Business Head - Retail

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES : 

1. Business Strategy & Growth : 

• Develop and execute the overall retail business strategy in line with the company's growth objectives.
• Identify new markets, customer segments, products, and business opportunities.
• Build short-term and long-term revenue and profitability plans.
• Drive expansion through retail stores, distributors, dealers, modern trade, institutional sales, e-commerce, and other relevant channels.
• Monitor market trends, consumer behaviour, competitor activities, and emerging retail opportunities.
• Develop strategies for domestic as well as international market expansion where applicable.

2. Revenue & P&L Management : 

• Own the retail business P&L and deliver agreed revenue, margin, EBITDA, and profitability targets.
• Establish sales targets, budgets, forecasts, and performance metrics.
• Monitor business performance and take timely corrective actions.
• Improve gross margins through effective pricing, product mix, sourcing, inventory, and channel strategies.
• Identify and control major cost drivers without compromising customer experience or business growth.

3. Sales & Distribution : 

• Build and manage a strong retail sales and distribution network.
• Develop channel strategies covering distributors, dealers, retailers, modern trade, online platforms, and direct-to-consumer opportunities.
•  Strengthen relationships with key accounts and strategic business partners.
•  Develop territory-wise sales plans and ensure achievement of targets.
•  Establish effective sales processes, reporting mechanisms, incentives, and performance management    systems.

4. Retail Operations : 

• Ensure efficient and consistent execution across all retail operations.
• Establish SOPs and operational standards for stores, sales teams, inventory, customer service, and merchandising.
• Improve store productivity, sales conversion, average transaction value, customer retention, and operational efficiency.
• Monitor retail KPIs and implement continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with applicable statutory, regulatory, quality, safety, and company requirements.

5. Product & Merchandising : 

• Work with internal teams to develop a commercially attractive product portfolio.
• Annalise product performance, customer preferences, pricing, margins, and market demand.
• Drive product assortment, category planning, promotions, and inventory optimization.
• Coordinate with manufacturing and sourcing teams to ensure product availability, quality, cost competitiveness, and timely delivery.

6. Supply Chain & Inventory : 

• Coordinate with manufacturing, procurement, logistics, and warehousing teams to maintain efficient product flow.
• Optimize inventory levels and minimize stock-outs, excess inventory, slow-moving stock, and working-capital requirements.
• Improve demand forecasting and sales-and-operations planning.
• Ensure timely availability of products across retail and distribution channels.

7. Marketing & Customer Development : 

• Develop and execute customer acquisition and retention strategies in collaboration with the marketing team.
• Strengthen brand positioning and market visibility.
• Drive promotional campaigns and evaluate their commercial effectiveness.
• Use customer insights, market research, and sales analytics to improve business decisions.
• Build a strong customer-centric culture across the retail organization.

8. International Trade & Market Expansion : 

• Leverage the company's export-import capabilities to identify international retail opportunities.
• Explore strategic distributors, retailers, importers, and business partners in overseas markets.
• Work with trade and compliance teams to ensure adherence to applicable international trade requirements.
• Evaluate market-entry opportunities based on commercial viability, regulatory requirements, logistics, and competitive dynamics.

9. Team Leadership : 

• Build, lead, coach, and retain a high-performing retail organization.
• Define organizational structures, responsibilities, KPIs, and performance standards.
• Develop leadership capability within the sales, retail, operations, and business development teams.
• Foster accountability, collaboration, innovation, and a performance-driven culture.

10. MIS, Analytics & Governance : 

• Establish robust business dashboards and reporting systems.
• Track key metrics including revenue, gross margin, EBITDA, same-store sales, conversion, inventory turnover, receivables, customer acquisition, and channel productivity.
• Present regular business reviews and strategic recommendations to senior management.
• Use data and business intelligence to support fact-based decision-making.

11. KEY SKILLS : 

• Strong commercial and entrepreneurial mindset.
• Excellent P&L and financial management capability.
• Strategic planning and business development.
• Retail sales and distribution management.
• Negotiation and key-account management.
• Market expansion and channel development.
• Supply chain and inventory understanding.
• Data-driven decision-making.
• Strong leadership and people-management skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management abilities.
• High level of integrity, ownership, accountability, and execution discipline.

12. QUALIFICATIONS : 

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Retail Management, Marketing, Commerce, or a related discipline.
• MBA/PGDM in Marketing, Sales, Retail, Operations, or Business Management will be preferred.

13. EXPERIENCE : 

• 10–15+ years of progressive experience in retail, consumer products, distribution, FMCG, lifestyle, manufacturing-linked retail, or a related sector.
• Proven experience managing a sizable business, preferably with end-to-end P&L responsibility.
• Strong experience in building sales channels and scaling retail operations.
• Experience in domestic and/or international markets will be an advantage.