Regional Retail Director Southeast Asia (Luxury Fashion)

Retail Director – Southeast Asia

We are partnering with an established international luxury fashion house to appoint a Retail Director – Southeast Asia, based in Singapore.

This is a significant regional leadership role with responsibility for the performance, direction and continued development of the brand's retail business across Southeast Asia.

We are interested in speaking with accomplished luxury retail leaders already based within the region, as well as international candidates who would consider relocating to Singapore for the right opportunity.

The successful individual will take ownership of a diverse and strategically important retail network, working closely with regional and global leadership to translate the wider brand strategy into strong commercial performance at market level.

This is not simply a role focused on store operations.

The Retail Director will be expected to understand the individual dynamics of each market, identify where the business can perform better, challenge existing ways of working when necessary and build an environment in which boutique leaders and their teams can consistently succeed.

The Role

Reporting into senior regional leadership, the Retail Director will have overall responsibility for the retail business across Southeast Asia.

You will lead the regional retail strategy and ensure that commercial ambitions, client experience, people development and brand standards are connected rather than treated as separate priorities.

The role requires someone who is equally comfortable discussing regional strategy and P&L performance with senior leadership as they are spending time in boutiques, understanding clients, coaching Store Directors and identifying what is really happening on the shop floor.

You will develop a clear understanding of the opportunities and challenges within each market and use this to shape priorities across the region.

A major part of the position will be creating consistency without losing sight of local market differences. Southeast Asia is not a single retail market, and the successful individual will understand how client behaviour, tourism, competition, talent, landlords and commercial opportunities can vary significantly between countries and cities.

Commercial & Retail Leadership

You will take ownership of the commercial performance of the retail network, establishing clear priorities and ensuring that each market has the strategy, leadership and resources required to deliver against its potential.

Working closely with Country Managers, Store Directors and regional functions, you will review performance across boutiques and markets, identify opportunities and develop practical action plans that translate into measurable results.

Responsibilities will include:

• Leading the retail strategy across Southeast Asia in line with the brand's regional and global direction.
• Taking ownership of sales, profitability, productivity and overall retail performance across the region.
• Developing annual budgets, forecasts and commercial plans alongside finance and senior management.
• Monitoring retail KPIs and using performance data to understand where opportunities or issues exist.
• Driving improvements in conversion, average transaction value, units per transaction, client retention and productivity.
• Evaluating boutique performance individually rather than relying solely on regional averages.
• Identifying opportunities to grow existing stores and improve the quality and productivity of the retail network.
• Working closely with business development and senior leadership on potential openings, relocations, renovations and network optimisation.
• Maintaining a strong understanding of competitor activity, luxury retail trends and changing consumer behaviour across Southeast Asia.
• Ensuring commercial decisions protect the long-term positioning and desirability of the brand.

Client Development

At this level, retail leadership is ultimately about clients.

The Retail Director will play an important role in developing the brand's client strategy across the region, ensuring boutiques build meaningful, long-term relationships rather than focusing purely on individual transactions.

You will work with retail, CRM, marketing and client development teams to strengthen local and international client engagement, particularly across VIC and high-value client segments.

This will include developing clienteling standards, improving the quality of client portfolios, supporting private appointments and events, and ensuring boutique teams understand how to build relationships that extend beyond the store.

You will also ensure that teams understand the changing profile of luxury consumers across Southeast Asia and the importance of both domestic and travelling clients.

Boutique Leadership & Operational Excellence

You will maintain a strong presence across the retail network.

We are looking for someone who genuinely enjoys being in stores and engaging with teams rather than managing the region entirely from an office.

Regular market and boutique visits will be an important part of the position.

You will work closely with Store Directors and local leadership to assess performance, understand challenges and ensure consistently high standards across client experience, operations, visual presentation and brand execution.

Where a boutique is underperforming, you will be expected to understand why and develop a credible plan to change it.

Where a boutique is performing exceptionally well, you will identify what is driving that success and determine whether those practices can be replicated elsewhere.

People & Leadership

The quality of leadership within the retail organisation will be one of your most important responsibilities.

You will lead, coach and develop senior retail talent across the region, creating strong succession pipelines and ensuring the business has the leadership capability required for future growth.

You will partner closely with HR on organisational structure, succession planning, recruitment, performance management and talent development.

The expectation is not simply to manage existing teams but to continually raise the level of retail leadership across the region.

You should be capable of identifying high-potential talent early, developing future Store Directors and regional leaders, and making difficult people decisions when standards are not being met.

You will create a culture that is commercially ambitious while remaining collaborative, respectful and consistent with the values of a leading luxury house.

Cross-Functional Partnership

Retail sits at the centre of the business, and this position will work extensively across functions.

You will partner with Merchandising to ensure product strategies reflect market demand and client opportunities.

You will work with Marketing, Communications and CRM on local activations, launches and client initiatives.

You will collaborate with Finance on budgets, forecasts and profitability.

You will work with HR on organisational planning and talent.

You will also maintain productive relationships with landlords, department stores, business partners and other external stakeholders where appropriate.

The ability to influence across a matrix organisation will therefore be essential.

What We Are Looking For

We are looking for an established luxury retail leader with significant multi-store and ideally multi-market experience.

You are likely to have built your career within luxury fashion, leather goods, accessories or another closely related luxury environment, with experience operating at Retail Director, Regional Retail Director, Country Manager, General Manager or a comparable senior commercial leadership level.

You should bring:

• Significant senior retail leadership experience within the luxury sector.
• Proven responsibility for a substantial boutique or store network.
• Strong commercial and P&L understanding.
• Experience managing senior retail leaders and Store Directors.
• A track record of improving retail performance rather than simply maintaining an established business.
• Strong knowledge of luxury client development and VIC engagement.
• Experience developing high-performing retail teams and succession pipelines.
• The ability to operate effectively within an international and highly matrixed organisation.
• Strong analytical capability combined with commercial instinct.
• Credibility with senior global and regional stakeholders.
• The confidence to challenge constructively and make decisions.
• A genuine understanding of what exceptional luxury retail looks and feels like.