General Manager of Retail; Hotel Emma)

The Director of Retail provides strategic and creative leadership for Hotel Emma’s retail operations and branded merchandise programs. This position is responsible for defining the retail vision, curating distinctive product assortments, directing buying strategy, developing vendor partnerships, and ensuring every retail touchpoint reflects the character, history, and standards of the Hotel Emma and Pearl brands.

The Director serves as the organization’s retail visionary and senior buyer, transforming retail into an extension of the guest experience through thoughtful storytelling, craftsmanship, discovery, and exceptional presentation. The position balances creative leadership with strong financial stewardship, ensuring established merchandise channels continue to grow while identifying new opportunities for revenue, engagement, and brand expression.

Primary Responsibilities

Retail Vision and Strategic Leadership

• Develop and lead the long-term vision for Hotel Emma’s retail operations and branded merchandise programs.
• Establish an annual retail strategy that supports revenue growth, profitability, guest engagement, and brand recognition.
• Translate the Hotel Emma and Pearl brand identities into compelling merchandise, environments, activations, and guest experiences.
• Create annual buying, merchandising, marketing, and activation calendars.
• Establish clear performance expectations, priorities, and key performance indicators for the retail department.
• Maintain full accountability for departmental performance, standards, culture, and execution.
• Present retail strategies, opportunities, and performance updates to senior leadership.

Brand Buying and Merchandise Strategy

• Serve as the senior buyer and creative authority for retail merchandise.
• Direct the buying strategy for Hotel Emma merchandise, Pearl-branded merchandise, Larder retail, and other assigned retail programs.
• Maintain and strengthen established branded merchandise channels through disciplined assortment planning, product development, and inventory management.
• Ensure merchandise selections appropriately represent the distinct identities of Hotel Emma and Pearl.
• Develop seasonal, evergreen, limited-edition, and exclusive product collections.
• Identify opportunities for private-label, custom, co-branded, and locally produced merchandise.
• Establish category, assortment, pricing, and margin strategies.
• Evaluate product performance and make informed decisions regarding replenishment, expansion, markdowns, and discontinuation.
• Maintain a balance between commercially proven products and new, discovery-driven offerings.

Market Attendance and Product Sourcing

• Attend relevant markets, trade shows, design exhibitions, maker fairs, and industry events.
• Develop market plans and buying budgets prior to each buying trip.
• Identify emerging products, materials, brands, artisans, and consumer trends.
• Build relationships with designers, makers, publishers, artists, food producers, apparel companies, and lifestyle brands.
• Provide post-market recaps, recommendations, purchase plans, and product-launch timelines.
• Ensure market purchasing decisions are grounded in brand alignment, financial performance, guest relevance, and operational feasibility.

Retail Innovation and Brand Discovery

• Continually seek out emerging artisans, designers, craftspeople, food makers, publishers, and brands that align with Hotel Emma and Pearl.
• Position the retail program as a source of discovery rather than a traditional hotel gift shop.
• Identify products and collaborations that guests are unlikely to find through mass-market retail channels.
• Develop exclusive and first-to-market partnerships that reinforce the organization’s position as a cultural and hospitality tastemaker.
• Partner with Culinary,…