Director, Retail Sales & Operations

Victoria Newitt Recruitment Inc has been retained by Purdys Chocolatier to search for a Director, Retail Sales & Operations.

Job Title: Director, Retail Sales & Operations

Reports to: Chief Operating Officer

Job Summary

The Director, Retail Sales & Operations is the steward of the Purdys retail experience across Canada, leading a national network of more than 90 stores that serve as the primary expression of the Purdys brand for customers nationwide. This role is responsible for protecting and evolving the culture, service standards, and customer experience that have distinguished Purdys for generations while delivering profitable sales growth and operational excellence. The Director creates an environment where retail teams feel engaged, inspired, and empowered to deliver memorable customer experiences. Through strong leadership, coaching, and cross-functional collaboration, this role ensures every store consistently reflects Purdys' values, premium brand positioning, commitment to quality, and gifting expertise. The Director is accountable for growing the retail business by understanding and improving the key drivers of same-store sales performance, including traffic, conversion, retention, average transaction value, and customer satisfaction. Leveraging data, customer insights, and operational expertise, the Director identifies opportunities to strengthen performance while enhancing the customer experience. As a member of the Sales & Marketing leadership team, this role translates company strategy into customer-facing execution, ensuring retail remains a competitive advantage and a driver of long-term customer loyalty, brand affinity, and profitable growth.

Main Responsibilities

Brand Experience & Culture Leadership

• Serves as the guardian of the Purdys retail culture, ensuring company values are consistently reflected in every customer and employee interaction.
• Leads the development and evolution of retail service standards that deliver a uniquely Purdys customer experience.
• Ensures stores consistently reinforce Purdys' premium brand positioning, heritage, product quality, and gifting expertise.
• Creates a highly engaged retail culture that drives employee retention, development, and performance.
• Champions customer-centric decision making by leveraging customer feedback, reviews, NPS, field observations, and team insights.
• Partners with Marketing, Merchandising, Product, and Creative teams to bring the Purdys brand experience to life in-store.
• Ensures all customer-facing initiatives strengthen emotional connection, loyalty, and advocacy for the Purdys brand.
• Develops and executes the national retail strategy aligned with corporate growth, profitability, and customer experience objectives.
• Creates and manages annual budgets, forecasts, and business plans for the retail channel.
• Owns same-store sales growth performance by identifying opportunities within traffic, conversion, transaction counts, average transaction value, and customer retention.
• Leverages customer traffic, conversion, and behavioural data to improve store performance and optimize sales outcomes.
• Monitors and acts upon key retail KPIs including traffic, conversion rate, units per transaction, average transaction value, labour productivity, customer feedback, and shrink.
• Uses data and analytics to identify trends, opportunities, and risks, implementing action plans to improve performance.
• Identifies underperforming locations and works with field leaders to execute recovery and growth plans.
• Partners with Marketing, Digital, Merchandising, and Real Estate teams to drive traffic and maximize conversion opportunities across the retail network.

Retail Operations & Standards

• Leads operational requirements and standard operating procedures to ensure consistent execution and an exceptional customer experience across all stores.
• Oversees inventory management practices, including accuracy, waste reduction, replenishment, and ordering procedures to maximize sales and margin.
• Ensures compliance with company policies, health and safety standards, and operational best practices.
• Drives continuous improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency and in-store execution.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Builds and fosters a culture of accountability, engagement, and service excellence across the retail network.
• Develops and coaches District Managers, Store Managers, and the Retail Operations Manager to achieve performance objectives.
• Identifies high-potential talent and implements succession planning strategies across the country.
• Leads performance management processes, ensuring alignment with sales and customer experience goals.

Cross-Functional & Omni-Channel Collaboration

• Partners with Digital, Marketing, Merchandising, and Product teams to align retail programs with broader company initiatives.
• Communicates field insights and operational needs to internal stakeholders to improve products, processes, and customer experience.
• Leads execution of retail programs, including pop-up shops, seasonal initiatives, and new store openings.
• Supports omni-channel initiatives to ensure a seamless customer journey between retail and digital platforms.

Job Requirements

Required:

• 10+ years of experience managing the retail sales function from a Director, Regional or District Manager-level or higher.

Preferred

• Bachelor's degree in related discipline (i.e. Business or Communications)
• Demonstrated experience with a business to customer industry, preferably retail, especially multi-jurisdictional retail locations
• Demonstrated solid management skills, including experience successfully developing and motivating high-quality professional staff
• Proven experience managing the sales function from a financial and managerial point of view, including both capital and operating expense budgets

Other

This role has extensive travel and has a 70% in field requirement with 30% home-office based.

This role could reside in any part of the country.

Compensation

The range offered for this position is: $140,000 – $180,000 annually. Plus 10% bonus. Compensation offered within this range is based on factors unique to each candidate, including skills, qualifications, experience and credentials.