Overview
Head of Retail Jobs in Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa at Boschendal Farm
Title: Head of Retail
Company: Boschendal Farm
Location: Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa
HEAD OF RETAIL
The Head of Retail is a strategic commercial leader responsible for shaping Boschendal’s retail strategy and translating our brand, hospitality and commercial ambitions into a distinctive, high-performing retail proposition. The portfolio spans physical retail, e-commerce, gifting, retail-led events and emerging retail models, with exciting growth including a new Johannesburg retail space and a future village concept incorporating a farm shop, retail and events.
Reporting to the Chief Hospitality Officer, the role will drive retail sales, profitability and innovation across Boschendal outlets, reseller channels and new destinations. Combining commercial acumen, entrepreneurial thinking and operational excellence, the Head of Retail will identify new revenue opportunities and build compelling retail experiences that strengthen guest engagement and the Boschendal brand.
The role owns the end-to-end retail ecosystem – from strategy, product and channel development to merchandising, customer experience, systems, inventory and execution. It will challenge conventional retail thinking, spot emerging opportunities and collaborate across Hospitality, Food & Beverage, Farm, Marketing, Brand, Finance and Procurement to build an integrated, scalable retail offering.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategy & Commercial Leadership
- Shape and contribute to Boschendal’s retail strategy, aligned with the broader hospitality, brand and commercial strategy.
- Translate strategic priorities into clear commercial plans, initiatives and measurable outcomes.
- Identify and develop new retail concepts, channels, partnerships and revenue opportunities.
- Lead the commercial development, launch and performance of new retail destinations and concepts, building a scalable retail model.
- Build a clear roadmap for the evolution and growth of Boschendal’s retail portfolio.
- Use commercial insight, customer behaviour and market intelligence to guide investment, assortment and channel decisions.
Sales, Revenue & Profitability Growth
- Drive sales and grow revenue across physical retail, e-commerce, gifting, reseller channels, retail-led events, activations and new destination concepts.
- Deliver revenue, gross margin and profitability targets.
- Increase spend per guest, conversion, basket size, frequency and customer lifetime value.
- Continuously evaluate channel, product and category performance and redirect resources toward the strongest commercial opportunities.
- Create commercially compelling campaigns, activations and sales initiatives in collaboration with Marketing, Hospitality and other relevant teams.
- Balance growth with disciplined margin, cost-of-sales and inventory management.
Retail Innovation & New Business Development
- Lead retail innovation, exploring new concepts, products, services, technologies and customer experiences.
- Develop, test and scale new retail ideas through commercially measurable pilots.
- Build partnerships that strengthen the retail proposition and open new routes to market.
Customer & Guest Experience
- Create a distinctive retail experience that reflects Boschendal’s brand, provenance and hospitality philosophy.
- Deepen customer loyalty and connection between guests, products and the Boschendal story.
- Partner with Hospitality and Brand to integrate retail seamlessly into the broader guest journey.
Product, Assortment & Merchandising Strategy
- Shape product and category strategies that balance brand relevance, customer demand, margin and commercial opportunity.
- Optimise assortment productivity and remove underperforming or duplicative ranges.
- Develop exclusive, seasonal, locally relevant and innovative products.
- Oversee visual merchandising to maximise product appeal, storytelling and commercial performance.
Operational Excellence
- Establish and continuously improve end-to-end retail operating standards, processes and controls.
- Optimise ordering, stock movements, write-offs, waste and resource allocation.
- Develop scalable processes that support new channels, concepts and locations.
- Remain visible in operations, combining strategic leadership with a practical understanding of floor performance.
Inventory & Supply Chain Performance
- Own retail inventory performance and manage stock as a strategic commercial asset.
- Maintain strong controls to minimise stock-outs, excess inventory, shrinkage and wastage.
- Improve stock productivity through forecasting, replenishment and assortment management.
- Partner with Procurement, Finance, Warehousing and suppliers to strengthen supply-chain performance.
- Maintain key inventory measures, including:
- Food stock turn: approximately 10.9 per annum.
- Non-food stock turn: 4–6 per annum.
- Inventory variance within agreed tolerance levels.
- Shrinkage and wastage within budget.
Data, Technology & Retail Intelligence
- Build a data-led retail culture using customer, product, inventory and financial insight.
- Use POS, BI, inventory and other retail technologies to improve visibility and decisions.
- Develop dashboards that highlight commercial opportunities, risks and trends.
- Measure new initiatives clearly and use performance data to refine, scale or stop them.
Market & Consumer Insight
- Maintain a strong understanding of evolving retail, hospitality and consumer trends.
- Benchmark Boschendal against relevant local and international retail and hospitality concepts.
- Analyse competitor activity, customer preferences and category developments.
- Translate insight into actionable opportunities for the business.
- Ensure the retail proposition remains differentiated, contemporary and relevant to both existing and future audiences.
Financial & Commercial Management
- Own retail budgets, forecasts and commercial performance.
- Actively manage revenue, gross margin, cost of sales, operating expenses and profitability.
- Build robust business cases for new concepts, investments and innovation.
Team Leadership & Capability Building
- Lead and develop a high-performing, commercially minded retail team.
- Create clarity around objectives, accountability and performance expectations.
- Build capability in selling, customer experience, commercial thinking, product knowledge and execution.
- Develop future leaders and strengthen succession within retail.
Governance, Compliance & Risk
- Ensure compliance with relevant regulatory, health and safety, financial and operational requirements.
- Maintain effective controls and proactively manage operational and commercial risk.
Critical / Core Competencies
Strategic & Commercial
- Strategic and commercial thinker able to translate vision into executable plans.
- Proven ability to drive sales, revenue and profitability.
- Entrepreneurial mindset with a track record of identifying new commercial opportunities.
- Strong understanding of retail economics, margins, inventory and financial performance.
- Ability to interpret financial statements and make commercially sound decisions.
- Analytical and comfortable using data to drive decisions.
Innovation & Customer Orientation
- Curious and energised by new ways to engage customers and grow the business.
- Strong understanding of evolving retail and consumer behaviour.
- Able to take ideas from concept through testing, implementation and scale.
- Passion for creating differentiated customer and guest experiences
- Balances creativity and innovation with commercial discipline.
Technical
- Strong working knowledge of POS, inventory management and retail systems.
- Strong Excel skills with experience using BI and reporting tools.
- Strong understanding of retail inventory and supply-chain principles.
- Experience researching and interpreting industry, consumer and market trends.
- Confident preparing and presenting business concepts and investment proposals.
Leadership & Behavioural
- Strategic thinker who is equally comfortable at executive level and on the retail floor.
- Collaborative and able to influence across multiple functions.
- Strong leadership, coaching and mentorship capability.
- Commercially courageous and prepared to challenge established thinking constructively.
- Curious, creative and action oriented.
- Comfortable in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial and evolving environment.
- High levels of ownership, accountability and initiative.
- Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural sensitivity.
- Flexible in response to the operational requirements of a hospitality-led environment.
Experience Requirements
Essential
- Significant retail, commercial and/or sales leadership experience, ideally in a premium, lifestyle, hospitality, food, beverage or guest-facing environment.
- Strong track record of driving retail sales, revenue and profitability.
- Experience leading retail operations and contributing meaningfully to retail or business strategy.
- Experience across physical and digital retail, with a strong understanding of e-commerce and omnichannel customer journeys.
- Experience launching new retail concepts, products, channels or commercial initiatives.
- Strong inventory, margin and operational performance management experience.
- Experience leading and developing teams.
- Demonstrated ability to work successfully in an entrepreneurial or high-growth environment.
Advantageous
- Experience in an integrated hospitality, destination, lifestyle or experiential retail environment.
- Experience across owned retail and reseller/wholesale channels.
Qualifications
Practical commercial experience and a demonstrable track record of success are highly valued.
A relevant tertiary qualification in Business, Commerce, Retail, Marketing, Hospitality or a related field would be advantageous.