Director of Retail Sales

AKIRA • Chicago, IL

16d • $135,000 - $205,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Founded in 2002 in Chicago, AKIRA has grown to 35+ boutiques nationwide and a thriving ecommerce business (shopAKIRA.com). As we build our next-chapter growth, our culture stands apart: we deliver fanatical, obsessive attention to the consumer's needs and desires. Every team member is empowered to "Act and Think Like an Owner." We are seeking a dynamic industry-leading retail sales executive to elevate our store performance, build a high-impact field leadership team, and drive exceptional growth and customer loyalty. Job Title: Director of Retail Sales Location: Chicago HQ | Travel: ~50-75% across ~40 stores and new openings Role Purpose You will own the strategy, leadership and performance of the store sales organization. Your mission: build and coach a best-in-class field leadership bench (District Managers, Store Managers, Stylists), drive sales productivity and customer-centric performance, and build long-term loyalty among our clientele. You will partner with the Director of Retail Operations to ensure the store network is not only operating with excellence, but truly selling at scale.

Requirements

• 10+ years in multi-unit retail sales leadership (ideally apparel/fast-fashion) including ownership of store network performance (comp growth, conversion, UPT/ATV) and talent development at scale.
• Demonstrable track record of building high-performing leadership teams (DMs/SMs) and coaching field leaders to consistent results across 30-100+ stores.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead the store-sales leadership ecosystem: recruit, develop, mentor and retain District Managers and Store Managers; create a succession pipeline across field roles.
• Design and deploy a leadership development program (e.g., "Store Leadership Academy") for Store Managers and Stylists - including field-ride trainings, 30-60-90 onboarding plans, ongoing coaching cadences and performance forums.
• Define clear performance goals for every store leadership role: comp sales, conversion rate, average transaction value (ATV), repeat client ratio, client book penetration.
• Conduct field visits (~50-75% travel) to lead store-strategy check-ins, coach in-store teams, celebrate top performers, and diagnose under-performance for rapid turn-around.
• Foster an inclusive and high-performing culture: build a sense of ownership, accountability, team collaboration, client-obsession and continuous improvement.
• Set recognition and incentive programs that celebrate high-performing stores and individual leaders; partner with HR to manage under-performance proactively.
• Develop and drive the annual sales growth plan for the store network: comp targets, store-level stretch goals, promotional cadence, clienteling strategy (via Endear or equivalent).
• Set and monitor key performance indicators: traffic, conversion %, ATV, UPT (units per transaction), repeat client rate, client book growth, retention metrics.
• Deploy and utilize sales-tech platforms (Endear for client outreach; StoreForce for store metrics) to ensure real-time visibility into performance; ensure store leadership uses those tools as a habit.
• Lead monthly business reviews with District/Store Managers and Finance: analyze variance vs. plan, root-cause store-by-store results, build action plans, and track recovery/ramp-up progress.
• Partner with Marketing/CRM to execute loyalty initiatives, store events, stylists' client book growth, VIP activations and store-driven traffic campaigns.
• Own profitability levers: margin impact of promotional cadence, clienteling program ROI, average ticket growth, conversion improvement - partner with Finance for insights.
• Define the in-store customer journey aligned to brand promise: stylists as brand ambassadors, clienteling excellence, personalisation, fast-fashion trend leadership.
• Embed best-in-class service standards and measuring mechanisms (NPS, OSAT, repeat customer metrics). Lead field training to embed those standards.
• Partner with Merchandising and Visual teams to ensure the store experience (layout, presentation, client traffic flow) supports selling excellence and repeat behaviour.
• Leverage field voice: capture insights from stylists & store leadership on product, trends, client feedback; feed into Merchandising/Marketing to refine assortments and campaigns.
• Track customer behaviour, regional/market trends, competitor activity, client loyalty metrics – convert insights into field strategies (e.g., new client segments, VIP tiers, event models).
• Pilot new format experiments (e.g., VIP lounge, client-book activations, mobile-stylist shopping) and scale success across the network.

Benefits

• AKIRA offers competitive benefits for full-time employees, including Medical, Dental, Vision, Pet, Life, LTD, FSA/HSA/Dependent Care FSA, Flex Transit (CTA), 401(k), and employee discount.
• We are committed to encouraging internal development and providing significant career enrichment opportunities.
• Most importantly, what has propelled AKIRA's growth and success over the years has been the dynamic culture within the company - if you're filled with passion, have a strong desire to get things done, and if you want to go to a place where you know your work matters and where you can implement your ideas and decisions, then AKIRA just might be the place for you.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed