to lead strategy, team, budget, and execution for the brand’s in-store experiences across Core, Specialty & SIS stores and live activations.

This role unifies brand storytelling with visual merchandising, signage, fixtures, and consumer journeys. You will partner across Marketing, Creative, Merchandising, Planning, Operations, Store Design, Procurement, Finance, and external partners to deliver impactful, scalable retail experiences on

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in Marketing, Visual Merchandising, Design, Retail Management, Business, or related field.
• 7+ years in retail marketing, visual merchandising, experiential marketing, or related field.
• Proven ability to lead teams and manage budgets.

Responsibilities

• Lead retail experience strategy for campaigns, launches, and store openings.
• Direct storytelling framework for campaigns across store environments and activations.
• Provide guidance on signage, merchandising, fixtures, and digital touchpoints.
• Manage cross‑functional partnerships with Marketing, Creative, Merchandising, Ops, and Finance.
• Oversee budget planning and vendor relationships to meet objectives.

Skills

Retail leadership

Strategic thinking

Brand storytelling

Campaign translation

Budget management

Vendor management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing/Visual Merchandising

Tools

PowerPoint

Adobe Creative Suite

Planogram software

Job description

About Our Company

At Lids Sports Group, we don’t just sell hats — we fuel fandom. As the largest licensed sports retailer in North America, we bring sports, fashion, and culture together in more than 1,300 stores nationwide. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Lids delivers premium, fan-driven products and unforgettable retail experiences.

Brief Description

About Our Company

At Lids Sports Group, we don’t just sell hats — we fuel fandom. As the largest licensed sports retailer in North America, we bring sports, fashion, and culture together in more than 1,300 stores nationwide. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Lids delivers premium, fan-driven products and unforgettable retail experiences.

Our stores feature officially licensed headwear and apparel from collegiate and professional teams, alongside top brands like Champion, Nike, New Era, Lululemon Athletica, and Mitchell & Ness. We’re also the industry leader in on-demand customization, offering in-store embroidery that turns everyday gear into one-of-a-kind statements.

From specialty concept stores for the NBA and NHL, to iconic clubhouse destinations for the Yankees and Dodgers, we create immersive retail experiences that celebrate the teams fans love. Through collaborations with brands like Marvel, Peanuts, and The Walt Disney Company, Lids continues to redefine how fans represent their teams — in style.

Position Summary

The Sr. Manager, Retail Experience leads the strategy, team, budget, and execution of the Lids retail experience across stores, new store openings, and live consumer activations. This role establishes the overarching point of view for how brand, product, and campaign stories come to life physically, while continuously identifying opportunities to improve store visuals, fixtures, and the overall consumer shopping experience.

The Sr. Manager leads the Retail Experience team, providing leadership, prioritization, coaching, and strategic direction while creating a cohesive approach to retail storytelling across channels.

Serving as a key connector across Marketing, Creative, Go-To-Market, Merchandising, Planning, Operations, Store Design, Procurement, Finance, account teams, and external partners, the Sr. Manager ensures retail experiences are creatively impactful, commercially relevant, operationally executable, scalable, and delivered on time and within budget.

Principal Duties And Responsibilities

Retail Experience Strategy & Leadership

• Own and evolve the overarching Retail Experience strategy and point of view across all Lids Core, Specialty & SIS stores, mall marketing/OOH, new store openings, and live consumer experiences.
• Translate company, campaign, brand, product, and seasonal priorities into compelling physical experiences that bring marketing stories to life throughout the consumer journey.
• Develop a cohesive approach for how campaigns translate into in-store storytelling, visual merchandising, signage, fixtures, physical touchpoints, and live pop‑up experiences.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen brand presence, improve product discovery, elevate store visuals, and create more connected storytelling across physical retail channels.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, coach, and develop the Retail Experience team, providing clear goals, prioritization, performance expectations, and ongoing feedback.
• Establish clear ownership and effective ways of working across team members responsible for mall marketing/OOH, print/digital support, visual strategy, new store openings, and more.
• Create a collaborative and accountable team environment that encourages strategic thinking, creativity, strong execution, and proactive problem‑solving.
• Guide team members beyond execution by encouraging them to identify opportunities, develop recommendations, and contribute a strong point of view.
• Allocate team capacity across concurrent priorities and ensure the highest‑impact initiatives receive the appropriate focus and resources.

Campaign & Consumer Experience

• Lead the retail experience strategy for major campaigns, product launches, seasonal moments, collaborations, new store openings, and priority brand initiatives.
• Establish the storytelling framework for how campaigns should come to life across store environments and live activations.
• Partner closely with Creative and Go‑To‑Market teams to ensure retail is considered early in campaign development and that concepts translate effectively into physical environments.
• Provide strategic direction on signage, visual merchandising, fixtures, environmental graphics, digital touchpoints, experiential elements, and other retail storytelling opportunities.
• Develop creative briefs and provide clear direction to internal creative teams, agencies, vendors, and production partners from concept through execution.

New Stores, Fixtures & Retail Environment

• Provide Retail Experience leadership for new store openings, remodels, shop‑in‑shop environments, priority store refreshes, and other physical retail enhancements.
• Partner with Operations, Merchandising, Creative, and external vendors from planning through execution to ensure new environments deliver against brand, consumer, and commercial objectives.
• Evaluate existing store environments and recommend fixture, signage, visual merchandising, navigation, and storytelling enhancements that improve product discovery, campaign visibility, and the overall shopping experience.
• Use store visits, field feedback, consumer behavior, and performance insights to identify opportunities to improve store layouts, fixture functionality, visual standards, and the consumer journey.
• Capture learnings from new stores, pilots, fixture enhancements, and activations and apply them to future retail experience strategies and standards.

Cross‑Functional & External Partnership

• Serve as the primary Retail Experience partner across Go‑To‑Market, Creative, Merchandising, Planning, Operations, Store Design, Procurement, Finance, account teams, and other key stakeholders.
• Build strong working relationships with external agencies, fabricators, production partners, installation teams, retail partners, and other vendors.
• Influence stakeholders across multiple levels to align on priorities, creative direction, investment, timelines, and execution expectations.
• Partner with teams early in the planning process to ensure retail experience opportunities are integrated into campaign and commercial strategies rather than treated solely as executional deliverables.
• Communicate strategy, recommendations, risks, and progress clearly to senior leaders and cross‑functional partners.

Execution & Operations

• Oversee the development of visual standards, signage programs, merchandising guidelines, fixture concepts, print/digital assets, and store‑level execution tools.
• Provide strategic oversight across multiple concurrent initiatives while empowering team members to own day‑to‑day execution within their areas.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope, on budget, and at the expected creative and operational standard.
• Oversee vendor scopes, production, fabrication, shipping, installation, and execution while proactively identifying risks and resolving challenges.
• Establish scalable processes and solutions that create consistency while allowing flexibility for priority stores, partners, markets, and experiences.

Budget Planning, Management & Vendor Leadership

• Own the development, planning, and ongoing management of the annual Retail Experience budget, including investment planning and tracking across visual merchandising, mall marketing, print/digital support, fixtures, signage, store openings, activations, and related programs.
• Establish annual investment priorities based on business objectives, marketing priorities, consumer impact, and expected return.
• Maintain disciplined financial oversight throughout the year, including budget tracking, forecasting, accrual planning, reconciliation, invoice management, and identification of risks or opportunities.
• Provide clear and timely budget reporting to leadership and cross‑functional stakeholders, including planned versus actual spend, commitments, variances, and forecast updates.
• Partner with Finance, Procurement, internal stakeholders, and vendors to ensure investments remain aligned to approved budgets and business priorities.
• Manage agency, production, fabrication, installation, and vendor relationships, including scopes of work, estimates, purchase requirements, timelines, deliverables, and performance.
• Identify opportunities to improve cost efficiency, scalability, and partner funding while maintaining a high standard of creative and consumer experience.

Measurement & Optimization

• Establish clear objectives and measurement approaches for retail experience initiatives.
• Partner with cross‑functional teams to evaluate available sales, traffic, engagement, execution, and other business indicators to understand program effectiveness.
• Use performance insights, store visits, field feedback, consumer behavior, and competitive trends to continuously evolve the Retail Experience strategy.
• Identify opportunities to improve investment efficiency and prioritize the experiences that deliver the strongest consumer and business impact.

Job Required Knowledge And Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Visual Merchandising, Design, Retail Management, Business, or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience in retail marketing, visual merchandising, experiential marketing, brand marketing, store design, retail experience, or a related field.
• Previous people‑management experience with a demonstrated ability to coach, develop, prioritize, and lead a high‑performing team.
• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to establish a clear vision and point of view for retail and experiential storytelling.
• Proven experience translating integrated marketing campaigns and product stories into compelling physical consumer experiences.
• Experience supporting new store openings, remodels, fixture programs, or retail environment enhancements within a multi‑store retail organization.
• Ability to assess physical retail environments and develop recommendations that improve consumer navigation, product discovery, visual storytelling, fixture functionality, and overall store experience.
• Demonstrated experience developing and managing annual budgets, with strong financial acumen and the ability to forecast, track, prioritize, reconcile, and optimize investments.
• Strong understanding of visual merchandising, signage, environmental design, retail customer journeys, experiential marketing, and store execution.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex cross‑functional initiatives and influence stakeholders across multiple levels of an organization.
• Strong vendor management and negotiation skills, including experience overseeing agencies, production, fabrication, installation, budgets, and complex timelines.
• Ability to move fluidly between big‑picture strategic thinking and executional detail.
• Strong communication, presentation, storytelling, project management, and stakeholder‑management skills.
• Strong commercial mindset with the ability to connect creative ideas to consumer and business objectives.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and make thoughtful decisions in a fast‑paced environment.
• Strong understanding of retail, sports, fashion, culture, experiential marketing, and emerging consumer trends.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and PowerPoint; familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite, planogram, space‑planning, budget‑management, or project‑management tools preferred.

Physical Demands & Requirements

• Ability to travel to stores, partner meetings, installations, new store openings, vendor meetings, and live activations as needed, estimated at up to 20%.
• Ability to operate a computer and work with digital systems for extended periods.
• Ability to communicate verbally and visually with internal teams and stakeholders.
• Ability to work in an office or remote environment with frequent task deadlines.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. For inquiries related to reasonable accommodations, please contact [e-mail].

What We Offer

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Retirement plan with company match
• 100% employer‑paid benefits, including short‑term and long‑term disability, life and AD&D insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program
• Paid Time Off
• Generous employee discount and exclusive perks
• Ongoing career development and professional training, including discounted secondary education and certification reimbursement
• A collaborative, innovative, and team‑oriented work environment
• Early Wage Access options
• Bonus eligibility depending on position level

Work Environment

• On‑site office work environment.
• Standard business hours from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.; flexibility may be available upon request

Employment Requirements

Candidates must possess the experience, skills, physical abilities, and qualifications, with or without reasonable accommodation, to perform the essential duties of the role and must be able to meet all applicable employment standards. Being legally authorized to work in the United States is a pre‑condition of employment for this position. Current or future employment‑based visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Notice to Applicants

In connection with your application, we collect information that identifies, reasonably relates to, or describes you (“Personal Information”). The categories of Personal Information we collect include your name, email address, mailing address, other contact information, employment history, and educational history. We collect and use this information for human resources and business management purposes, including identifying and evaluating candidates for employment or future contract opportunities, and maintaining recruiting and hiring records.

Need Accessibility Assistance?

Applicants who require accessibility assistance may email [e-mail]. A member of our Talent team will respond as soon as reasonably possible. This email address is only for individuals seeking reasonable accommodation when applying for a career at Lids.